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[A. J. Raffles]

Originally posted by BeefontheBone@Apr 23 2005, 09:15 PM
I think Raffles was saying that Tolkien taught it and that was why his own efforts are so dry and awfully dull.

Yes, that's what I meant. I think he actually meant to imitate Anglo-Saxon poetry, but maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. The Lord of the Rings is actually full of Old English. Just look at the Rohirrim: they're basically Tolkien's idea of the Anglo-Saxons. He even nicked some of their names from Old English literature.

About Harry Potter: that hype in connection with it is certainly not justified, but the books aren't THAT bad either. I'd say they're decent children's books, no more no less. Nothing wrong with reading them, but there's better things around. But all the fuss that's made about them is just ridiculous.
Bloomsbury has actually compiled a catalogue of rules for booksellers in connection with the new book: among other things they're supposed to cover the boxes, put them into a locked room which nobody can get into and not only are they not allowed to sell the book before time, they're not even allowed to read it themselves (which is sort of idiotic considering they're supposed to be selling them). And on "Potter Day" they mustn't start selling the books before 0:00 GMT. Booksellers in other time zones are not allowed to sell them any sooner.

[Sebatianos]

Oh yeah, here's some more:
Edgar Alan Poe (both prose and poetry),
Oscar Wilde: The picture of Dorian Grey, De Profundes, His Fairytales for the grownups...
John Steinbeck - East of Eden;
Tennessee Williams: Night of Iguana, A streetcar named desire, Cat on a hot tin roof;
Samuel Backet: Waiting for Godot;
Jaroslav Boček - The Case of Dr. Karpeta;
Stanislav Lem: The adventures of space pilot Pyxs;
Frenk Bükvič - The bus of fools;
Edvin Fliser: Magicians aprentence;
J. R. R. Tolkien: Sillmarilion (other works aren't really that good);
Enid Blyton: The Famous Five (my childhood memories :whistle: );

I'll keep posting, cos I konw there's plenty more, just can't remeber it right now...

[BeefontheBone]

I used to devour Enid Blyton when I was small, but they're pretty naff in hindsight. Not quite as unpalatable as Narnia is now though - the outmoded dialogue and unpleasant religious content stopped me from reading them again when I last tried.

[drumminfreek]

I liked all of the LOTR books...
my favorite....The Hobbit k:

[Troubled]

Originally posted by omg@Apr 23 2005, 03:44 PM
actually i think you are right, no one in there right minds is gonna type for that long, let alone read all dat stuff, an i cannot, jus cannot imagine a crowley fanatic liking harry potter, it just seems wrong somehow.

Who said I was a crowley fanatic?? About 10% of his work has some merit, the rest is as nuts as he was. I read his works on meditation and after you sought through his BS, there's actually some useful information, although I don't think meditating for 11 hours a day productive. You can try it and let us know.

[Tulac]

Originally posted by Sebatianos@Apr 24 2005, 09:21 AM
J. R. R. Tolkien: Sillmarilion (other works aren't really that good);

Really? Because from what I've heard, the general opinion is that this book is worse...
It wasn't quite finished, and everything is messed up in the book, that's what others have told me, so I didn't take my time to read it...

[Sebatianos]

Well Sillmarilion was his crown work - but he never published it.
It was the story he started writing still during world war 1. It was a complete story that tried to explain how the world came to be, how creatures were created, why different races behave the way they do...
Actually it was more of a pseudo-religious text then anything else. The other works were simply side-stories to this work.
Of course Silmarillion never got that popular - it's not so much into heroic tales - it's more a history book of the Middle Earth.
After J.R.R. died his son published Silmarillion - but he also had to edit it and make a sort of conclusion. Tolkien himself never felt the book was completely ready for the public!

[omg]

the silmarillion is liked by a lotta peeps tho, it kinda reads like the bible, i suppose it is the bible for middle earth fans tho. better is to read the bible i guess, i have read it, (along with the koran, the gita, an some tibeten stuff) and before u diss me let me tell u the bible is full of war, incest, rape, murder, famine, love, death, an black magic (i shall harden his heart ...) well the old testement anyway so its got something for evryone k:

[Spookyfish]

Originally posted by punch999@Apr 23 2005, 03:40 PM
my fav book has to be eragon its such a nice fantasy book and i cant wait for the sequals

I haven't read the book myself, but I can tell that I won't like it for three reasons...

:ranting:
1. Paolini (the writer) had to publish it for himself because no publisher would touch his story to begin with.
2. The title is the definition of the word 'lame'. Quiz: what do you get if you swap the D in 'dragon' with an E?
3. Other people who have read the book has told me it was predicable and without charm. And that the ending was a rip-off of Two Towers.



Sorry to go rambling like that, but I can't take bad fantasy. It's always the same; some evil ruler, some magical item, some lost order, some unlikely hero. Hey, it worked in LotR, but don't rip it off all the time just because it sells. Be creative; it's what fiction writing is all about.

If you like fantasy, there's a whole load better books out there for you to read.

Thank you for the chance to express my hate for cheap fantasy.

[PrejudiceSucks]

Ugh... LoTR. Pseudo-religious rubbish if you ask me. Even the last book has a reference to Jesus/God in it. Also the entire plot is not as involving as those who have seen the films only may think.

The films take the best bits of the books and make them larger. Helm's Deep in the books is about 30 pages, 1/16 of it. In the film it's about 1/3.

But there you are. I like the Wheel of Time books. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is a nice book too.