[Zsinj16]

Probably by seeing the title of this thread, your first impression probably is that I'm going to now rant about who I think is the Master of Fantasy... well not at all!! Instead I am going to delve into the psychology of the subject. I think that when some people on this board think this person is the Master of Fantasy or that person, they then begin to think that everyone else should feel the same way they do and if they don't then they are going to argue with them until the moon turns green. Well, I'll tell you why I think that they do this, because each of us has an author that has wrote a fantasy novel, or duology, or trilogy, or series, that we love and is close to our hearts. So then that author is the Master in our own hearts and we feel everyone else should feel the same way, but they don't, and that is because they have their own Master of Fantasy in their hearts.
I know this topic has been run into the ground and broken off several times,and I don't mean to be an emotional Dr. Spock about this subject, but I just thought I would put my two cents in about the psychology of it.

[Cadfael]

Actually, the sensible ones realise that everyone has their own opinion, and in general accept that opinion, even if they do not agree with it. When someone post "You MUST read this!!!!!it is the BEST book ever!!!!!!", I know they are not giving orders, just expressing their opinion with a certain amount of exuberance. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif I do not need to see the term 'in my opinion' to uderstand this.

I also think that some people can be just a little too quick to take offence, when it is obvious that none was intended

If I dislike a book, that is it... period. No amount of argument is going to change that, but I am prepared to listen to reasoned argument as to why people disagree with me, and in most cases... this is what happens, on this forum anyway.

[Habeed]

The thing about it is that I'd say at least half the people here would agree that GRRM is THE master of fantasy, no holds barred. And to be fair : in order to vote, you must have read GRRM and at least 75% of the other popular fantasy series. (say the top ten most popular as according to Fantasy Finder)

[Cadfael]

Okay... here's an idea, email me your top ten FANTASY authors, don't post them here... we'll keep it anonymous. I will enter them it a database, and give you the results in a weeks time.

And when I say top ten, I mean top ten. If I get GRRM ten times in an email, it will only count once, in fact... no, i will treat this as a spoiled vote and disregard it.

[This message has been edited by dennizm (edited June 15, 2001).]

[FitzChivalry]

Well, there were several threads that asked people to post favorite authors.
In the ones we actually counted votes, Martin did win.
I think it's safe to say that Martin is an almost consensus, and probably the most popular and appreciated fantasy author right now.
But still, everyone has their own perosnal tastes and i don't like the term "Master of Fantasy", to each his own.

[Zsinj16]

Neither do I, FitzChivalry.

[Cadfael]

But I am trying not to start an argument with this idea. You can say that 'Tolkien is your number 1' without being told your opinion sucks http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif... I know you have been asked to post your favorites before... but I do not want you to post them, I want them emailed to me, and I will take it from there, and my lips shall be superglued. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

I am also playing about with the idea of a Fantasy Quiz, but I don't know how to make it work on the forum yet.

Or maybe, I have strayed from the path of the beam here...

I also hate the 'Master of Fantasy' term, for there is NO master of fantasy.

[matthewajg]

Do we really need to identify a single Master of Fantasy? And by what criteria do we judge? What is it about human nature that sometimes drives us to identify a victor? Anyway, without getting too psycho-analytical...we feel the need to chose icons in fields to look to and deify. We want to identify the canon and its champion. Who defines a movement...is Monet the Master of Impressionism? Is Bronte the Master of Romanticism? We have the distance from the respective movements to weigh and judge their relative merits and impact. Other art form sub genres, such as Theatre in Elizabethan England (Elizabethan drama) had many writers working within it, among them was Shakespeare. Inarguably, any theatre artist (let alone high school student) in the 20th and 21st century would identify Shakespeare as the pre-emminent playwright of his time and perhaps Western history. Many would say he is the Master of Theatre. However, in his own time, contemporaries like Christopher Marlowe were actually heralded as superior playwrights. Shakespeare, in his own lifetime, met with limited success. Like many great artists, it would take the test of time to illustrate their greatness. Ask most theatre-goers of Elizabethan England who the greatest playwright of their time is, they would likely say Marlowe. Shakespeare was the Danielle Steele of his age, Marlowe was considered a better playwright. Today, the reaction is very different. Ask readers who the Master of Fantasy is, your going to get a number of opinions. This is only to be expected, the genre boom since Tolkein has only been over the course of a half century at the most. We lack the requisite distance from the movement to determine whose work will resonate into the future of fantasy. Look at the authors of the movement thus far, and it would be hard to argue who is Master. Votes are not enough, the work of popular authors do not always live on into future popularity (most popular movements or authors are popular in their times because they tap into and identify with the Zeitgeist of the era...they don't always live on...for every Melville, there were countless others who held popular success but whose names are only known by scholar and English majors). Some will last the test of time, others will not.
You want a prediction? Of the ones who have strode forward into the annals of Fantasy history...Tolkein will prevail. Jordan might survive as a contender. Only time will tell.
But what the hell do I know?

[FitzChivalry]

Dennizm, do yop think people votes differently in the open or in a secret vote?
Public pressure makes a difference?

[FitzChivalry]

Btw, for various polls on fantasy books:
http://bestfantasy.virtualave.net/

It has polls on:
best epic fantasy
best plot
best storyteller
best children or young adult fantasy
best original story
best poetry
best cover
best map
best male character
best female character
best villain
most boring character
and many more.

Two results that i liked:
Best Male Character - Mat Cauthon/The Wheel of Time
Best Subcharacter - The Fool/Farseer Saga