I Think He Set Out to Write Epic Fantasy, Yes.
The Name With No Man Send a noteboard - 08/12/2009 04:25:36 PM
I somewhat disagree - I don't think RJ intended for this to be a great literary work or even necessarily a great fantasy story. I think he set out to tell a good story with enjoyable characters.
A lot of the mythological and symbolic parallels, for example, are not referenced beyond surface similarities, and we don't see any deep analysis on the part of the characters.
I don't think there is anything wrong with writing a series for the purpose of entertainment; it is only a problem if it is taken too seriously.
A lot of the mythological and symbolic parallels, for example, are not referenced beyond surface similarities, and we don't see any deep analysis on the part of the characters.
I don't think there is anything wrong with writing a series for the purpose of entertainment; it is only a problem if it is taken too seriously.
He specifically listed the Trilogy as inspiration (as well as War and Peace, and lest the allegation be again raised, I don't consider "inspired by" synonymous with "comparable to.") In a work so large a certain amount of thematic elements are inevitable even if the author doesn't consciously intend them, and in any book it's often hard to see which deeper themes are of this type and which deliberately presented. fionwe has referenced themes of free will vs. determinism, gender inequality and incomplete/inaccurate information and I'm forced to agree at least two of those are unmistakably present unless we simply refuse to see them. We can debate whether that was deliberate, but debating whether it happened seems redundant.
The Wheel of Time's Great Themes, Edited to Include Those I See.
- 06/12/2009 05:58:08 AM
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So, What Are They?
- 06/12/2009 09:36:56 AM
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Putting names into a blender isn't the same as weaving together great themes.
- 06/12/2009 03:17:05 PM
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No, Indeed It Is Not.
- 06/12/2009 04:37:23 PM
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Oh my God...trying to use agape in context of this series is overkill to the nth degree.
- 07/12/2009 04:12:56 AM
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Jordan May Not Always Execute It Well, But I Believe It's There (Now We Face Details in TGS.)
- 07/12/2009 04:28:05 PM
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Read what Larry's Short History of Fantasy says about Jordan.
- 07/12/2009 05:56:03 PM
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I Have to Agree With Fionwe's View the Characters Are Deeper.
- 08/12/2009 04:19:07 PM
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I'm done with this thread.
- 08/12/2009 06:21:41 PM
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Fair Enough.
- 08/12/2009 07:02:04 PM
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If it were just about Jordan I could ignore this last ridiculous comment.
- 09/12/2009 03:56:47 PM
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Louis La'mour said about himself he wasn't an author so much as a storyteller...
- 06/12/2009 03:41:09 PM
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Ha. Funny, I feel the same way, and come to the opposite conclusion.
- 08/12/2009 08:42:41 AM
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I've never been able to finish the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Too boring, with fairy tale characters
- 09/12/2009 12:28:26 PM
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That Is a Great Shame.
- 09/12/2009 01:27:44 PM
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I enjoyed the Silmarrilion though...the part about the Valar and their comparative strengths...
- 09/12/2009 01:39:47 PM
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That's.. too bad, I guess?
- 09/12/2009 08:40:49 PM
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Seems to me you've inverted it.
- 08/12/2009 08:48:07 AM
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One Way or the Other Their WoT Origin Must Be the Stories We Know (Slight Spoiler Alert.)
- 08/12/2009 03:18:30 PM
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I don't really see any "great" themes per se, just an enjoyable story, like the pulp serials.
- 07/12/2009 03:32:43 PM
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I Think He Set Out to Write Epic Fantasy, Yes.
- 08/12/2009 04:25:36 PM
471 Views