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Who else loathes..

MonkeyCatcher said:
It seems that I am one of the few who actually enjoyed his books. I'll admit - it took me a few goes to get past the beginning of The Fellowship, but after that I really enjoyed reading them. The Hobbit is one of my favourite books - I aboslutely adored it when I was younger. I do see why some people may not take to his work, though. He can be a tad over-descriptive ;)
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I'm definitely with you here. LotR have always been amongst my favourite books.
 
MonkeyCatcher said:
Sorry, I'm a bit ignorant... what's GN? :eek:
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NO you are not ignorant MK!
GN = Graphic Novel.
Some call them comic books for adults, a somewhat new-ish genre.
Some just plain call them overgrown comic books.
Comic book format, with better art work and more developed plot lines would be my definition. If I knew how to make a link I think I could point you toward a thread in this forum. But 'serious' ones that I have seen include Hobbitt, Proust, Nancy Drew, and the very serious The Plot* by Eisner, although they are few and far in between the Superman's et al.
SinCity also was a fabulous movie IMO based on GN of same name.

*The Plot is a straight-out history to set the record straight regarding the despicable anti-Semitic forgery called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Sorry for the off topic,
Peder
 
I am so glad to see so many other avid readers who don't enjoy Tolkien too. I have tried off and on since I was a teen to read the series. By all "rights" and logic, I should love Tolkien. I've read and loved fantasy since the 6th grade, so I should love the grandfather of the modern fantasy genre, right? Not so. I finally made myself drudge through The Hobbit a year or so ago. I kept waiting for it to get good..
It helps that I know at least two other readers whose oppinion I value, who hold the same oppions as me on this issue. Now I see some of you intelligent people saying some things I've said for years; I feel much better! I still plan to give the series another try. My kids love these books, and they've been instrumental in getting my reluctant reader to read like a fiend now. For that I'm grateful.
 
abecedarian said:
I am so glad to see so many other avid readers who don't enjoy Tolkien too. I have tried off and on since I was a teen to read the series. By all "rights" and logic, I should love Tolkien. I've read and loved fantasy since the 6th grade, so I should love the grandfather of the modern fantasy genre, right? Not so. I finally made myself drudge through The Hobbit a year or so ago. I kept waiting for it to get good..
It helps that I know at least two other readers whose oppinion I value, who hold the same oppions as me on this issue. Now I see some of you intelligent people saying some things I've said for years; I feel much better! I still plan to give the series another try. My kids love these books, and they've been instrumental in getting my reluctant reader to read like a fiend now. For that I'm grateful.
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I Like your taste in music. :) but when it comes to LOTR I beg to differ. I really enjoyed the Hobbitt and the LOTR books. IMHO though there is nothing wrong with some liking and some dis-liking Tolkien. It would be terrible if everyone all liked the same books or anything else for that matter. There are many that do not like the Harry Potter books whcih I also like and have taken my screen name from. Variety in taste is good. :)
 
Well I'm fairly new here so be gentle...:p

For me Tolkien was essentially the single most major influence on the modern fantasy genre. I've read LOTR probably 3-4 times and for me it holds a certain nostalgic quality. Perhaps becasue I first read it more than 20 years ago when we didn't have the knid of sheer variety, volume and popularity of fantasy one sees on today's bookshelves.

Having said that compared to quite a few modern authors like Mievile, Wolfe, Martin, Erikson, M John Harrison etc.. Tolkien's prose is nothing special and the story itself is nothing particularly remarkable when viewed through the lens of the modern fantasy fan. For it's time it was certainly a significant story and body of work, no doubt about that eventhough it could be argued it isn't of the same writing quality or indeed skill of some of Tolkiens major influences and progenitors of the Fantasy genre such as William Morris, ER. Eddison, Lord Dunsany, Willaim Hope Hodgson etc..

For me where Tolkien stands apart at least in one major aspect was the level or extent of his worldbuilding, which I'm yet to see either equalled or surpassed although Steven Erikson comes the closest to this from what I've so far read.

So in a nutshell either love him or hate him there's no denying his influence on the modern Fantasy genre and for that reason alone he remains a significant writer for better or worse within the genre.

My 2C....
 
You can hate some writers (for example Bernardo Altxaga. Please, if you read his books, don't die of boredom) but not Tolkien. Maybe you don't like his stile, or whatever, but I think he is one of the best writers that I know. Well, for me.
 
I just can't get into his works, or the particular genre. I don'tknow, just something about it that bores me to tears.
 
In my humble opinion, I just didn't enjoy his writing style. Didn't care for the movies much either, fell asleep while watching one.
 
I enjoyed The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I found the language a little archaic at times, as I did with his writing style, but I really enjoyed the stories. I read the three LotR books fairly quickly and think that if I had of gone slower I wouldn't have enjoyed them quite as much.
 
XD. Me, too. J.R.R. Tolkien may be credited with creating a new, more interesting, race of elves (before, they were just "little people" who made shoes). But he's not that great of an author. I couldn't get through ANY of his books. And trust me, I tried. I can read Shakespeare effortlessly and this had me stuck.
 
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