Dragonlance

[Eldorian]

Man.. feel the hate.. growing inside you.. come to the Dark Side..

The dragonlance books weren't the lowest form of trash.. and I seriously doubt you wrote anything as good in high school, Assenpfeffer. Afterall, if I was an author of a best seller, I would let people know who I was on a message board such as this. Those books introduced me to reading novels, and to DnD.

As for the bashing of Jordan, the Wheel of Time is my favorite series, although I do agree that the latest book introduced plot when it should have been ending plots. Or at least addressing old plots. However, I have the feeling when it's all over, this book will have been neccissary, in that long winded Jordan way I love.

I'm frankly sort of tired of all this Tolkien worship going on. Man takes some common elements from mythology, gives them a twist, and alot of world building, writes a decent story, and he's god. Just because it was the first good fantasy and inspired many others to do the same, doesn't mean it was the end all best fantasy series EVAH.

Eldorian Antar

P.S. don't start bashing Dune, I don't wanna have to come back.

 

[Ranger REG]

Just my opinion.

My opinion differs from yours then. I find them enjoyable reads, even comparing to Tolkien LOTR, which I also find enjoyable if I skip those songs he's written.

I'm not looking for the highest literary achievement. I just prefer a good read every now and then. I just let the academic literary critics sort them out, and to be honest with you, I usually ignore them like I ignore most of the movie critics.

 

[Zeddan]

I'm frankly sort of tired of all this Tolkien worship going on. Man takes some common elements from mythology, gives them a twist, and alot of world building, writes a decent story, and he's god. Just because it was the first good fantasy and inspired many others to do the same, doesn't mean it was the end all best fantasy series EVAH.

Key words...writes a decent story. There is Jordan's problem. Tolkien has flaws, yes, but he wrote a darn good story. Tolkien as a classic has reason to be held in such light. I doubt WOT will ever have that kind of longevity, unless of course Jordan is on book 20, 15 years from now.

I used to be a huge Jordan fan, of course I also used to watch Baywatch, but the man is too verbose for no reason and (click on literal analysis mode) his characters have no depth. His plots are great, But his characters are all interchangeable. (click off)

I happen to like a number of fantasy authors better than Tolkien. George Martin and Gene Wolfe come to mind.

P.S. don't start bashing Dune, I don't wanna have to come back.

Dune - Rocks, Dune Messiah - Blows, Children of Dune - Rocks, reapeat pattern....
I agree the Dune novels were great, though Herbert could definitely have used a better editor, he was a bit sloppy at time.

A true fan can realize the shortcomings in his favorite things.

 

[Ranger REG]

Key words...writes a decent story. There is Jordan's problem. Tolkien has flaws, yes, but he wrote a darn good story. Tolkien as a classic has reason to be held in such light. I doubt WOT will ever have that kind of longevity, unless of course Jordan is on book 20, 15 years from now.

What Tolkien wrote is the first modern fantasy work, which is epic. There is something to be said of being the first. Everyone tries to emulate you.

Unfortunately, by doing so, you don't advance fantasy literature. You're just following.

Nevertheless, some of those works that follow the Tolkien model are good reads.

 

[Endur]

The first DragonArmy Engineers stories were pretty good.

Comedy, hilarious, but good fun. As good as "Lord Toede".

After a while, the Draconian engineers starting re-using their jokes and weren't quite as funny.

i.e. in every single story, the non-engineer commanders always look down on the Draconian engineers and betray them. The formula works well once or twice, but in every single story?

Tom

 

[RyanL]

To get back on topic...

I loved the core Dragonlance books by Weis and Hickman. They're just plain excellent in a Harry-Potter-intended-for-a-less-mature-audience kind of way. Dragons of Summer Flame is still the only book to ever make me cry (okay, there was another, but I was young and impressionable so it doesn't count).

-Ryan

 

[uv23]

I'll always have a warm spot in my heart for Dragonlance. As mentioned above, I can't remember another book making me cry. Spoiler in case you haven't read them (I can't remember which book it happened in):
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When Flint died, and Tasslehof reacted so strongly, I think I balled my eyes out.


I'm almost scared to reread them in case a lot of the wonder came from reading them when I was a young'n. I did read the new trilogy and enjoyed it, though it didn't have the same impact as Chronicles and Legends.

 

[Orius]

Now by Dragonlance, do you mean the main Weis and Hickman stuff, or all the other filler books in the series?

Myself I've read Chronicles, Legends, the Second Generation Anthology, and Summer Flame. I'd say it's more or less average fantasy fiction, better than game-related fiction in general, but not high literature. Chronicles is the weakest I think, because it's tied in with the original modules. The later stories were written more independantly, and are better reads.

Tolkien I think is often placed on a pedestal, because he made fantasy fiction popular. He may have his flaws, but fantasy fiction, and even D&D probably wouldn't exist at least in the form we know them if it wasn't for him.

I'll agree that Jordan has written better in the past. WoT is getting a little drawn out and stretched thin; he seems to be focusing on irrelevancies while shortchanging fans when it come to stuff they really want to see. However, I'd say he's a pretty good writer, he's created one hell of a world, and when he writes well, it's hard to put the book down.

 

[Assenpfeffer]

My opinion differs from yours then. I find them enjoyable reads, even comparing to Tolkien LOTR, which I also find enjoyable if I skip those songs he's written.

I'm not looking for the highest literary achievement. I just prefer a good read every now and then. I just let the academic literary critics sort them out, and to be honest with you, I usually ignore them like I ignore most of the movie critics.

Hey, it's cool - we all have our dirty little guilty pleasures. But our enjoyment of something doesn't change what it is.

 

[Ristamar]

...of course I also used to watch Baywatch...

You are going to burn with Hasslehoff...

May God have mercy on your soul.