/lit/ - Literature

Shitty genre fiction for plebs.

Good at lore, absolutely terrible at writing.

The Hobbit is a better work but Rings is still worthwhile, however I kinda wish it had never existed as some of it's worst characteristics have become traits of the fatnasty genre which flourished in its wake

My first real big books were The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I think I must've read them all 5 times or so. I loved them so much I burned out on them, haven't touched them since I was about 13.

heh, "lore"

btw I'm a girl

>>2740395
Like what?

>>2740459
everything from the past half century that calls itself fantasy

>>2740454
>btw i'm a girl
bitch i will slap you silly

on a more related note, lotr was meh at best.

>>2740459
Length, building of lore that is never used, the meek prevailing (admittedly this is not fantasy exclusive).
Although Rings is short when compared to modern fantasy (one and a half GRRM books will surpass it) it really started the trend of fantasy books having to be at least a trilogy which, in addition to making slow reading, leads to fuckloads of padding, somehow of even less consequence than Rings' Bombadil section.

>>2740492
LotR was one novel until the publisher decided to split it up into a trilogy, you ignorant faggot.

>>2740499
Great, now explain exactly how the fuck that changes anything, idiot

>>2740499
The lack author's intent doesn't remove the problem, faggot. The thread is not titled "What does /lit/ think of Tolkien"
(If Rings is a singular work it is still overly long)

>>2740509
>lack author's
*lack of

As literature, it's sub-par and genre.

But by itself, it's a unique and masterfully performed body of work. Nobody has ever done anything of the sort before or since.

>>2740499
Actually, it's six novels sold in three volumes, not one.

>>2740391
>Good at lore, absolutely terrible at writing.
He's not Lovecraft, he's by no means terrible. Just mediocre.

But, though LotR fails as a novel, it excels as myth. Which was the point.

>>2740513
It's one book.

>>2740527
It's six.

Well shit, I thought it was entertaining

>>2740542

/lit/ is like the /a/ of books. They hate everything outside of a few universally agreed upon masterpieces. Don't feel bad.

>>2740545

>They hate everything outside of a few universally agreed upon masterpieces.

Many of us do.

Not all of us.

>>2740361

I read it in high school and loved it then. It's the only fantasy I've ever enjoyed. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it now.

Also, on the subject of Tolkien, Roverandom is a mindfuck (or was, at least, to my fourteen-year-old self), and I've never met anyone else whose read it, might be worth a read-through again.

>>2740542
Your question gets asked every fucking day. Be thankful you received any replies

>LOTR
>not the best thing ever written
kill yourselves

>>2740545
Actually, no, neither /lit/ nor /a/ are like that.

>>2740545
>/lit/ is like the /a/ of books
No shit, Sherlock. It's also a 4chan board, but for books.

>be in College in 1976
>somebody gives me Lord of the Rings
>open book to read and see elaborate map of imagined world
>think to myself wtf?!?!
>who has time for this nonsense?
>I didn't
>never have since

it's about fairies and shit I think

pic unrelated: girl I would like to fuck

>>2740545
>perceives entire community as singular entity with singular opinions
GJGE

Jesus Christ, the fuck is wrong with you people. LotR is an incredible trilogy. It is well written with an amazing lore. IT IS LITERATURE. Anyone who disagrees is part of the group that only holds the the most famous books in high regard, and regard all fantasy as shit.

>>2740565
literature != good
>amazing lore
nice beard

>>2740561
try harder
>>2740562
try less drone
>>2740565
>blasphemy

>>2740568
>try less drone
wat

>>2740566
>!=
nice pimples

>>2740570
>being retarded
just stop

>>2740568
>>2740575
shut up

>>2740578
>>2740578
You shut the fuck up, at least I'm being constructive.

>>2740579
no you're not

is interesting

I liked, for your genre, is good, in my opinion

>>2740582
N U R?

It has aged surprisingly badly as a whole, as a quest you read from beginning to end. However, opening chapters as well as numerous passages throughout the book are still the highest points of fantasy literature.

there are a few good books that could have been called fantasy had the whole genre not been subsumed by this tolkien-esque drivel (tolkien being a mediocre author in the first place), but fantasy readers simply would not like them. they are too challenging and literary

is total shit and waste of time

>>2740586
> surprisingly badly

>>2740603
>i ask for the highest eloquence and aestheticism in one's use of adverbs on an online internat image message board forums

>>2740587
>Tolkien professor of English at Oxford
>Taught the modern generations of writers how to write
>Mediocre writer
totally legit

What about Silmarillion?

>>2740512

'genre' is not a quality

>>2740623
It wasn't completed. It is essentialy a book to learn about the lore.

>>2740621
True. Most English professors at top universities are mediocre writers. Problem?

>>2740606
What the fuck is wrong with you?
J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the best high fantasy authors.

A book loved by chronic masturbators. Almost as awful as Dune.

pic unrelated: Girl I would like to fuck.

>>2740635
No, he's just one of the most popular. That's not the same thing.

inb4 subjectivity

>>2740623
>What about Silmarillion?
It doesn't exist. Tolkien didn't write it. It's just a compilation of some of his tales.

It's grandiose, though. Passable literature, impeccable mythbuilding.

>>2740643
I disagree.

>>2740654
Bully for you.

What you guys are ignoring, I think, is the fact that there is an immense amount of thought and deliberation at the base of these stories. The idea behind Lord of the Rings and Middle-Earth was to create a myth with an Anglosaxon character.
I think Tolkien succeeded admirably, incorporating lots of elements from European history and myth in an interesting way. Examples are Gondor as the stronghold of civilization, besieged by destructive forces ((Eastern) Roman Empire), the horse-culture of Rohan (Goths and other barbarian allies of the Romans), the symbolism of rings (Nibelungensaga; Draupnir, which was Odins ring), and following from that last remark, the grey wanderer who is really a god in disguise (Gandalf - Odin). There have been countless books written about all the different mythological and historical references in Tolkiens work, and they reach further than I could ever speak of in this post.

Other than that, it also makes for entertaining reading.

>>2740668
yeah, it's just too bad he spent all of that time and effort on something worthless, lol

>>2740662
>Bully

Pure rubbish.
Let's burn it.

>>2740669
I see its worth and I admire him. There are scores of people who do. And besides, creating this myth was in the first place something he did for his own reasons.

the only worth it could have possibly had would have been in reviving interest in norse mythology, but the nerds who read it only care about tolkien's own mythology..

>>2740680
You are very wrong my friend.

>>2740680
Untrue.

>>2740682
An ally! Thank you.

>>2740391
>absolutely terrible at writing

troll? or would you care to provide an example of bad writing?

>>2740711

why didnt the lord fly the hobbit to isengard? ok

>>2740715
i don't see the relevance of that 'Team Fortress' bard-class character

Silmarillion > LOTR

>>2740744
They're both awesome.

>>2740711
>>2740715
Let's not pretend it's the pinnacle of literary excellence because it isn't. It is however a beautifully crafted and intricate world that, due to it's accessible writing, appeals to a lot of people