Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 21:08:47 -0500
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
From: Candy Madigan <candymadigan at mindspring.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Talking SF, oh my;
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

And frankly, I much preferred the Brooks books to the Tolkein books.  Yet
again, we have found someone who is considered 'great' by the majority that
I can't bear to read (of course, with Tolkein it's too that he's too
daggone wordy)  Which is why I didn't like the (o phooey, I forget the
author's name) Dragonbone Chair/To Green Angel Tower etc., books.

At 12:45 PM 03/23/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>At 09:11 AM 3/22/02 -0500, Mike wrote:
> >Sam Lubell cut a swath with this:
> >
> >>Actually Sword of Shanara is responsible for the birth of the modern
> >>fantasy genre.
> >I would suggest two different names: Donald Wollheim and Lin Carter
> >
> >DAW for taking advantage of the strangeness of US Copyright law which cast =
> >the LOTR into the public domain (this was changed with a court ruling I =
> >believe), thereby forcing the hand of JRRTs US & UK publishers to finally =
> >authorize a lowly mass market edition of the books.
>
>I disagree. Tolkien, even in his mass market edition, merely showed what a
>genius could do.  And there's always a shortage of geniuses.  Brooks showed
>that any idiot could *copy* that genius' world and have a big hit.  That
>opened the gates for a flood of Tolkien clones.
>
> >>Lin Carter for his Adult Fantasy series which showed that there was a =
> >market for good solid fantasy, a lot of classics, plus some new writers.  =
> >In general a set of carter's Adult Fantasy novels is a fine selection of =
> >fantasy.  Carter himself could barely write himself out of a wet paperbag, =
> >and it's bizarre to know that posthumous sequels to the Thongor books are =
> >being planned.
>
>It was my impression that none of the Ballentine Adult Fantasy books sold
>anywhere near as well as as Sword of Shanahara and most of the modern
>fantasy genre appears to follow the copy Tolkien mode rather than the
>original and lyrical fantasy of the Adult Fantasy series.