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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Afrodyte" data-source="post: 2185313" data-attributes="member: 8713">As far as a vision of elves as beings (without the cultural elements), Tolkien's elves are hard to beat, especially the elves of The Silmarillion and The Hobbit.  The elves of Dianne Duane's Stealing the Elf-king's Roses were also very good as well, especially since they seemed a lot like what Tolkien's elves would be like after their long years set in.  Tad Williams' Sithi are very cool too.  I also enjoy Pratchett's <s>orcs</s> elves.The elven cultures I enjoy most are the extremes, especially the ones that have few saving graces.  While I certainly wouldn't want to live in them, reading about them is fascinating.  Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton's Halfblood chronicles has a culture that combines the decadence of imperial Rome, the oppressive sexism of the Taliban, and the dehumanizing institution of slavery in the antebellum South.  However, I also like reading about cultures that present a pretty front while hiding something rotten underneath, something akin to the great houses of Tad Williams' War of the FlowersIn general, I enjoy all elves that are humans infused with magic.  I hesitate to say ideal humans because I tend to find their less than ideal aspects as intriguing as the things that make them "better" than humans.</blockquote>