[Kalimac]

I think a lot of it also has to do with the fact that there is hardly any mythical/fantasy situation or character which isn't found in Tolkien to some extent. Wise old Wizard? Check. Bad Wizard? Check. Fiend plotting world domination? Check. Plucky, unheroic main character who comes through? Check. Banished ruler (Fisher King) returning? Well, you see what I'm saying. A lot of the situations are very archetypal, and it's virtually impossible to write a fantasy novel without incorporating several of them. Writers who have the misfortune not to be geniuses will naturally model their characters and situations - consciously or unconsciously - after the best examples they can think of, which are ... Tolkien's. Or else they try very consciously to make a Wizard, for example, who is very much UNLIKE Tolkien's kind - comic and more human, as was pointed out earlier - and then make a poor job of it by comparison.

Diamond, that's interesting - since my library can't make up its mind! Copies of Tolkien are in young adult fiction, adult fiction AND fantasy/sci-fi. Though admittedly stuff like "The Book of Lost Tales" and the Silmarillion are only in adult fiction, not sure why...unless the assumption is that fantasy readers haven't got the patience or depth for the Sil...well, there you go. I'm not sure why so many multiple copies, though - it's the same thing for Harry Potter, it's in young adult, children's fiction, and adult fiction. The only reason I can think of for that is that a lot of adults don't like being told that they book they want to read themselves is in the same section as "Arthur Visits the White House."

And on a side-note...I've never really enjoyed other fantasy novels, at least not the big chunky saga-istic ones. Terry Brooks and Robert Jordan just bored me terribly. Even fantasy short stories tend to leave me cold. So yes, there's just something about Tolkien...we don't know... [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[ February 22, 2003: Message edited by: Kalimac ]