Are There Any Valid Criticisms? (aka Kalessin's Rant)

[Birdland]

I must admit that I was, and, to a great degree, still am prejudiced against the fantasy genre. The only fantasy books that I read are by either J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. I don't read their books because they are fantasy; rather, I read them because they are amazing and thought-provoking works of literature. It is difficult to find fantasy worth reading because the good books are buried under stacks of cheap novels.

ElanorGamgee - Dang It! That's what I'm talking about! (Birdie's fuming now!) You're not going to find the "good" fantasy books in the the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section of your local bookstore. You're going to find them in the "Literature/Fiction" section!

So go and seek them out, and declare them for what they are. Really great Fantasy Literature. That's where you are going to find the works of T.H. White. That's where you SHOULD find the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

We need to stop letting critics declare that Sci-Fi and Fantasy are the Red-Headed Step Child of the literary world, and make great authors stop denying that their works are NOT "just" Fantasy novels!

(OK, Birdie's done fuming. Think I'll crack another beer.)