Will I like Dragonlance books?

[jonesy]

Yes. Licensed fiction is almost entirely crap. Authors who are good when writing their own stuff almost always produce crap when constrained to write licensed material.

More blanket statements. Most of those are crap too. Anyone can make up statistics.

Don't kid yourself. The best writers (read: popular) get a lot of freedoms when given outlines for what to write. Like Knaak and Pierson.

 

[Storm Raven]

More blanket statements. Most of those are crap too. Anyone can make up statistics.

You might have noticed the "almost always" - perhaps you should realize what that means. I'm not sure what you mean by "making up statistics", since I didn't use any statistics at all in my post. We may be getting to the root cause of your liking for the literary dregs that constitue licensed fiction.

Don't kid yourself. The best writers (read: popular) get a lot of freedoms when given outlines for what to write. Like Knaak and Pierson.

And yet, the licensed fiction they have produced, is crap.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

OK, anyone who continues beating this poor dead draconian any further after this point has to go read "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," just because it's awesome and no one's mentioned it on this thread yet.

 

[jonesy]

You might have noticed the "almost always" - perhaps you should realize what that means. I'm not sure what you mean by "making up statistics", since I didn't use any statistics at all in my post.

"Licensed fiction is almost entirely crap" is a statistic, and one I consider very flawed. But whatever man, the only step left in the argument seems to be the - no it's not, yes it is, you're a doodyhead, no you are - type so I'm just going to forget this yet another DL bash and leave you in your illusions.

OK, anyone who continues beating this poor dead draconian any further after this point has to go read "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," just because it's awesome and no one's mentioned it on this thread yet.

Now there's something I can agree with completely.

 

[diaglo]

Y'know, I kind of liked the comic book adaptations of the first two Chronicles better than the novels.

The comic book adaptation for Dragons of Spring Dawning is still forthcoming.

they did the same with the Drizzt books of the Forgotten Realms.



as for the OP by VtheU. i say give them a go. you will like them or you won't. they are pretty much very similar for the first 6. and most of the revision work or fallout from the first 6. the ones after are somewhat different but pay homage/notoriety to the original cast of characters

 

[Storm Raven]

"Licensed fiction is almost entirely crap" is a statistic,

No, it is not. If you think it is, well, then there just isn't any helping you.

going to forget this yet another DL bash and leave you in your illusions.

I'm not sure how pointing out that every single Dragonlance related book (and almost every licensed title I have ever read) demonstrates weak to awful writing is an "illusion". I have read plenty of Dragonlance. They range from mediocre to really, truly, putrid.

I'm sorry that this evaluation upsets your delicate sensibilities. Actually, I'm not - since the books are not very good, and advocating them as worth reading is simply cruel. My opinion of the Dragonlance books remains the same, however, since it is based upon reading several of the things.

I'm going to go read something worthwhile now - probably some Niven.

 

[jonesy]

No, it is not.

Then there's a fault in the translation and I don't know how, or why, to explain it.

I'm not sure how pointing out that every single Dragonlance related book (and almost every licensed title I have ever read) demonstrates weak to awful writing is an "illusion".

Because it makes you appear someone arrogant enough to presume that the things you dislike couldn't possible appear worthwhile to anyone else. People like different things and you can't cordon their likes and dislikes into clear categories, especially not the same ones you are placing your own into. I'm sorry if it baffles you that I like both Dragonlance and (say) Niven, but I do. That there seems to be a need to keep calling them names makes it look like you are trying to convince yourself more than anyone else. Just as it baffles me why anyone would be so vehemently hostile towards a piece of literature. There's a billion different novels out there and I don't expect to like all of them, but neither do I expect everyone else to hate the ones I don't like.

 

[GSHamster]

I'm not sure how pointing out that every single Dragonlance related book (and almost every licensed title I have ever read) demonstrates weak to awful writing is an "illusion". I have read plenty of Dragonlance. They range from mediocre to really, truly, putrid.

Out of curiousity, why do you keep reading them?

I'm not really sure how to trust the judgement of a man who reads plenty of mediocre to really, truly, putrid books.

 

[amethal]

If you have not read at least one book each of these authors -
. . . then I just don't see how you can be a reasonably well-read fantasy fan

George R.R. Martin Yes
Ursula K. LeGuin Yes
C.S. Lewis Yes
Patricia McKillip NO
Gene Wolfe Yes
Lloyd Alexander NO
Susan Cooper Yes
Andre Norton Yes
H. Warner Munn NO
Fritz Lieber Yes
Michael Moocock Yes
Guy Gavriel Kay Yes
Larry Niven Yes - but only sci-fi
Orson Scott Card Yes - but only sci-fi
Poul Anderson Yes
Lois McMaster Bujold NO
Edgar Rice Burroughs Yes
Lin Carter Yes
C.J. Cherryh Yes
China Mieville Yes
Piers Anthony Yes
Roger Zelazny Yes
Jack Vance Yes
Fred Saberhagen NO
Robert Silverberg Yes - but only sci-fi
Terry Pratchett Yes

So I guess I'm nothing like a well read fantasy fan.

Its a shame Terry Brooks, Weis & Hickman, R.A. Salvatore, David Gemmell, Janny Wurts, Raymond E Feist, Mercedes Lackey, Bernard Cornwell, Stephen Donaldson, Stephen Lawhead, Lord Dunsany, Mervin Peake, Ray Bradbury, Rudyard Kipling, E.R. Eddison, M John Harrison, Sheri S. Tepper and a host of others I have read don't count.

 

[Storm Raven]

Out of curiousity, why do you keep reading them?

I don't really any more. I read the first couple series when they first came out, which were mediocre to bad. I gave up on them then. Since then, I have had people tell me "oh, but this series is really good", so I went through a phase where I would take them up on their recommendations and try them. I was pretty much universally disappointed.