Actually, to give Brooks a little credit, from what I understand he was
asked to write Shannara by a publisher who wanted to cash in on the LotR's
popularity. He then took those characters and did go in some very different
directions.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Clark Peterson
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2000 8:16 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Brooks and Tolkien (was RE: [Open_Gaming] The Spirit and
the Letter)
Doug-
Did you say you stopped reading LotR because it was
cliched?
That reminds me of the first time I saw the Godfather.
I didnt see it until a few years ago and as I was
watching it I said "man, this is just like all those
other cheesy mobster movies." Then I realized, the
Godfather wasnt cliched, it created the content others
made cliche.
Same with LotR. It may feel cliched, but that is only
becuase it has been imitated sooooo many times. Star
Wars for example is pure LotR (ok, both technically
draw from the same archtypal hero myth, but that is
getting too nit-picky. I dont think Lucas was reading
Jung, Freud and Campbell and decided to do Star Wars,
I think he was reading LotR).
Give it a chance. Once you get to Moria (the first
half of book one is a little long and unfocused) it
really rolls. And nothing beats Tolkien.
It wasnt voted the best book of the century for
nothing.
Clark
PS--Brooks' first book was a blatant LotR rip off. The
subsequent books went in new directions.
=====
http://www.necromancergames.com
"3rd Edition Rules, 1st Edition Feel"
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