Pullman rips on LOTR, others

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hickli

Like he wasn't peddling a message? Like he didn't write a sermon? Puh-leez.

All writers--all writers--display a fundamental world view in their work. Lord of the Rings has one--one that puts off some readers because it offers a 'sanitised' version of class social structure.

The presence of world view becomes particularly apparent in science fiction and fantasy where, because the genres are designed to present imagined/alternate worlds, writers can fall into the habit of overemphasising the world view, so much so that it becomes dogmatic rather than merely assumed.

Milton had a similar problem. Swift toyed with the possibilities. It's what puts me off Heinlein. It isn't peddling a message so much as struggling with the genre.