# Tolkien. Genius or Boring?



## Hoot08 (Sep 21, 2006)

Hi I was wondering what ever one thinks of Tolkien's writing. When I was a bit younger I read the Fellowship and found it boring and too wordy, but now I am really enjoying the reread of it and find it very interesting and really catches my attention.

What do you all think?


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## Hakeem (Sep 21, 2006)

Genius.


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## Stewart (Sep 21, 2006)

Absolutely boring, over written tripe. Ambitious, but severely flawed. Needlessly verbose and lacking in style.


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## Kane (Sep 21, 2006)

Tolkien has all kinds of style.


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## Hoot08 (Sep 21, 2006)

Okay then, which type of fantasy writing do you enjoy most, overly detailed ones or action ones, *ie Tolkien v.s. R.A. Salvatore or other new age fantasy writers?


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## blademasterzzz (Sep 21, 2006)

George R R Martin. Ever read him?


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## Hoot08 (Sep 21, 2006)

No, what is he like and what has he written?


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## Talia_Brie (Sep 21, 2006)

Both. You can actually be both.

What Tolkein created is just amazing, but stylistically he is wordy and a little self-indulgent.


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## Mathazzar (Sep 21, 2006)

> stylistically he is wordy and a little self-indulgent.


Yes.

I also like Salvatore's work with Drizzt a lot and I find Terry Pratchett extremely funny.


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## WisdomSeeker (Sep 21, 2006)

Tolkein's writes portray organized thoughts and imaginations beyond my wildest dreams...  I mean...the guy had a whole fantasy world going on inside his head...he must have lived, eaten and breathed this world...and he wrote it down so vivid...genius...pure genius.


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## Spherical Time (Sep 22, 2006)

Talia_Brie said:
			
		

> Both. You can actually be both.
> 
> What Tolkein created is just amazing, but stylistically he is wordy and a little self-indulgent.


I agree.  Tolkien is both.

George R.R. Martin is an amazing writer.


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## Mike C (Sep 22, 2006)

Tolkien was a genius... as a linguist. As a storyteller, competent.


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## discipleofWORD (Sep 22, 2006)

I need to check out the books after watching the Lord of the Rings...

Something I came across today:
I was watching some rerun of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. I saw the contestant using a lifeline to phone a friend and I was surprised to see the question(paraphrased):
What did the character Frodo Baggins have to destroy?
A. Necklace
B. Ring
C. Bracelet
D. Some accessory

The person on the line told him the answer and so the contestant went with B. Guess how much that question was worth. $32,000. (The title "Lord of the Ring" wasn't in the question obviously...)

I'm guessing (and hoping) this was aired before the Lord of the Rings was released in theaters.


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## Amour (Sep 23, 2006)

Genius, plain and simple.


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## k3ng (Sep 23, 2006)

Tolkien made his world believable. Like wisdomseeker said, he lived and breathed his world. It is a masterpiece of creation. But nobody said masterpieces were attention grabbers... much like how I find the Mona Lisa completely unattractive in any sense.


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## Shawn (Sep 24, 2006)

Tolkein is like Shakespeare... We know he's genius but we just don't get why the hell he wrote what he did. Well... I think Shakespeare just wanted notoriety.


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## JLrep (Oct 11, 2006)

Absolutely both. I've tried on several different occasions to get through Fellowship, and I actually did once, but I think I sort of phased out for the last third of the book.

The way I look at it, there's nothing inherently wrong with his writing, and everything _other _than his writing - his plot and characters and consistency - is nothing short of amazing. The problem lies in that the book reads somewhat like a historical account, and even the most interesting scenes become a chore to read after a while. In the end, that's why they made such brilliant movies, when adapted without taking many liberties.


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## Foxee (Oct 11, 2006)

Genius.  At least on the L.O.T.R. series.

And even if someone can prove he wasn't, I loved the stories enough not to care.

The Simillarion(sp?) was a different matter. I couldn't get more than a few pages into it though I tried several times.


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## Polartch (Oct 15, 2006)

The way I look at is that Tolkien was the father of fantasy, pretty much. A little bland by some of today's standards for fantasy, but still a great author.


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## Syren (Oct 15, 2006)

He was absolutely a genius. There are many that think otherwise, but I tend to believe that those who do not understand his writing or don't appreciate the work he put into it simply haven't studied it.

He is the acknowledged father of the genre. Sure there were fantasy stories before Tolkien, and many competent writers in the genre during his time (C.S. Lewis), but none are so widely read and so widely discussed as is JRR Tolkien.

There are bits of genius scattered throughout his writing, and his LOTR series is a fine example of brilliance in writing. Sure it's debated that his character development is underdone, that his plotlines are simplistic... but these are matters of preference. Relating to the genre, I think the underdevelopment of his characters allows for personalization with the reader... creating a tangible requirement that anyone reading the material invest some imagination into their interpretation of the story. That, imo, is genius in fantasy writing.

Regardless, it's all personal opinion... but JRR's writings will be discussed by our children, and our grandchildren. That much is certain.

Define a world as in depth as his, inspire half as many musicians, artists and writers as he has, and let your work survive even half as long as his surely will. I'll call you a genius too.

//Sy


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## Syren (Oct 15, 2006)

Now that I've read other comments, here's my thoughts on the genre's top authors, a quicklist:

*GRR Martin* - Brilliant, but limited in his creation. I think his grasp of emotive writing is the new standard, his style and honesty purely magnificent... but in the only series I've read, _A Song of Ice and Fire_, the overubundance of pivotal characters was a bit difficult to follow, and the depth of environment a bit underdone. IMO, of course, and only a few books into the series.

*David Eddings* - _The Mallorean_, (though many will likely disagree) is the series I look to for how plotlines should run. Absoultely amazing writer, though yes, the story here is simple refried beans, farmboy turns hero. Still, the twists in this series were marvelous (imo) and although I read it many years ago, it remains my favorite, so far as plotline intrigue is concerned. He had a way of pressing his plots forward, keeping me enthralled, and allowing me to follow the storyline without fail.

*RA Salvatore* - Brilliant writing, especially his action sequences. There are simply none better at writing fantastic combat scenes. The best of his many, many books regarding Drizzt was the _Paths of Darkness_ series. He's another author that does a wonderful job of depicting characters and controlling the materials tempo. One of my favorites, especially since I already knew the world he was writing in, thanks to the work of it's creator, Ed Greenwood.

*Robert Jordan* - Honestly, I think while he is master of nothing, he is superb in all facets of writing fantasy. To disect Jordans writing is to study the components written well, in all regards. (imo) _Wheel of Time_, while many will groan about its merit, remains one of my favorites, ever. Yes, farmboy to hero, but hell, that's the general formula of all fantastic endeavors, isn't it?

*JRR Tolkien* - The best world development ever created by an author. To say he was genius, is to say Einstein knew his physics. It simply is. I think he wrote perfectly for his series. That's not to say there are areas that couldn't have been enriched, but I think that in _The Lord of the Rings_, it would have detracted from the story, had he done so; absolutely magnificent writing. (imo)

I could name many other fantasy authors, that do certain aspects of writing well... like Richard Baker and his use of earthy tones... or Neil Gaiman and his suspenseful and wonderous plot twists... Anne McCaffrey and her ability to pull you into a story... or Goodkind, Pratchett, Brooks or Jacques... but isn't it all a matter of taste?

There's a sampling of mine, hope it interests you... lol.

//Sy


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