XPost: alt.fan.tolkien, rec.arts.books.tolkien, alt.books.cs-lewis   
   From: Taemon@zonnet.nl   
      
   Dirk Thierbach wrote:   
      
   > Troels Forchhammer  wrote:   
   >> I acknowledge that there seems to be an element of authorial   
   >> preference involved: very few authors successfully create worlds of   
   >> both kinds (both the technological and the magical);   
   > But I don't think that is really the problem: Quite a few authors   
   > can, and very successfully. Eg. McMaster Bujold. And mixing technology   
   > and magic isn't so difficult, either. Anne McCaffrey has already   
   > been mentioned, LeGuin did it very explicitely in /Rocannon's World/   
   > (and came up with a nice marriage of relativity and a fairy-tale   
   > motif), Vernor Vinge did, and lots of others I can't remember in   
   > the moment.   
      
   Julian May. I just finished rereading the Saga of the Exiles. It's my   
   favourite series by far, even if it is almost as old as I am. Granted, it's   
   not "magic" per se, it's "metafunctions" - but they work just the same :-)   
      
   I really don't like Anne McCaffrey's work. I didn't even finish that   
   dragon-stuff. I thought it slow and unconvincing.   
      
   > And even "hard science" isn't restricted to SF, Tolkien e.g. used a   
   > lot of his knowledge of philology and history (which is also science,   
   > just not physics in LotR. Which is part of what makes it so enjoyable.   
   > Unfortunately, many modern authors of Fantasy don't do that, and it   
   > shows.   
      
   Oh, boy. I review fantasy for the public library and it really makes one   
   wonder if all genres suffer from such a high amount of waste of paper. It's   
   unbelievable what makes it into print. The latest gem is "Elven fire" by   
   Monika Felten and never before have I seen such a blundering collection of   
   deus ex machinas, coincidences, portents, prophecies, magical spells that   
   somehow only work once... it's the worst storytelling I have seen in some   
   time. It seems the thing even won a price. Is it me? Did I overlook some   
   greatness? Gods, grant me a fantasy book with a prophecy that doesn't come   
   true.   
      
   T.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)