[Hobbit]

LOL....I wasn't pointing the finger at you there Cald so much as Shehzad and Hobbit

Don't know what you mean, Eventine. ;)

Must be a 'Mary Gentle thing', (especially with my commission, 'an all. :D ) though I have been good lately, honest... :)

On the contrary, one of the things that I seem to spend my time doing here in the Forums is repeating what people above are saying - different authors for different readers. We all have our favourites, some more favourite than others. :)

For example, I still haven't managed to read the last 4 or 5 Jordans, but that IMO doesn't make him more or less of a writer. ( I would've thought that Cald would see it more as a comment on my poor judgement!) Similarly, I have found it difficult to enjoy or agree with some of Goodkind's more recent writing (it can, of course, be said that he doesn't need defending, least of all from me!), though again that may well be more my personal view rather than anything else.

I am much happier accepting that there's an awful lot of stuff out there, some I like and some I like less - but it's the whole picture that's important.

The great thing about this Forum is finding others with similar interests and then discussing away to our heart's content whether we liked/didn't like 'product X'. Whilst I'm more than happy to pass on comments about books I've enjoyed and hopefully ones I think others will too (or even books I haven't enjoyed and why!) I'm very aware that others may like them less...or more!

This is partly why the 'Why I hate Author X' threads or 'Why Author X is better/worse than Author Y' can be so frustrating. But, ladies and gentlemen, you've said that above so much more eloquently than myself, so I will simply content myself with the point that I agree with much of what has already been said.

*gets off soapbox and back onto the fence* :D

Hobbit

[Shehzad]

Originally posted by Eventine

I wasn't pointing the finger at you there Cald so much as Shehzad and Hobbit :)


I'll be darned. I guess now that Stover is writing Star Wars Ep III, I'll abandon him....:):)

I've been through the tribalism period, to an extent, I guess. After all, old-timers will know me as a participant in the first Tolkien wars. I guess I've learnt a little since then.

[ChrisW]

I also think that some authors are perceived as the vanguard of something new and fresh, and fans tend of a "new and fresh" movement tend to be a bit more fervent. Martin is certainly seen in that light. Jordan was seen as new when WoT started too, because a) his hero rapidly accepted his hero status and "got to work", and b) his female characters all started out pretty strong and competent. i like it when someone expresses my thoughts better than I can:).

Hobbit what was that comment about me for? I didn't even know you had read WoT(or if I did i've forgotten):).

[Hobbit]

Hobbit what was that comment about me for? I didn't even know you had read WoT(or if I did i've forgotten).

Sorry, Cald - no offense meant.

What I was trying to say was that whereas you have clearly enjoyed Jordan's books, I have struggled to get to book 5 or so. From your comments on the Forums you have clearly enjoyed them more than me. Not a criticism on you or your reading tastes at all, more an attempt to say 'different books for different readers' - what others enjoy may not be what I enjoy and vice versa. It was an attempt at humour, clearly misread.

Apologies again.

Hobbit

[ChrisW]

Not a criticism on you or your reading tastes at all, Heh i didn't take it that way.:) I have a complex about people on this forum thinking i'm a WoT fanatic that must defend all criticism of WoT and cna't accept other people's opinion on it and that's how I took the comment:).

That complex isn't as big as the one where I tink everyone tinks I hate Martin:). I know benIII tinks I hate Martin:confused: .

mb i should see a doctor.

[KatG]

I think it has to do with the authors being very popular -- and thus very criticized as poor popcorn fiction by those who don't like them. Fans of those authors find themselves often defending their choice, sometimes vigorously, and they may get a little over-zealous about it, rushing to deal with any critical discussion of the author's work at all. I don't know that I would call this tribalism because I've seldom found that the fans of an author are at all a united front. But a fan of a popular author, be it Robert Jordan, Stephen King or Michael Crichton, may encounter enough derision, and when this is done in favor of another popular author, with an implication that the first fan is simply too dumb to appreciate the really good author, things get heated. Hobb, Wurts, and others are popular, but not so much so that they are widely derided as well as celebrated.

[cvazi]

I think it has more to do with what people expect and desire out of a fantasy novel. Each author attracts fans who are looking for the things that are found in that author's work. often those fans of "like" mind find something that really irks them about another author's works. Hence a flame war begins when one side makes a statement about the other side's author. Since both sides are convinced of thier riteousness (yeah I know i misspelled that), neither side will back down.

[JohnH]

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[kegasaurus]

I think its a combination of a few things:

1. Too much time,
2. Self righteous indignation and
3. Validation.

that lead to the drooling fanatics on either side spouting forth nothing more than opinion and claiming it to be a message from the gods.

Mostly though it's just people who ilke to throw rubbish at the caged monkey's and claim its constructive entertainment.