My English teacher believes Tolkien has no literary merit....

[Crash]

You telling me Michael Crichton has no MERIT????

damn, i hate those people... everyone sucks who isn't Emily Bronte....

Bull**** I say

[GameMaster]

Hmm...sounds like your English teacher is bitter. Doesn't want to give the popular books the credit they deserve. Maybe she has something against novels turned into movies. Or perhaps she failed as a writer herself and takes out her anger on being merely an English high school teacher upon her students and the material they tend to enjoy.

[Xantar]

While I certainly don't agree that fantasy or sci-fi novels have no literary merit just because they're sci-fi/fantasy, I do have to say that authors in the genre my and large aren't making it very easy for me to argue otherwise. All too often, I think they concentrate too much on gee whiz bang stuff. "Look, I created an entire world!" or "Look! I conceptualized a new technology!"

A case in point is Ringworld, Larry Niven's novel which is considered by many sci-fi buffs to be a "classic," mostly because it envisioned a world in the shape of a ring around the sun (just like Halo). That's all well and good, but the story itself consists of some explorers wandering around the place and looking at things. That's not only boring, it tends to make the book into something more like a technical exercise rather than a work of literature.

It's an unfortunate fact that because of the genre, sci-fi/fantasy authors think they can get away with mediocre characterization and story development so long as they present us with lots of cool gadgets or spells or something. I'm not saying that books to match Dickens don't exist in the genre. I hear Song of Fire and Ice is pretty good (though I haven't managed to get a hold of it). And I personally think Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic makes very good jabs in the right direction.

But, sci-fi/fantasy is a very popular genre, and like anything where a lot of product is produced, the vast majority of it will be crap.

On the other hand, some people seem to think that if you dared to enjoy reading something, it must not be literature. There's stupid people on all sides, I guess.

P.S. Sorry, but Harry Potter really isn't great literature.

[Stonecutter]

Originally Posted by Xantar

It's an unfortunate fact that because of the genre, sci-fi/fantasy authors think they can get away with mediocre characterization and story development so long as they present us with lots of cool gadgets or spells or something.

*Cough*TOMCLANCY*Cough*

[Krypton]

Tim Dorsey is my favorite author.


the book "Cadillac Beach" is a classic.

[DarrenMcLeod]

Krypton - Every Time I Die kicks ass.

Also, I'd love to see someone use The Da Vinci Code on an AP Test. They'd get destroyed.

[Xantar]

Originally Posted by DarrenMcLeod

Also, I'd love to see someone use The Da Vinci Code on an AP Test. They'd get destroyed.

I can see it now...

When I read the subject for the essay question on this exam, I found my mind totally blown. I couldn't believe the shocking revelation I had just had. The idea was revolutionary. It was going to turn the world upside down. And all the clues had been sitting there right in front of me all this time! How could I not have noticed it before?

It was clear. The clues were planted right there in the text. Obviously, the test writer was trying to convey an important message using the medium of one of the oldest and most respected standardized tests in the nation. But nobody had ever noticed it before. Now the world was never going to be the same.

But time is against me. I have to make sure this message gets out or else a terrible secret will be lost forever. I have to work as fast as I can now to let the truth be known. We've been duped for all this time! It's crazy! But I have to stop now and focus. There's just five minutes left in my time!

What am I going to do now? How am I going to deal with these shocking discoveries? How can I live my life in the world now knowing what I know? People have probably died protecting this secret. Surely they will stop at nothing now to silence me. Maybe you'll find it too hard to believe once I tell you, but it's absolutely true. Every description I give is accurate, and all the dates from history are real. This is what happened!

But time has just run out. I'll just have to wait until my next AP exam to talk more.

[DarrenMcLeod]

Originally Posted by Xantar

I can see it now...

When I read the subject for the essay question on this exam, I found my mind totally blown. I couldn't believe the shocking revelation I had just had. The idea was revolutionary. It was going to turn the world upside down. And all the clues had been sitting there right in front of me all this time! How could I not have noticed it before?

It was clear. The clues were planted right there in the text. Obviously, the test writer was trying to convey an important message using the medium of one of the oldest and most respected standardized tests in the nation. But nobody had ever noticed it before. Now the world was never going to be the same.

But time is against me. I have to make sure this message gets out or else a terrible secret will be lost forever. I have to work as fast as I can now to let the truth be known. We've been duped for all this time! It's crazy! But I have to stop now and focus. There's just five minutes left in my time!

What am I going to do now? How am I going to deal with these shocking discoveries? How can I live my life in the world now knowing what I know? People have probably died protecting this secret. Surely they will stop at nothing now to silence me. Maybe you'll find it too hard to believe once I tell you, but it's absolutely true. Every description I give is accurate, and all the dates from history are real. This is what happened!

But time has just run out. I'll just have to wait until my next AP exam to talk more.

Brilliant.

[Ginkasa]

Originally Posted by Xantar

While I certainly don't agree that fantasy or sci-fi novels have no literary merit just because they're sci-fi/fantasy, I do have to say that authors in the genre my and large aren't making it very easy for me to argue otherwise. All too often, I think they concentrate too much on gee whiz bang stuff. "Look, I created an entire world!" or "Look! I conceptualized a new technology!"

A case in point is Ringworld, Larry Niven's novel which is considered by many sci-fi buffs to be a "classic," mostly because it envisioned a world in the shape of a ring around the sun (just like Halo). That's all well and good, but the story itself consists of some explorers wandering around the place and looking at things. That's not only boring, it tends to make the book into something more like a technical exercise rather than a work of literature.

It's an unfortunate fact that because of the genre, sci-fi/fantasy authors think they can get away with mediocre characterization and story development so long as they present us with lots of cool gadgets or spells or something. I'm not saying that books to match Dickens don't exist in the genre. I hear Song of Fire and Ice is pretty good (though I haven't managed to get a hold of it). And I personally think Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic makes very good jabs in the right direction.

But, sci-fi/fantasy is a very popular genre, and like anything where a lot of product is produced, the vast majority of it will be crap.

On the other hand, some people seem to think that if you dared to enjoy reading something, it must not be literature. There's stupid people on all sides, I guess.

P.S. Sorry, but Harry Potter really isn't great literature.

Yeah, I realize that most sci-fi fantasy ins't really all that good. Mostly my anger was at including Tolkien specifically.

And I was just quoting her words; I realize Harry Potter is not great literature.


/me shrugs and walks away

[BlueFire]

Originally Posted by Crash

You telling me Michael Crichton has no MERIT????

damn, i hate those people... everyone sucks who isn't Emily Bronte....

Bull**** I say

Wuthering Heights is awesome.

Sorry, continue.