I'm just curious what /lit/s opinion of tolkien is
are you mega hipsters like /mu/?
thoughts on life of pi by dostoevsky?
>>7800083
My favorite in the Harry potter series
>>7800072
tolkien wrote good children's books, that's all there is to it desu senpai
>>7800072
>tolkien
>>7800072
He is well liked
tfw no remembers the glorious meme>>7800083
we rarely tolk about him
>>7800131
oh you
>>7800072
Tolkien is decent, but expect maximum contrarianism here of almost everything that's slightly popular.
Lord of the rings was sick. The rest of these guys are fags.
>>7800150
contrary to what is often said /lit/ has been opening up for the last few months
>>7800207
assuredly just post contrarianism, it'll cycle back around
>>7800218
no it won't
>>7800072
To be honest, I bought almost every book of Tolkien and:
-LoTR: reasonable story-line, but pretty bad writing ( I hate his pseudo old English) and even worse character development (Frodo is basically a fucking pussy throughout the whole book).
-The Hobbit: this is basically a children's book, so I can't really criticize it
-the Silmarillion: I didn't like reading it, but i truly respect its complexity. One of the most amazing books I've ever seen
>>7800072
Amazing world-builder. Boring storyteller. The Silmarillion is probably my favourite book of all time.
>>7800218
neo-sincere redditism
>>7800248
>I hate his pseudo old English
>He likes modern English
>this is basically a children's book
It IS a children's book. He wrote it for his fucking child.
If anybody ITT likes GoT, or prefers it to LOTR, please castrate yourselves before I do. This is your only warning.
>>7800338
>It IS a children's book. He wrote it for his fucking child.
That's what I fucking said you ignorant fool
>I hate his pseudo old English
I hate it because it's forced and superficial. He can't write one paragraph without using thither or hither
>>7800248
Main character is Sam. That's where all the meat of the character development happens.
>>7800150
The real contrarianism is in thinking that because something is popular, it must therefore be good.
This is overwhelmingly NOT the case; whether in regards to books/movies/music or games.
Tolkien, in regards to books, is an exception to the rule.
>>7800346
>That's what I fucking said you ignorant fool
No, you said "it's basically a children's book."
You may as well be pointing at a garden hose and say "It's basically a garden hose", when no secret was ever made of that fact.
>He can't write one paragraph without using thither or hither
>thither and hither aren't worse
I'm sorry your puny brain can't comprehend proper English.
>>7800373
yeah and children's books are as a rule pretty shit
>>thither and hither aren't worse
what the fuck
>>7800373
>No, you said "it's basically a children's book."
not him, but that's just some autistic nitpicking desu
>>7800391
*words
Oh shit, I made a typo. I guess that invalidates my argument.
You win this round.
As far as I'm concerned, LOTR is a literally triumph and the national epic of Britain
>>7800248
Im loving the Silmarillion right now, just finished Beren and Luthien. It was amazing
>>7800421
*literary
>>7800338
>“The so-called ‘children’s story’ [The Hobbit] was a fragment, torn out of an already existing mythology. In so far as it was dressed up as ‘for children,’ in style or manner, I regret it. So do the children.”
based. any child worth their salt can appreciate works as complex as LOTR, even more complex.
>>7800346
I dont think you can call LOTR bad writing just because you dont like the thematic use of thither and hither
I mean, it WAS written in 1937, you can hardly criticize it for the words it uses. You don't criticize Poe or Doyle like that do you?
>>7800429
When I was 11 the Hobbit was popular with kids my age. A lot of the interest came from the lotr movies being released
Why does everyone hate Tolkien's prose? The way he described the river and shores of Amon He was so fucking comfy. He's capable of some beautiful imagery if you ask me.
>>7800309
>Amazing world-builder. Boring storyteller.
Agreed. Only book of his I actually enjoyed was The Hobbit.
>>7800474
same with me, although a few of us also read LOTR in anticipation
kids aren't so dumb is tolkiens point
>>7800072
His mythos is a magnificent world that can be appreciated on many levels. I'd rate his as high as any other book, for those with discerning eyes.
>>7800594
Philmarillion > silmarillion
>>7800603
...Of course entry into popular culture has perverted the mythos beyond recognition for most. The very limited understanding of ME is the norm, sadly.
>>7800072
The mythology he created is beautiful, poignant, comprehensive, and has an unified vision behind it. It's well worth the time to read it in its entirety.
Sadly the movies lack pretty much all the subtler elements and while I understand that the medium is different and has different demands, the Hobbit trilogy is the final proof that Jackson is like a little kid who can't see past the elves, swords and pretty vistas. If you've only watched the movies, you will have a wrong idea about the work's merits.
DOES NO ONE REMEMBER THE EBIN MEME THREAD WHICH STARTED FROM A SILMARILLION THREAD AND START: 'Why is this so awesome'
I SPENT 3 DAYS BUMPING THAT THREAD WITH PURE SHIT TO MAKE AN EVERLASTING LEGACY OF MEMERY AND NO ONE REMEMBERS. FUCK YOU ALL
I've been told I should read Children of Hurin before the Silmarillion, can yall back that up?
>>7800485
I take issue with his dialog mostly. And he writes like an 19th century translation.
>>7801523
Probably, the Silmarillion tells the story in short form (less than a page) and Hurin is a decen sized novel.
I enjoyed it a lot.
>>7801513
The movies are better paced though. Tolkien shits the bed when it comes to multiple concurrent narratives.
>>7801528
>b. 1892
>Attended a pre-war English Public School
>Writes like a Victorian scholar
Shocking
>>7801541
The fact that he comes from a long line of stiff awkward writing doesn't excuse it.
>>7801550
>Stiff lipped British scholar writes like a stiffed lip British scholar.
>Good enough for a contrarians enmity.
>>7801560
>shitty writer writes like shit
>saying the shitty writer writes like shit in order to defend the shitty writer for writing like shit
>>7800072
>are you mega hipsters like /mu/?
all the idiots from /mu/ come here and make threads about infinite jest and shitpost in threads like this
>>7801536
It's not even about pacing or any kind of basic storytelling thing, it's about the unique vision Tolkien had.
Also the narratives actually work better in the book. Example, when Gandalf and the crew get to the gates of Mordor with the army and meet the envoys of Sauron, we haven't yet been told the narrative of Frodo getting into Mordor. So when the envoy pulls out Frodo's gear, it's a powerful moment, because all appears lost, and shortly after that the narrative goes to Frodo's journey, one which you're anxious to read now because you want to know how his stuff ended up to Sauron. Was he caught? Where is the ring? What happened?
In the movie both narratives are told simultaneously so the scene has no power, you know Frodo is fine.
Very good genre fiction. Not substantially better than ASOIAF.
>>7801584
>he read the book before seeing the movie
lmfao what are you a fucking nerd or something?
Great great writer besides all the fantasy. I can't remember another writer that knew how to describe a landscape in so much detail without being boring, he really knew the world outside his room (unlike other fantasy writers) and he also knew how was war and hiding from the enemy
>>7800072
He's no Kipling, although he can hide his racism better
>>7801586
>Not substantially better than ASOIAF.
plebs please GTFO
>>7801536
>people who have never actually read the book
>>7800072
I liked him a lot. I loved The Hobbit as a kid, but The Lord of the Rings always intimidated me for some reason, especially after seeing the movies I had the impression that the book would be super serious, but when I finally got around to reading it last year I found that many parts of it were as light-hearted as The Hobbit, and it really felt like a proper sequel. The movies made me think it was just battles and mostly about Aragon and Legolas killing orcs, but it's actually mostly about the hobbits.
Silmarillion is goldmine if you like history. It shows the depth of Lotr as well.
>>7800072
Tolkien receives little-to-no credit for his status as the pre-eminent Old English scholar of his generation. He expanded the scope of linguistics to include creative usage and alteration of "dead" languages. He modernized the fairy tales, legends, and religions of the ancient world and morphed them into what we now consider to be the standard conventions of fantasy writing, e.g., elves, dwarves, wizards.
>>7803408
Only someone who has read it could tell you how fucking lazy it is to follow one set of characters through the book and then go back in time and play catch-up with the other set of characters for the other half of the book. And only someone who's read it could tell you how Fellowship has some seriously shit filler that fucks over the only potentially good book of the three.
