[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Mansun

What is wrong with having a try for one's own satisfaction? Tolkein did this, thinking that knobody would have any interest in his work. Anyway, as I said, it would have to be an intelligent person with at least a highly respected college degree (perhaps a PhD even) with lots of desire to stand a realistic chance of reaching the level of intricacy & literacy required.

Nothing is wrong with that. I am not trying to lead anyone away from his attempts, I just want to point out that this is not going to be the first neither the last attempt to do that, and I believe a writer's motivation should stand on his own reasons and not on catching up with some other writer's work.

Originally Posted by Sir Kohran

Maybe the problem is that typical fantasy by itself simply isn't very interesting to read about or watch. Dragons, 'mages', cities, magic swords, demons...I don't know about everyone else but it all comes across as frankly dull. Does anyone else feel this?

You are pretty much summing up my feelings. Yes, that's it. I am not saying that for example Paolini is totally bad, but personally, I daresay everyone could write what he did. Or - and that's the real trick - everyone is writing that. Cliché and nothing as much inventive - everything was here before in LotR, Star Wars and the Riftwar Saga (I mean the dragon riders now); but why not, it could be - but there is nothing more. Nothing of his own invention, as far as I am concerned.