I issue the greatest challenge of them all!

[Guru]

Originally posted by Jesterzwild
As I said before, 10 years to do 10 books isn't all that bad. Just because most of us can read a book in a day or two doesn't exactly mean that taking a year to write a book is slow.

- Native Americans came to believe that they were one with their horses. This is nothing new, just a fantasy type spin on it.
- A dark god who used to be the light god until the other gods cast him out? Replace the fist two instances of god with angel, and the last with a singular God and we now have the tale of Lucifer.
- ...
- It's rare to see a hero (in literature) that isn't the underdog or burdened by initially unwanted things. This is definately nothing new.

As I said Tolkien borrowed most if not all of his stuff from old legends/folk tales!

[lurqa_MU]

And who carries the one ring these days?

Frodo has failed?

[cjolley]

That explains Florida!
chuck

[Guru]

LOL

[KvHagedorn]

Originally posted by Gurm
Guru:

Of course it does. The Silmarillion is a multi-thousand-year epic historical overview. On the other hand, the Histories of Middle Earth far surpass any other author's published work, full stop.

As for the characters - Eddings' strongest point, making him one of my favorite authors ever (up there with the late Douglas Adams and JRRT), is his ability to make his characters instantly human, instantly full of depth, and 100% identifiable-with (if that's a real term).

- Gurm

Eddings is so easy to identify with because he took his world pretty directly from our own. The Alorns are the Germanic peoples, with many of the same characteristics, split up into the Chereks (Scandinavians), Rivans(Iceland), and Drasnians(Dutch/North Germany). The Algarians are an odd departure, but I suppose they could be South Germany/Austria. Sendaria is fairly obviously England, Arendia is France/Gaul, and Tolnedra is so obviously the Roman Empire it is pathetic. The Ulgos are probably Jews, The Angaraks are probably Turks or Arabs, the Melcenes are Chinese, and the Dals are Tibetan. I must admit I don't know who the snake people are supposed to be though.. Africans?

You have to admit that Belgarath is practically Gandalf, too.. probably with some of Eddings' own characteristics thrown in.. and Polgara is probably Leigh Eddings' alter-ego. I agree that his characters are very easy to identify with, mainly because they keep up this constant banter with each other, full of good-natured mutual ribbing. The series is certainly a page-turner, that's for sure.

[Gurm]

Originally posted by Jesterzwild
As I said before, 10 years to do 10 books isn't all that bad. Just because most of us can read a book in a day or two doesn't exactly mean that taking a year to write a book is slow.

The point is he's slowing down. The first book was published in February 1990. Then December 1990, November 1991... then 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003...

At this rate, and given that he is well under halfway done with the series... it'll be 2006 before the next book, then 2009, then 2013, then 2017, then 2021, then 2026, then 2031, then 2036... and he might be dead by then... with two more books to go, if we assume he's half-done.

- Native Americans came to believe that they were one with their horses. This is nothing new, just a fantasy type spin on it.

Yup. But Hettar might as well be a rider of rohan, except he's more mongol and less nordic.

- A dark god who used to be the light god until the other gods cast him out? Replace the fist two instances of god with angel, and the last with a singular God and we now have the tale of Lucifer.

And the beginning of the tale of Melkor is a lot like the tale of Lucifer. But there are substantial other similarities between TOrak and Melkor.

- It's rare to see a hero (in literature) that isn't the underdog or burdened by initially unwanted things. This is definately nothing new.

Sure it is. Before Tolkien, fantasy literature was dominated by heroes who either did their heroing because they were SUPPOSED to, or because they wanted to be heroic.

- Gurm

[Gurm]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
Eddings is so easy to identify with because he took his world pretty directly from our own. The Alorns are the Germanic peoples, with many of the same characteristics, split up into the Chereks (Scandinavians), Rivans(Iceland), and Drasnians(Dutch/North Germany). The Algarians are an odd departure, but I suppose they could be South Germany/Austria. Sendaria is fairly obviously England, Arendia is France/Gaul, and Tolnedra is so obviously the Roman Empire it is pathetic. The Ulgos are probably Jews, The Angaraks are probably Turks or Arabs, the Melcenes are Chinese, and the Dals are Tibetan. I must admit I don't know who the snake people are supposed to be though.. Africans?

You have to admit that Belgarath is practically Gandalf, too.. probably with some of Eddings' own characteristics thrown in.. and Polgara is probably Leigh Eddings' alter-ego. I agree that his characters are very easy to identify with, mainly because they keep up this constant banter with each other, full of good-natured mutual ribbing. The series is certainly a page-turner, that's for sure.

Yep. Have you read "The Rivan Codex", out of curiosity? Eddings has a lot to say about fantasy, and about people like *cough* Jordan *cough* (although he doesn't mention him by name) who start writing fantasy without a concrete outline.

Also, he's starting to feel old. It's funny, because "The Redemption of Althalas" really felt like an entire Belgariad or Elenium packed into one volume - sort of a "I'm 70 and might DIE before I finish 5 more books!" thing.

And "Regina's Song" is a TOTAL departure, but then again he has written stuff other than fantasy before.

Now on a NEW topic...

Orson Scott Card is quite interesting. The Alvin Maker series is, by his own admission, foundering and lost - perhaps never to find its way to a conclusion. But it's so well written, so entertaining, and such a COOL concept...

For those of you who don't know, the concept of the Alvin Maker series is this... pretend that all the folklore that came to the new world along with the settlers... was/is real. That there really are people who can dowse, that charms and curses are real, and that the seventh son of a seventh son (who also happens to be the 13th child) is a special and powerful person indeed!

Now, Alvin Miller is the main character. But no less interesting are the peripheral characters - they were important in our world, and just because this is an alternate history doesn't mean that they aren't in that world as well. People like Napoleon, and the other major political figures from both the New World and Old.

VERY interesting stuff.

- Gurm

[Umfriend]

Well this thread has certainly come to life again! I am surprised that no one mentions George R.R. Martin. (No Gurm, it isn't finished yet either, but I am hopefull of this one ) I'd say that within fantasy, this might be as original (after JRRT) as it can get.
Umf

[Gurm]

Martin is on my to-read list. Problem is that my non-fantasy-reading friends like it, so I'm a bit dubious. Plus Julie recommended it in the same breath that she recommended Terry Goodkind, and ... well ... let's just say that I have no respect for authors (*cough*Goodkind*cough*) who try to cram as many $64 words into the opening paragraph as possible. IIRC, his first book opened something like this:

"The unbearable miasma of cacophonic noises echoed through the stand of trees, as echoes of the irredeemable twilight rang like a Gotterdammerung of plaintive cries through the fading light."

Or some shit.

- Gurm

[Gurm]

Julie's favorite thing about Martin is his willingness to kill off characters. I like that, too. Hmm...

- Gurm

[Jessterw]

Originally posted by Gurm
Sure it is. Before Tolkien, fantasy literature was dominated by heroes who either did their heroing because they were SUPPOSED to, or because they wanted to be heroic.

This may be true in modern fantasy, but in literature in general it is not. So Tolkien merely borrowed this aspect from somewhere else.

My point is that Tolkien didn't do anything entirely original himself except for, maybe, his different portrayal of fantasy-type characters/creatures. As I've said before, he merely took the best aspects of the fantasy genre, along with some of the stronger areas of other genres, and created an entirely unique world (in that he didn't use, in some areas, the stereotypical character portrayals found in fantasy before); in essence building a framework for modern fantasy.

Though I could just be guessing here since I don't read fantasy

[Umfriend]

Them non-fantasy readers will be in for a surprise methinks, the world of Martin is becoming more fantastic with each volume. The first really read like a historical novel more than anything else, but wierder things happen later on. And yes, there is no real "main" character, and the ones that can be viewed as such tend to die a lot. I was absolutly shocked when I read how Edd Stark (was that his name) lost his head at the end of volume one. It is definately a nice side of the books of Martin.

I like Goodkind BTW and can't remember having found lines like that. Latest 2 books were weaker for sure, but the decay sofar was far and far less than what Feist experienced.
Umf

[Gurm]

I've never gotten into Feist. Just couldn't get into it.

But NOBODY is as bad as R.A. "Bobbo" Salvatore. Between posing with his broadsword and rolling 23-sided dice, he writes the most horrific garbage the world has ever seen. Bleh!

- Gurm