What other fantasy books do YOU read?

[Lalwendë]

I've decided to just ignore what he says about Tolkien, it's his 'spin'. And he's a very opinionated man so he says controversial things. Lots of the British intelligentsia revile Tolkien - I think it's best to ignore what they say on the subject. His writing speaks for itself though, and it's amazing. To write what are basically books for children and young people which are so multi-layered and complex is a marvellous thing. His work is completely unpatronising, something which I found limits me from enjoying CS Lewis (I do tend to agree with him on Lewis), and it isn't afraid to be difficult.

The books will probably have continued appeal as there's a generation now growing up watching Doctor Who which is also not afraid to be difficult and throw bags of science and philosophy into the fun.

I find they get better with re-reading. Which tempts me to do this all over again and thus add to the stack of things I want to plough through this summer...

[Gwathagor]

That's interesting; I feel precisely the opposite about Lewis and Pullman. C.S. has always seemed to me fatherly rather than patronizing, whereas Pullman comes across as egotistical and often just plain mean-spirited.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Gwathagor

That's interesting; I feel precisely the opposite about Lewis and Pullman. C.S. has always seemed to me fatherly rather than patronizing, whereas Pullman comes across as egotistical and often just plain mean-spirited.

I agree with you speaking about him as a person, he's pretty aggressive in his arguments, though that's par for the course in the UK these days, and he's mild compared to most of the TV pundits. And CS Lewis was a very pleasant person apparently (even John Betjeman might admit that, and they were famous enemies ).

But I could never get on with Narnia which is a huge shame as it's full of magical stuff and I've loved the films. Maybe it was my age when I tried to read it for the first time. I was 12 and already onto adults' fiction so it might have been lost on me. I always feel a bit sad about it really.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

But I could never get on with Narnia which is a huge shame as it's full of magical stuff and I've loved the films. Maybe it was my age when I tried to read it for the first time. I was 12 and already onto adults' fiction so it might have been lost on me. I always feel a bit sad about it really.

That's interesting. My experience went the opposite way: at first I way drawn to the magic and adventure, then I sort of cooled off because it was a bit too childish, but now I have a kind of nostalgic-y feeling about that childish tone and I almost like and appreciate it more now than I did at first.

To write what are basically books for children and young people which are so multi-layered and complex is a marvellous thing. His work is completely unpatronising, something which I found limits me from enjoying CS Lewis (I do tend to agree with him on Lewis), and it isn't afraid to be difficult.

Difficult. That summs it up fairly well, doesn't it?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

That's interesting. My experience went the opposite way: at first I way drawn to the magic and adventure, then I sort of cooled off because it was a bit too childish, but now I have a kind of nostalgic-y feeling about that childish tone and I almost like and appreciate it more now than I did at first.

If the little chap ever wants them reading to him then I suppose I might get another go at them. And I'd rather he attempted them before reading anything by Tolkien, because I think this also spoiled them for me. After reading Lord of the Rings when I was 12, I've been an extremely critical reader of other fantasy works. In fact in the immediate aftermath, the one fantasy epic which did manage to grab me was Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake.

Since then, I've enjoyed other fantasy series and novels, notably His Dark Materials, A Song of Ice and Fire, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Harry Potter (I have a deep admiration for JK Rowling as a person) and Earth's Children. I've never really got on with Narnia, Discworld or Shannara - for example. Maybe it's just personal taste...