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Message: <blockquote data-quote="nikolai" data-source="post: 2279817" data-attributes="member: 10130">This is the fatal mistake of assuming that if something has (a) swords and (b) sorcery, then it is Swords & Sorcery. If only it were that simple! To use an analogy, saying that LOTR is S&S is like saying that if things in England from 500BC-400BC were pretty dark, then it must be part of the Dark Ages. Just having swords and sorcery aren't diagnostic for something to be S&S. S&S was coined to describe a certain style of medieval fantasy found in pulp magazines. It differs from LOTR in style and tone, is more action orientated and (classically) has a muscled swordsman as the hero pitted against a sorcerer. Pinning it down further is difficult, the best way is to read Howard, Leiber and Moorcock - and then you'll know S&S when you see it.In defence of the people getting bashed by the S&S pedants, outside of the sort of people that post here, S&S is used really broadly to include any medieval fantasy. The LOTR movies were called S&S everywhere - this is probably correct - even if the books aren't S&S. S&S stories and films did had a huge influence on the LOTR films, there are all sorts of places in the story where Tolkien goes tone and atmosphere and Jackson opts for a big fight.This is what the OED has to say about S&S:<a href="http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/235" target="_blank">http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/235</a>And here is a brief history which includes the classic line "traditional S&S very often begins with a fight and doesn’t stop until the bad guys are lying in a heap of their own entrails."<a href="http://kingsofthenight0.tripod.com/guide.htm" target="_blank">http://kingsofthenight0.tripod.com/guide.htm</a></blockquote>

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