Xray the Enforcer Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Ah, that's cool. I'm just feeling a little punchy today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Yeah, I can see your point. I wonder, though, if there aren't at least a couple of applicable contributions he made to English literature as a whole (I'm not the person to really answer this -- maybe DF or ?? would be able to elaborate.) In my own ignorant internal universe, I usually lump LotR in with Beowulf or the Song of Roland -- thematically, not stylistically. Yes, Tolkien had a fairly good translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight/Pearl that made the rounds about 40-50 years ago and his name first was made in medieval Black Country literature (esp. poetry). As for "placing" him, he had quite a few decent ideas and some talent in writing, but his better work, writing-wise, can be seen in that gest he wrote that's in vol. 3 of the History of Middle-Earth series. Oh, and because I thought the results would be different on wotmania, I did a similar poll this past Friday (still ongoing) and the top 5 there and those close behind (very preliminary, as most of our viewership is Monday-Thursday). Have 46 different authors nominated so far, so the relatively low point totals don't reflect the 20 or so that have voted so far: 1. Martin (34 pts.) 2. Erikson (22 pts.) 3. Tolkien (15 pts.) 4. Williams (12 pts.) 5. Borges (10 pts.) And just below them: Gaiman (9 pts.) Jordan (8 pts.) Constantine (8 pts.) Wolfe (7 pts.) Feist (7 pts.) I'm so proud of Borges getting that much love there, not to mention Gene Wolfe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Oh, and because I thought the results would be different on wotmania, I did a similar poll this past Friday (still ongoing) 1. Martin (34 pts.) 2. Erikson (22 pts.) 3. Tolkien (15 pts.) 4. Williams (12 pts.) 5. Borges (10 pts.) Gaiman (9 pts.) Jordan (8 pts.) Constantine (8 pts.) Wolfe (7 pts.) Feist (7 pts.) I noticed that unlike here or Malazan, the author who is the supposed focus of Wotmania is only in 7th place, maybe the site is slightly misnamed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faceless Man of Braavos Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Hmm... I think everybody should just accept the fact GRRM is the biggest phenomenon going in the SF/Fantasy genre these days. I get the impression that this fact doesn't sit well with certain folks in internet land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrostar Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 He's the biggest phenomenon among people who read certain message boards dedicated to hashing out who is the best among author... I think that's a pretty limited subset of the SF/fantasy readership we're looking at here. Anyway, all this will soon be moot once TG has destroyed the genre once and for all with his transcendence of tawdry boundaries of style and classification according to "fantasy". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zach Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I didn't include borges because I don't really consider him a fantasy author. I do love him, though. however, if he's included then it seems like murakami probably should be as well, and I also love murakami.... just 5 is impossible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 My (and some others') definition of "fantasy" includes the surreal and the speculative, not just secondary-world, so that's why Borges has received the love so far. Oh, and as for Jordan not being near the top...there's a HUGE difference between our Other Fantasy section and the rest of the site. A good many regulars there tend to actually hate WoT with a passion, which is amusing to me. And now I see I'm getting some there to read Saramago, so I'm a VERY happy camper, even if I'm tired from this new job - I HATE morning work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koth Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 While I know they aren't the top 5 in the genre by any means, they are my top 5 authors: 1. George R. R. Martin 2. Steven Brust 3. Glen Cook 4. Tad Williams 5. Hmm... I guess I just have a top 4, because there are too many authors that can take the #5 spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom the Merciful Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 If it's not too late, here's my vote: 1. Tolkien (LotR + Silmarillion) 2. Martin 3. Bakker 4. Glen Cook 5. Tad Williams (MS&T) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noddy Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 here's my (late) vote: 1. Tolkien 2. Martin 3. Bakker 4. Gaiman 5. Hobb Elrostar-You only have to look at the reviews on amazon (etc) or various book rating sites to see how much of a phenomenon Martins work has become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Ah, but for those who haven't read a tonne within the genre or know a bit about SF/F history, these authors are relatively unknown. However, for those who don't know better, Tolkien = History of Fantasy. Thus votes for Tolkien but not for other historically important SF/F authors. I recently started getting back into fantasy after like a four or five year hiatus. I was kind of wondering why some of those authors don't seem to be on readers' horizons. Leiber is among my all time favorits. Same with Moorcock. Perhaps I'm too old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint777 Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 1. Martin 2. Erikson 3. Bakker 4. Hobb 5. Rowling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronn Stone Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 In order Martin Tolkien Hobb Card (I love the early Alvin stuff enough to forgive the later) Lynch The guy has written one book, but I love it that much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helm With a 'Stache Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Obviously late, but... 1)George R.R. Martin 2)J.R.R. Tolkien 3)Umberto Eco 4)Mervyn Peake 5)Richard Adams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosnik Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 did i miss something? Douglass Adams JRR Tolkien Ursula K LeGuin George RR Martin Neil Gaiman In no particular order, shit it changes with the tide.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddard Stark Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 3. Lloyd Alexander (Prydain Chronicles) Just because books are children's books doesn't mean they shouldn't get mainstream recognition. Although I was seriously tempted to put in the Gaiman just for the Sandman graphic novels for the same sort of reasoning. But I've been playing Amber RPGs for too long to not list Zelazny, I suppose I'm not sure about total crap, but he's definitely not what I'd consider high quality. Or even terribly medium quality. Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles were, I think, the first fantasy books I'd ever read...I must have been around 1st grade. Can't recall what I read after that though... I also noticed that nobody has listed CS Friedman - I think the Coldfire trilogy was a great read, even with some of the moderately cheesy lines. DK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proper Dave Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 1. Erikson 2. Martin 3. Bakker 4. LeGuin 5. Lynch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerec Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 1. George RR Martin 2. Terry Pratchett 3. J.R.R. Tolkien 4. Neil Gaiman 5. Terry Goodkind (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywolf2375 Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 For interesting reading: Tolkien ( w/ Lewis as an offshot) Moorcock Martin For brainless reading: Salvatore stackpole Weber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryHavoc Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 J.R.R. Tolkien George R.R. Martin Terry Pratchett Tad Williams Steven Erikson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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