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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 3569022" data-attributes="member: 22779">Buh?&nbsp; So, The Beatles are now a genre?&nbsp; Elvis is a genre?&nbsp; Justin Timberlake is a genre?Gimme a break.&nbsp; Tolkien is writing in the High Fantasy genre, but, the High Fantasy genre, despite protestations to the different, doesn't begin or end (well, possibly begin <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ) with Tolkien.If I write music that sounds exactly like the Beetles, am I being innovative and original?&nbsp; Not terribly.&nbsp; Can I be popular doing that?&nbsp; Certainly, but, that's not the same thing.&nbsp; Terry Brooks' Shannara series begins as a complete rip-off of Tolkien.&nbsp; There are endless middling to bad fantasy novels where the races are pretty much Middle Earth races and magic looks a lot like Gandalf.&nbsp; That's not being original.&nbsp; Nor is it in keeping with genre.&nbsp; That's simply trying to ride the popularity of someone else.&nbsp; Tolkienesque, which is sloppy shorthand for a certain kind of high fantasy is not a genre.&nbsp; At best it's a description of a subset within a genre.&nbsp; But, within the larger genre of fantasy, there are many, many other options which can be explored and haven't been beaten to death over the past half century.It would be pretty difficult to have a Western without cowboys.&nbsp; Possible, but, difficult.&nbsp; But, Louis L'Amour is not a genre.&nbsp; He's a major player in the genre and his work certainly influences many others, but, he's not a genre in and of himself.&nbsp; In the same way, Tolkien is seminal to the fantasy genre.&nbsp; No one will dispute that.&nbsp; But, having had more than my fill of Tolkien look-alikes over the years, I'm more than happy when settings and other RPG books look to some different inspirations.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 3569022, member: 22779"] Buh? So, The Beatles are now a genre? Elvis is a genre? Justin Timberlake is a genre? Gimme a break. Tolkien is writing in the High Fantasy genre, but, the High Fantasy genre, despite protestations to the different, doesn't begin or end (well, possibly begin :) ) with Tolkien. If I write music that sounds exactly like the Beetles, am I being innovative and original? Not terribly. Can I be popular doing that? Certainly, but, that's not the same thing. Terry Brooks' Shannara series begins as a complete rip-off of Tolkien. There are endless middling to bad fantasy novels where the races are pretty much Middle Earth races and magic looks a lot like Gandalf. That's not being original. Nor is it in keeping with genre. That's simply trying to ride the popularity of someone else. Tolkienesque, which is sloppy shorthand for a certain kind of high fantasy is not a genre. At best it's a description of a subset within a genre. But, within the larger genre of fantasy, there are many, many other options which can be explored and haven't been beaten to death over the past half century. It would be pretty difficult to have a Western without cowboys. Possible, but, difficult. But, Louis L'Amour is not a genre. He's a major player in the genre and his work certainly influences many others, but, he's not a genre in and of himself. In the same way, Tolkien is seminal to the fantasy genre. No one will dispute that. But, having had more than my fill of Tolkien look-alikes over the years, I'm more than happy when settings and other RPG books look to some different inspirations. [/QUOTE]

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