I am starting to hate Tolkein...

[Squire James]

I consider Game of Thrones as Not My Cup of Tea, which basically means it doesn't really matter if it's any good or not... I suppose many can say the same about Tolkien or Harry Potter.

The particular things that push it into Not My Cup of Tea territory are things that people can argue about ad infinitum. I'm sure even the people who like it can guess what those things are. Similarly, I can see things in Tolkien that can annoy some people, even though I'm one of those people who liked it - perhaps the Hobbit and LoTR being the first non-kid books I ever read back when I was 10 years old had something to do with it!

 

[khantroll]

To the original post, I get it. It's not the content, or being closed minded, or anything of the post. It's the "nerdrage".

Take anime. I didn't see much anime until I was in my late teens, I what I did see I didn't care for. So, when the subject came up amongst people, be it friends or strangers, I'd say, "I don't really care for anime". This would often incite long lectures littered with terms like "manga art", "kitsune", "demon foxes" and "urosuckadoji".

Dang it people, there is a reason that posting about anime on the internet outside of an anime or gaming forum will get you called a hyphenate of the word anime and a specific slur relating to a man's sexuality.

As a result, I made it point NOT to watch anything remotely related to anime for years.

There is some logic to it, really. You make the assumption of that if greater then 70% of the people you meet who are into a specific thing act a certain way, then it must be that those people are attracted to that thing. I don't like them, so logically I won't like it.

In my case, it bears true. I've watch a lot of anime in recent years, and I've found that my tastes are just not into the majority of anime.

I don't care for Tolkien either. I have first editions of all the middle-earth related stuff, and I've read it. I enjoy the fact that his world is so thoroughly crafted, but the final product simply leaves me cold. I'll take Jack Vance or Larry Niven any day.

 

[mmadsen]

Gotcha. I read your post there, and I hope it's ok to just reply here with my thought: seems like a spot-on take on the matter. However, I think there is still room for "firearm" tech even in the framework of 'romantic fantasy' fiction, except they aren't immediately recognizable as such (which may spoil the whole matter on an aesthetics level for those for whom the historically medieval aspect is paramount); for instance, ER Burrough's' Barsoom stories (ray guns and swords) and Star Wars (space wizards with laser swords).

I'm one who long ago realized the 'inspirational soup' of D&D has a lot of 'sci-fi' in it, and is not a stickler for 'pure historical medieval' trappings.

Great minds think alike, Gentlegamer:

Certainly many people don't want guns in their Tolkien-esque high-fantasy game or even in their Howard-esque sword & sorcery game -- while others do want guns in their Burroughs-esque sword & planet game or their Heavy Metal-esque post-apocalyptic game.​

 

[Jhaelen]

Well, 'fan' is short for 'fanatic' for a reason... Luckily most boards have an 'ignore' feature that can be useful.

I usually bow out of threads when I notice they've attracted the attention of the rabid fan faction. It's usually futile to try to continue discussing the original topic, anyway.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Heh, if I hated things based on their fans, I wouldn't be a gamer. Face it, fatbeards and furries and stinky cat guy ...

 

[jaerdaph]

Sometimes it's good to just log off and do something else for a day or two. Or longer. Step back for awhile and pursue other interests. Get together with people over coffee or drinks or lunch and have a good old fashioned conversation. And don't "check in" on social media when you do go out! Call folks up and talk, don't text or email. I find doing that every once in awhile centers me and reconnects me to the real world.

Like Mom used to say, "Why don't you go outside and play for awhile?"

 

[jaerdaph]

Also, get together with people you share a common interest with in person if you want to discuss things that interest you. It's a lot harder to be an asshat douche to somebody who is sitting across the table from you than it is on an anonymous message board (not impossible, but certainly a lot more socially awkward).

 

[Herobizkit]

FWIW, I've been hating Tolkein since the late 80's.

I enjoyed the Hobbit, to be fair.

 

[Desdichado]

To answer the somewhat unspoken questions... just because... I love Tolkien. Think he's the greatest writer in the English language. HOWEVER, I'm tired of seeing Tolkienism in fantasy. In part, it's because Tolkien's imitators only invite unflattering comparisons to him, but in part because fantasy needs to be doing different things. The pseudo-Tolkien treadmill has been well served over the years, and I've got my eye on other types of fantasy now.

I'm also not a huge GRRM fan. In fact, I recently just abandoned an attempt to listen to Game of Thrones on CD (from the library) while commuting. I read half of it about 12-13 years or so ago--when it was still relatively new--but it was a bad time for me to pick up a huge new doorstop of a fantasy series, so I quit then and decided that I'd be better off waiting unti lthe series advanced a bit. But frankly, I don't think I want to read it after all. The tone, the themes--the story may be great, but I found myself really not in the mood to subject myself to the more unsavory aspects of the series, where GRRM seems to deliberately set out to shock his audience. I think I'm going to forego the series, and not have in the back of my mind that I'll read it one day anymore after all.

So, anyway. Non sequiter alert.

 

[Gentlegamer]

FWIW, I've been hating Tolkein since the late 80's.

Well whaddaknow, a hater-hipster.