Tolkien over others

[Gothmog]

It's somewhat unfair to compare the work of Tolkien with anything else. No-one comes close to his achievements!

I find myself drawn into a world described beautifully and detailed. A world where all the stories is connected and where there is an explanation behind most things. There is no other world ever created that is as complete as the world of Tolkien. There's not only one language, there's at least two (Quenya and Sindar) created specially for Middle Earth. Plus there's fragments of Adunaic, Dwarven speech, the toungue of Rohirrim and the dark language of Mordor. And that's only one example of the diversity and wealth of details in this world.

There's a complete story of creation, a well developed mythology with "gods" at least as living as the roman or norse. And the history, from the creation to the War of the Ring, is almost as comprehensive as the history of our real world. As soon as a character in LotR mentions an old legend or hero, or even sings a song, there's a story behind it. Aragorn isn't thinking Beren and Luthien up, they're real and there's a story as complicated and rich as any legend in our world. If an elf sings about events in some distant land and time, it's all there in Silmarillion, or UT, or BolT or.... That immense and thrilling world leaves me wanting more and more. One can't get enough! And that's why were all here, to get more of this fantastic world that we all share. No other writer can challenge Tolkien on that point, creating a world that feels more real than my own history.

But I really enjoy Eddings too! He succeeds in a thing Tolkien does not (criticizing prof T? Unbelieveable! Hope you can forgive me sometime) and that is making his characters personal. Tolkien's story (-ies) is an epic one and nothing beats it's complexity. But the characters feel a bit unpersonal, at least according to me. But they do not have to be personal, it's not that kind of story. Sure, you're worried the hobbits are in danger, and sure you can feel the love between Sam and Frodo but it still feels distant.

Eddings' characters on the other hand feels like a group of close friends. I can't resist to smile when Silk makes a joke, or feel the embarrassment of Garion in some situations, or the strange love between Belgarath and Polgara etc... When I finish the books it feels like I've lost contact with some of my dearest friends. And yes, it's sad when LotR ends too, but not in the same way. Even my sister, who is not interested in fantasy at all, have read The Belgariad with much enthusiasm.

I have to say that I enjoy the two book series about Belgarion more than those of Sparhawk, so the views above concern mainly those books.

WOW, that became one long post, even if it wasn't my intentions. A little defence for Edding, but in no way any hard critic of Tolkien, whom I still consider number 1. Nothing can compare to his work, even if I enjoy the personal touch of Eddings' characters.

J. R. R. Tolkien is more than just a philologist and a fantasy writer.
To be perfectly honest with you, my fellow Barrow-Downers, he is like a father to me.
Despite the fact that I was born fourteen years after his death, I somehow feel that he is really here, teaching me the lore of life. I have never really understood the majesty of Sub-creation till after I came across him. As a devoted æsthete myself, I support his æsthetic and religious wisdom - his profound love for Art.
His way of expressing it is simply unmatched.

The moment I started reading The Lord of the Rings some years ago, I felt a revelation - something eerie stirred within my mind and heart, telling me that something remarkable is come.
After completing the Appendices, I longed for the events of the First Age. So not long afterwards, I received The Silmarillion. And my love-affair with Fantasy Literature shone in full glory, like the light of Telperion and Laurelin. And my primary hobby shifted from Drawing (which is now my secondary activity) to Writing.
He is the reason for the Fairy-stories I am working on.

After The Silmarillion, I managed to gather almost everything involving Tolkien. The books, the essays and the letters, I have read them all; and I say proudly that John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is an example I follow, and will continue to follow.

[Boromir88]

There are a couple things Tolkien does that stands out from other authors that I've read.

At this current time, I'm actually not reading any Tolkien, I'm reading The Chronicles of Narnia (for the first time). I finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and am about to start Prince Caspian. Now I enjoyed reading C.S. Lewis, but I just didn't get the same feel as when I read LOTR. Maybe it would have been better if I read it when I was a kid, but to me The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe just seemed childish. Before that, I read The Hobbit (for the first time), and though that's a book for "children" it really didn't seem childish. When I read LOTR, though it is a fantasy, it just seem real, and seems like something that's believable. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe just didn't seem real.

There is this certain characteristic of a book called plausibility...does the story make sense, is the story believable? Not even believable in our own world, but believable within the book. When I read TLTWTW, in Narnia I just got a sense that anything can happen and certain things seem unbelievable, it's like Lewis' characters are superhumans and can withstand anything.

When I read LOTR, though there is "magic" in the stories, and certain characters seem unstoppable, everything and everyone has limits. NOTHING or NOONE is all-powerful/superhuman (besides Eru)...even the Ring can be defeated. Gandalf can't sit their and launch 50 fireballs, he gets tired, he gets physically worn down. Everything has limits. When I read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, I just didn't get that feeling of plausibility that LOTR has.

Another thing I think Tolkien works well with, and one of my biggest attractions to books (as well as movies) are the characters. Tolkien gives all of his characters a mind of their own. He reiterates it in a letter that I forget, I'll see if I can find it when he's talking about Treebeard, in that that's Treebeards opinion on why trolls were created "in mockery of ents" and that isn't necessarily the truth but Treebeard's own opinion. In Tolkien he gives each of his characters their own minds and their own personalities.

For example, I'm going to take Hama and Beregond. Both of whom are servants/guards of their lords. However, despite being guards, they aren't like the typical "guard of a lord" which are mindless robots that say "yes master." They are both able to judge for themselves what the right thing to do is. Though an order was made that Gandalf had to set aside his staff, Hama made up his own mind and through his own judgement let Gandalf in with his staff. Beregond I hope I really don't have to explain, he disobeys his lord, kills people just to save the Captain who he is so fond of. Everyone in Tolkien has a mind of their own and are able to make their own decisions...again not being mindless robots..."Yes lord."

Anwyay, those are the things that I think puts Tolkien above other authors I have read.

[narfforc]

One of things I find remarkable about The Works Of Tolkien, is their depth. Pick up LotR and turn to any page, and I am willing to bet, that most names of people or places have a history. They do not just appear, there is a link to something else somewhere. There are also mysteries of people or places mentioned, that we can only imagine and discuss on these very pages. The other houses of the Dwarflords, those not of Durins Line, the other Istari, there are so many more things we could have been told, and our hunger burns. I think for me also, I see LotR as one of those stories that could easily fit in the gap between Legend and Myth. It is almost semi-believeable, one would not be amazed if Arthur or CuCulainn appeared followed by Merlin and Angus Og. Many people on a subliminal level recognise this link to our own history of storytelling, and Tolkien has been rightly called The Last Bard. The story Tolkien has created is probably the last great story ever told, and as much as people try and imitate (pick the names yourself), the efforts are but weak copies in many cases. I called this A Never Ending Story because I believe it is, I have read countless stories of The Fourth Age, of obscure times and people, written by people like us for people like us (no harm in that). It is through us this story will continue and grow. To say that the works of Tolkien are engraved in my being is an understatement, I feel nothing like that for any other written word.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by narfforc

The story Tolkien has created is probably the last great story ever told, and as much as people try and imitate (pick the names yourself), the efforts are but weak copies in many cases. I called this A Never Ending Story because I believe it is, I have read countless stories of The Fourth Age, of obscure times and people, written by people like us for people like us (no harm in that). It is through us this story will continue and grow. To say that the works of Tolkien are engraved in my being is an understatement, I feel nothing like that for any other written word.

Oh my gosh, narfforc, for a moment there I thought you had LotR confused with that Biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told but then I realised you meant simply that it is the last great one written. I sure wouldn't think Tolkien would like any graven images made of his work.

[Anguirel]

Is anyone else getting a Tolkien, Tolkien, uber alles vibe from this thread??

Anschluss with Narnia!

[Child of the 7th Age]

A number of posters have made excellent statements about what they see in Tolkien that is outstanding or unique: believable characters, plausibility of plot and world, terrific plot, and appropriateness of language. I could second many of these points. Yet, for me, there is something more going on. Perhaps, Mythopoeia summed it up best. It isn't the characteristics that I see and admire in Tolkien that defines his importance as a writer. Rather it is the personal impact--intellectual, emotional, and imaginative--that those writings have had on me over the years. And it has, indeed, been many years!

I can name individual fantasy writers who made skillful use of language or others who do an excellent job with plotting. Yet, when you get right down to it, I can think of no other creator of myth who so hits me in the solar plexus as Tolkien. My reading of LotR and the wider Legendarium has always been tangled up with my search to find myself. With other fantasy writers, I am reading about someplace far away, a distant and exotic world that is very attractive and holds me spellbound for a given space of time. I set the book down, and the spell ends. With Tolkien, the characters and situations have a much more intimate meaning--they speak to my own personal situations and needs. Because of that, the impact of the writings linger long after I've turned the last page.

I grew up in a tight and loving working class family. My dad was a factory worker. It was a world with great depth, but also a very narrow world. I was searching for a way out. Like Samwise, I was chasing after Elves and Dragons in a culture that was fixed on meat and potatoes. I could identify with Sam and other characters in Lord of the Rings in a way that was immediate and personal. There were other times in life when I was going through periods of definition or struggle. And often in those situations I reread Tolkien and found some episode or character that spoke to me on a personal level. It wasn't just the surface action that attracted me: it was the values and meaning that framed and stood behind those actions. From year to year, my point of interest changed. Sometimes it was Tolkien's loving descriptions of the earth, the struggles that Frodo endured, or the implicit sprituality that shines through certain characters and their ethical choices. But always there was something worth looking at.

I have read a ton of fantasy over the years, starting in the mid-sixties. That was when the Ballentine series came out, along with Ace, Daw, and DelRey, the major providers of fantasy and sf. I've found many authors I've enjoyed to the hilt, but few have made as personal impact an impact as Tolkien. The one other fantasy author I would put in this category, and Cailin mentioned him earlier, is T.H. White and The Once and Future King. Interestingly, I recently ran across an interview with Shippey where he talks about his own affinity for White and how White and Tolkien were in some sense similar. Both authors were affected and repelled by the horrors of war in the 20th century, yet recognized the fact that the conditions we face in the world sometimes require good men to stand up and fight. In both White and Tolkien, I sense what difficult dilemmas the world sometimes presents to us and, as I get older, I gain greater appreciation of how these two authors managed to encapsulate this dilemma in the actions and choices of their characters.