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Sir Kohran · 10-24-2007, 02:53 PM

The problem is that those who 'imitate' Tolkien don't really imitate him. All that people like Paolini do is write stories about dragons and elves and magic...sure, Tolkien wrote about that stuff but it's not the focus of his work, or even one of the main points. Tolkien was about much more than that. What makes Tolkien's writing so great is that it is technically fantasy and yet is always grounded in reality - you get a sense of history, of time and of place - there's meaning and depth and significance to those stories.

Maybe the problem is that typical fantasy by itself simply isn't very interesting to read about or watch. Dragons, 'mages', cities, magic swords, demons...I don't know about everyone else but it all comes across as frankly dull. Does anyone else feel this?

10-24-2007, 02:53 PM	#25
Sir Kohran Wight Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: England, UK Posts: 178	The problem is that those who 'imitate' Tolkien don't really imitate him. All that people like Paolini do is write stories about dragons and elves and magic...sure, Tolkien wrote about that stuff but it's not the focus of his work, or even one of the main points. Tolkien was about much more than that. What makes Tolkien's writing so great is that it is technically fantasy and yet is always grounded in reality - you get a sense of history, of time and of place - there's meaning and depth and significance to those stories. Maybe the problem is that typical fantasy by itself simply isn't very interesting to read about or watch. Dragons, 'mages', cities, magic swords, demons...I don't know about everyone else but it all comes across as frankly dull. Does anyone else feel this? __________________ 'Dangerous!' cried Gandalf. 'And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord.' Last edited by Sir Kohran; 11-14-2007 at 11:10 AM.