If You Were To meet JRR Tolkien would you Get Along With Him?

[Extollager]

I think I would have found C. S. Lewis more comfortable to be around. I love Tolkien too. But there was an element of playacting in Tolkien's presentation of himself, etc. that might have been hard for an American from the Midwest like me to keep up with. I think Lewis would have been more straightforward and "accessible."

 

[BAYLOR]

I think I would have found C. S. Lewis more comfortable to be around. I love Tolkien too. But there was an element of playacting in Tolkien's presentation of himself, etc. that might have been hard for an American from the Midwest like me to keep up with. I think Lewis would have been more straightforward and "accessible."

You know a great deal about literature , I think you could more then held you're own with either of them.

 

[Extollager]

Lewis would meet me where I was. Tolkien was no snob -- but he might be a bit confused or puzzled by how someone like me who taught English knew so little about the language -- and he would be right.

 

[Pyan]

I think you'd have to be more specific in the question as well - I suspect that the Tolkien of 1936 would be rather different to the JRRT of 1966...

 

[Hugh]

I doubt I'd have got on with either of them once I reached sixteen or seventeen unless we had to share a prison cell. Politics. Interests. Religion. Alcohol. Modes of discussion.

That doesn't stop me loving much of their writing.

 

[BAYLOR]

I doubt I'd have got on with either of them once I reached sixteen or seventeen unless we had to share a prison cell. Politics. Interests. Religion. Alcohol. Modes of discussion.

That doesn't stop me loving much of their writing.

I think I would get along with C S Lewis. He's the more likable of ht two. At least, that's my impression.

 

[Judderman]

Maybe intellectuals were not the only people he liked? He would have had few equals anyway.

 

[BAYLOR]

I think he would find fault with the Fansy genre of today.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I think he would find fault with the Fansy genre of today.

Too much gore, too much death, too much sex. He preferred fantasy that could be read by all ages, and depending on your life experience you would get different things out of it. That is why he is such a fantastic author.

 

[BAYLOR]

Too much gore, too much death, too much sex. He preferred fantasy that could be read by all ages, and depending on your life experience you would get different things out of it. That is why he is such a fantastic author.

Then he wouldn't like Game of Thrones or The First Law Books by Joe Abercrombie.

He might like Robert Holdstock's Ryhope or Patricia Mckillips.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Then he wouldn't like Game of Thrones or The First Law Books by Joe Abercrombie.

He might like Robert Holdstock's Ryhope or Patricia Mckillips.

Personally I think he would hate GoT; it's everything that LOTR isn't.

Having said that, I do enjoy GoT , although I doubt I would go back and re-read it like I have with JRR T's work

 

[BAYLOR]

Personally I think he would hate GoT; it's everything that LOTR isn't.

Having said that, I do enjoy GoT , although I doubt I would go back and re-read it like I have with JRR T's work

He would hate the sex and the violence on GoT, that much is for sure. I would imagine he would find even less to like about The Thomas Covenant Chronicles by Stephen R Donaldson.

He was not wild about Clark Ashton Smith . If that came up in our conversation , it would end in an argument which , im not at all sure I would win. Sorry, I have a bit of a soft spot for Clark Ashton Smith which, makes me a bit un-objective .

In truth, I respect what Tolkien achieved as a scholar and a writer and , the great literary legacy that he left to the world.

 

[Pyan]

Personally I think he would hate GoT; it's everything that LOTR isn't.

Agreed. I’ve read GoT once, and the books haven’t moved from the shelf since. I’ve literally lost count of the number of times I’ve reread LotR, in whole or in part.
I also find it unforgivable that GRRM has apparently sold out to allow HBO to complete the series.

 

[BAYLOR]

Agreed. I’ve read GoT once, and the books haven’t moved from the shelf since. I’ve literally lost count of the number of times I’ve reread LotR, in whole or in part.
I also find it unforgivable that GRRM has apparently sold out to allow HBO to complete the series.

The HBO series ruined GoT for me.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I really enjoyed the earlier tv series of GoT. Originally I'd avoided them thinking it must be a cheap rip-off of LOTR, but when I watched one episode I was hooked and watched all 3 seasons then available.

However the last few series I found incredibly disappointing; absolute garbage in fact. This is what led to reading the books, and I noticed it was round about where the books finished that the tv show rapidly went downhill.

As I mentioned earlier, I enjoyed reading the books. but it's a once-through experience for me. Whereas LOTR I could happily re-read cover-to-cover and gain (almost) as much enjoyment as the first time. In fact there's usually something new I pick up on my re-read. My favourite part is always the part of the story up to reaching Rivendell.

 

[Hugh]

I take some pleasure in being one of those people who has not watched a second or read a sentence of GoT. I’m sure one hundred million people can’t be wrong, so maybe one day.....

 

[BAYLOR]

In The Hobbit and LOTR , you love characters for who they are and , the places in middle earth for what they are. A part of me wishes that Midde Earth and its characters were real. Yes, If I could , I would step into Middle Earth, meet the characters and have adventures. I suspect im not alone in that sentiment. I think all us would take a trip to that place per real.

 

[BAYLOR]

Hm, I wonder what he woulda about Raymond Feist's Rift War series or David Edding's Belgariad book?

 

[paranoid marvin]

Agreed. I’ve read GoT once, and the books haven’t moved from the shelf since. I’ve literally lost count of the number of times I’ve reread LotR, in whole or in part.
I also find it unforgivable that GRRM has apparently sold out to allow HBO to complete the series.

I can only imagine what pressure would have been applied to him to do so. Imagine millions of tv viewers being made to wait 10 years (or more) after watching several seasons of the programme. It wouldn't suprise me if he was contractually obligated to finish te tv series within a certain period of time.

I do also wonder how close the ending of the book was/is to the ending of the tv show. Given the significant negative feedback given, perhaps this was how he intended to finish up, and he has felt compelled to go back and rewrite it.

But tbh for me it wasn't the way the story ended that made it go downhill so badly, it was the seeming fixation of forcing situations that allowed for epic on-screen battles. This regardless as to whether they made any sense. Which is a real shame , because what made the first 4-5 seasons so great was the political intrigue and the believability in the world he created. This all went out of the window in the last 2 seasons. Which is a real shame.

 

[Valtharius]

I want to know of his opinion of the recently rediscovered Russian LOTR adaption.

Khraniteli - Wikipedia

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