cesare
shady's dreams ♥
I wasn't keen on his books, although I've just seen that I have seven
I've only read them once though, never gone back to them. Perhaps I should
RIP David Eddings.
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
I wasn't keen on his books, although I've just seen that I have seven
I've only read them once though, never gone back to them. Perhaps I should
Lemon Eddy
Disliked by dwyer
A pot noodle is shitty food, but exactly what I crave at 3am when I stagger in home.
And David Eddings wrote shitty, cliched formulaic books, but they provided lots of happy reading to many kids.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
I wasn't keen on his books, although I've just seen that I have seven
I wouldn't. My re-read of the belgariad last year made me
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
Much of it was composed before the war. But then, if you'd read anything of what he had to say on the matter, you'd know this.
revol68
what, fucking what?
what the hell has the war got to do Lord of the Rings being a thinly veiled wankfest of Young Englander politics?
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
I was granting you the understanding of the contemporaneous politics applying at the time in relation to when you stated "there is no way the story and imaginery is connected to real world events" - I do apologise.
fogbat
The Talibum
I wasn't keen on his books, although I've just seen that I have seven
I'm surprised I don't have the lot of them lurking on a shelf somewhere. It's exactly the kind of drivel I lapped up as a 13-year old.
Happily, I managed to bypass his work entirely until, during a period of unemployment and extreme boredom, I read a housemate's copy of "The Redemption of Althalus".
I'm not exaggerating when I describe it as one of the worst books I've ever read.
revol68
what, fucking what?
Sorry my real world events were industrialisation. I'm sure there are plenty of readings of Tolkein in relation to the second world war however it wasn't what I was talking about.
Good summary.
Random
Ethnic nalgocrat
Wow 'contemporaneous' you must be a real brain.
Random
Ethnic nalgocrat
Just like children deserve better than junk food they also deserve better than this junk-literature. Plus heroic racism at an early age is bad for the personal development. It's not like there's a shortage of really really good fantasy authors, many for young readers as well, but trash like Eddings, the Danielle Steeles of the nerd world, tend to dominate the market unfortunately.
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
I like that word.
Agreed, and Tolkien even talks about this in his own introduction - that the War allegory was wholly incidental, but that the industrialisation bit (the scouring) was the only bit at all allegorical.
Considering how many kids these days barely even read, I think reading novels the lengths of Eddings' ones is pretty impressive...
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
He doesn't say that it was allegorical, in fact he says the reverse although accepts it has some basis in experience.
camouflage
gaslit at scale.
Welcome to Star Trek, LotR, and all these other sci-fi fantasy products that rely on the good old dependable this race is EVIL, this race is Elegant and wise, this race is greedy and money-grubbing etc type crap.
For instance Klingons, if they're all such knuckle-dragging barny-obsessed fuckups how did they ever get into space?
revol68
what, fucking what?
Yeah but doesn't star trek follow the fantasy template on this as essential laid out by Tolkein?
Or is there someone before Tolkein that gave rise to fantasises reactionary formula?
camouflage
gaslit at scale.
I think that thinking in terms of whole races being evil is a racist way of thinking. Doesn't mean the person hates black people or is anti-semetic specifically, but it is undoubtadly a definitative expression of racist thinking. As in thinking a persons race defines their major characteristics.
Klingons are warlike
Ferengi a money grubbing
Only we humans are well balanced all rounders.
sorry to keep using the Trek as the example here, I've never read Eddings.
revol68
what, fucking what?
yep which is why most fantasy fans I know are right wing cunts, with a keen sense of their own superiroity over the less educated scum because they've read some generic middle brow shitw..
camouflage
gaslit at scale.
*edited for completely contradicting myself coz of in a hurry for no merit whatsoever, sarcasm at least, fucks sake.
Random
Ethnic nalgocrat
That's an interesting one. Tolkein did draw on Nordic myths and so on, but I suppose he was the first to infuse these old legends with modern cliches, stereotypes and updated issues. Did the Star Trek creator ever cite LOTR as an influence? There was lots of US indigenous pulp stuff like Flash Gordon that could be taken as a bigger influence. Cowboys in space, I suppose.
Lemon Eddy
Disliked by dwyer
Oh good. So giving up on any defence of your previous claims of his racist tendencies, now you're claiming that his level of junk fantasy stunts the personal development of children. Won't anyone think of the poor, poor children!
Let me argue the contrary. If you want to get kids into reading, or music, it's damned good to have nice, formulaic, easy to read authors for them to cut their teeth on. Starting an 11 year old off on Gormenghast might just be a bit daunting for them, don't you think?
You don't like the guys books. Good for you, I've got a horrid feeling that if I picked one up again now I'd probably cringe like a bastard at it. But how about just leaving it at the justifiable criticism that he wrote pretty crappy books, rather than talking a pile of bollocks about inherent racism or stunting personal development.
Lemon Eddy
Disliked by dwyer
Nope, Star Trek was a rip off of Wagon Train and other western tv series/films. It was even pitched to the studio executives on that basis.
bluestreak
HomosexualityIsStalin’sAtomBombtoDestroyAmerica
Bizarrely, the best Narnia book in terms of scope is the apocalyptic one, The Last Battle. It is also hideously racist.
revol68
what, fucking what?
yeah but the various races follow the template of 'this race respresents this, this other race this and humans are like a lil bit of everything with free will'.
Random
Ethnic nalgocrat
Maybe. That kind of slow moving stylised twaddle might be a bit daunting for anyone, tbh. But anyway, like I said, there's plenty of good fantasy writing for younger readers. And I've already fleshed out my claims on Eddings' racism.
So far you're serving as an object lesson on the dangers of Junk Reading on the developing mind
Lemon Eddy
Disliked by dwyer
You're arguing that a race with a militaristic/aggressive tendecy precludes scientific advancement?
Lemon Eddy
Disliked by dwyer
No. You haven't. Please, feel free to demonstrate otherwise, all you have to do is quote a previous post here and show me what I've missed.
Alternatively, feel free to continue with the ad hominem shit, if you're unable to. Your shout.
Random
Ethnic nalgocrat
Go on, try yourself; you can do it. It'll back up your argument if you can show that your young brain wasn't rotted by trashy fantasy stereotypes.
May Kasahara
take me to the feeling
I did too, but he got me through the hell of my A levels so fair play to him.
Yes, me too, and it always irked. Lots of very powerful female characters who couldn't wait to put their power down and rush home to have babies.
Sorry, not had time to read whole thread.
