Best Fantasy? Back to Tolkien
Mar 30 '00
I know it's passe to call The Lord of the Rings trilogy the best fantasy series ever. Well, I'll give you a little twist: It doesn't end with the trilogy.
Tolkien is still the premier author in fantasy, decades after his Rings trilogy first debuted. I won't go into the history, but suffice to say that fantasy would not be what it is today without him. The Rings trilogy is immensley popular, and rightfully so. But I'm not just going to stop there.
I reccomend that anyone who hasn't read any Tolkien read these books in the following order: The Hobbit, the Rings trilogy (Fellowship of the RIng, The Two Towers, Return of the King), and then The Silmarillion. The Hobbit is something of a children's book, but I believe it's the best introduction into the world of Tolkien, and is less complicated by outside action than the other books. Thus, it makes a perfect beginning if you aren't familiar with the author.
The Rings trilogy is some of the best fantasy, and some of the best fiction, written in the last 50 years. It doesn't take long to draw you into the story, and once you're there, the gigantic plot unfolds before you little by little. Tolkien is a master of timing and dramatic suspense, giving you just what you need to know to come to the conlusions he wants you to. There are many sub-plots and sub-themes inside the story, more than enough to keep you engrossed through the entire trilogy. It defines epic fantasy.
I also suggest the Silmarillion, though I suggest reading it only after the Rings trilogy. It is not an easy read, but builds upon the trilogy and fully immerses you in Tolkien's mythology, showing you just how vast a scope he covered before even beginning to write the trilogy. It is indeed a masterpiece. For more information on this book, please read my opinion on it seperately.
These 5 books will give you a couple good week's worth of reading, and they are more than worth it. If you've read them before, they're always a good read again (especially the Silmarillion, is pretty much neccessitates multiple readings to figure out what's going on), and if you've never read them, I strongly urge you to do so.
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Member: Bennett Campbell
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