/lit/ - Literature

So, China Miéville rags on Tokien quite a bit. So much that I've honestly started wondering--has he ever actually read anything by the man?

I mean sure, the basic complaint is understandable enough. Generic D&D-based fantasy is boring, characters rehashed, no originality in the conflict, no real creativity, etc.

But here's the thing--Tolkien's works don't have those problems! Sure, they kicked off the elves 'n' dwarves 'n' orcs 'n' dragons trend, but as far as the actual storylines go they don't match up with Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms crap at all, and that is exactly what is so amazingly good about Tolkien: the fact that even now, fifty years after his books came out, they continue to avoid the same pitfalls that generic fantasy writers fall prey to. The Hobbit mocked the idea of a typical adventuring party before the typical adventuring party was even conceived! The entire point of the Lord of the Rings was that it -wasn't- a battle between Aragorn the Destined King and Evil Sauron, but rather a conflict which hinged on an apparently insignificant little hobbit.

In fact, I'd say that Miéville's own protagonists--bookish, unheroic types for the most part--owe more to Frodo Baggins than anything. So what's he got to bitch about?