D&D General Are You There D&D? It's Me, J.R.R. Tol-KEEEEN!

[Clint_L]

edit: never mind.

Let's just say that I am unaware of Tolkien saying or writing anything intentionally bigoted, even if some aspects of his world building seem dated and colonial.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I was referring specifically to Rowling's comments on her sources of inspiration. Tolkien was pretty open about where he was coming from in terms of sources.

I apologise for de-railing this railess thread. Let's get back to what it's really about,
Snarf-tickles.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

Twelve pages? In the empty shell of a Snarf-shaped husk? For shame, people, for shame. No, I'm not angry

Just disappointed.

 

[Mistwell]

Posted by accident too soon. Still editing. Sorry.

ETA- somehow, I managed to overwrite everything I just wrote. I think that's a message of some kind. Sigh.

I disagree with your opinion on this topic and frankly I am outraged you'd say that. Outraged I say!

What were we talking about again?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I call shenannigans, Ms. Rowling.

Whatever you may think of someone as a person, calling them out as a liar requires evidence, and there is nothing in HP that can be directly traced to Tolkien (who, contrary to some opinions, did not invent fantasy and used many existing tropes).

One curious thing though - she is a fan of the band Blue Oyster Cult, and Blue Oyster Cult have connections to early D&D, and Micheal Moorcock.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

The comment upon which I commented said she didn't read fantasy. A quick google supports that. Rowling has said, in an interview with the NY Times, that she doesn't like fantasy and SciFi and doesn't read them.

So I'm happy to stand by my call of shenanigans. Because, no, I don't believe anyone could write something with that many fantasy tropes without at least some knowledge of the genre.

 

[Hussar]

The comment upon which I commented said she didn't read fantasy. A quick google supports that. Rowling has said, in an interview with the NY Times, that she doesn't like fantasy and SciFi and doesn't read them.

So I'm happy to stand by my call of shenanigans. Because, no, I don't believe anyone could write something with that many fantasy tropes without at least some knowledge of the genre.

Heh. The ghetto of Fantasy and SF is strong. Margaret Atwood swears up and down that The Handmaid's Tale is not SF and that she has never written SF in her life.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The comment upon which I commented said she didn't read fantasy. A quick google supports that. Rowling has said, in an interview with the NY Times, that she doesn't like fantasy and SciFi and doesn't read them.

So I'm happy to stand by my call of shenanigans. Because, no, I don't believe anyone could write something with that many fantasy tropes without at least some knowledge of the genre.

Most “fantasy” tropes are common in both mythology and pop culture. Most folk know them without reading adult fantasy novels. What I suspect Rowling is doing is conflating “fantasy” with children’s literature. She has said she thinks fantasy is “for kids”. So she probably read Narnia*, The Magic Faraway Tree, Five Children and It and Jack and the Beanstalk as a child but considers them “children’s literature” rather than “fantasy literature”.

Also, by listening to Blue Oyster Cult she was consuming fantasy without actually reading it.


*Edit: Rowling has confirmed she liked and was influenced by The Chronicles of Narnia.

 

[Kromanjon]

Whatever you may think of someone as a person, calling them out as a liar requires evidence,

Sadly it does not. You could call someone a liar by gut reaction or educated guesswork or any number of other reasons.

I think what people are mostly reacting to is that Rowling has said she doesn´t read or even like fantasy as a genre. Pare that with the fact that she´s written one of the best selling YA series in fantasy ever and many have probably bought these books or (like me) bought them for their children.

Now I do think people want to pay authors for their work but there is this notion that they should be artists putting their passion into their writing. Rowlings denouncement of the genre she´s writing in is akin to an admittance that it was "just business, nothing personal" and the whole of the HP franchise suddenly turns in to one big cash grab. As someone who likes writing myself (but doesn´t make money of it) I do understand this sentiment while the realist in me understands that everything that can make money can be boiled down to a cash grab.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Heh. The ghetto of Fantasy and SF is strong. Margaret Atwood swears up and down that The Handmaid's Tale is not SF and that she has never written SF in her life.

when it comes to SF Micheal Crichton and Robert Harris are the same .