Do you read non-RPG fantasy novels?

[jerichothebard]

He had great ideas but his actual writing techniques were often extremely poor...

Interesting - that's exactly what I think about Robert Jordan. Some of his world ideas were brilliant - the way magic works in his world, the magical door path thingies, the dream world - but the writing has just been atrocious. I gave it up after #4.

jtb

 

[Morte]

edit: don't want to start a shooting war

 

[MonsterMash]

Generally I've found the D&D related stuff to be pretty horrific, but the Gloranthan related things have been much better (e.g. the collected Griselda stuff from White Dwarf).

 

[MonsterMash]

I really like the concept of a shared gestalt setting, as in Lovecraft and his croneys, so I don't have a problem with writing using someone else's creation. In fact, I'd go further in disagreeing with barsoomcore; some of those considered the very best writers in the English language have borrowed more than they invented in terms of plot, characters, and more (ever read much Shakespeare? Tennyson? Mallory?) Same can be said of other languages: Homer didn't invent the characters of Odysseus or Achilles, and likely didn't invent the plots either.

That said, I don't think many of Lovecraft's little group of friends were particularly talented at all; in fact, I don't think Lovecraft was that great of a writer. He had great ideas but his actual writing techniques were often extremely poor, and most of the rest of the Cthulhu Mythos writing circle didn't even have that; they were merely aping Lovecraft himself.

I'm not entirely sure that even that can be said about Greenwood; I find his prose tedious, and I don't think very many of his ideas are even really that good.

Not in total agreement with this, though borrowing can be something that even the greatest writers use its the originality or skill with which they work with this material that makes the difference.

I'll admit Lovecraft's writing is not uniform in quality ranging between the nearly self-parodic to good, while of the other writers in his circle the quality range is wide between the poor (Derleth) to the capable (Clark Ashton Smith). Robert E Howard did correspond with Lovecraft and I do love the sheer narrative drive of Howard's better work, but recognise he had a slightly limited pallet of characters and styles.

I think the major problem is that most of the authors of the D&D and other games novels are not particularly accomplished authors and a more capable writer would be able to make some better use of the background and produce better work overall. For example Kim Newman/Jack Yeovil has written some pretty good fantasy/horror works, but also done Warhammer tie ins for Games Workshop which are ok, but have the look of 'work done for hire'.

Having just read The Da Vinci code it does appear that a prose style which is not much better than functional can be highly commercially successful, even if it has little artistic merit.

 

[Thanee]

The same way, authors that have RPG versions of their work, such as HP Lovecraft and Michael Moorcock are RPG related.

I answered the poll without this part (as did mostly everyone else, I suppose, since it makes no sense).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Bront]

Only RPG related books I read were the Gord the Rogue (which wasn't RPG related as much as a telling of various games that were bing played) and the first 2 Dragonlance series. I have the first oathbound book I ment to read at one point, and might try one of the Eberron books if they're not bad, but I have so much to read at the moment I'm not likely to get to those.

 

[Desdichado]

Interesting - that's exactly what I think about Robert Jordan. Some of his world ideas were brilliant - the way magic works in his world, the magical door path thingies, the dream world - but the writing has just been atrocious. I gave it up after #4.

Well, if it means anything I think that about Robert Jordan as well. He's writing is tedious, but I put up with it anyway because he's got some good ideas in there.

 

[Mark Hope]

I don't read rpg-based novels. I used to (I read the first few Dragonlance novels when I was a kid and forced myself to plough through the Dark Sun books out of completist designer obsession) but I can't really be bothered with them anymore. For my fantasy fix, I'd much rather read genuinely talented authors like Clive Barker, Michael Moorcock (another vote here that saying he is rpg-related is more than a little daft), Iain Banks, Stephen Donaldson, Clive Barker, Neil Gaimain, Tolkein, RE Howard and Clive Barker.

 

[diaglo]

Ever read Thomas Covenant?

yes. i still read all of them. but when the main character rapes another it ain't something i like to read nor do i feel sympathy or interest in.

 

[just__al]

Waaaay back in the day I read a couple of Gord the Rogue books and I suppose the dragonlance books count. Beyond that, I don't read RPG-related novels.