Influential writers

[pom]

so, while having a chat with some of my friends, we came round to the same old topic of who is the most infuential writer in SF and fantasy etc.

the usual names were there with tolkien asimov, king, rowlings etc but then someone pointed out that you cant turn on the tv, go to the cinema or open a paper with out seeing some reference to vampires, wether its the latest teen film, or vampire fashion etc.

So, does stoker deserve this tag, and will vampires outlive all the above?

 

[Urien]

Influence is one of those nebulous terms; to an extent the further you go back in time the further the ripples of a successful novel/writer extend. Bram Stoker certainly kicked life into the vampire stories and gave it something of its modern shape. So he clearly had a significant influence.

I suspect on your second and perhaps unrelated point, which seems to be something like, are vampires a fad, I think the current popularity is getting tiresome. They are currently fashionable, they will become less so.

 

[iansales]

Depends. You could say someone who popularised an idea has had more influence than the person who originated it. Stoker popularised vampires, Polidori (well, Byron) wrote the first vampire novel. Likewise, Rowling has sold zillions of copies of her books, but her only influence has been in making YA fiction much more popular than it was - she certainly has no influence on the shape of fantasy fiction. Tolkien certainly inspired a whole branch of popular fantasy fiction - but it wasn't until the success of Terry Brooks' Shannara books in the 1970s that it really took off.

 

[thatollie]

Ian, are you saying that Terry Brooks is the most influential writer of Fantasy?
That's an interesting idea (and to some a terrifying idea).

It's that old question "Who watchs the watchmen?"
rephrased...

Who influences the influential?

I don't think it's a case of one person being really really influential, it's a group thing.

The Inklings
The New Wave
etc etc...