Leo Grin writes:
>I agree that the pages Paul mentions in MEN OF THE SHADOWS are boring, very
>uncharacteristic REH.
It was a pretty early story, if I recall correctly.
>Now back to Tolkien. I think the failure of some people to "get through"
>LOTR has more to do with their personal tastes than any deficiencies in the
>story. They are either immediately turned off by the "hobbit-cuteness" of
>the first few chapters, which goes against the grain of their
>blood-and-thunder leanings, or they have been raised on soap-opera fantasy
>dreck and prefer plot-telling to story-telling.
I "made it through" LoTR, and enjoyed it, but found it much too long. The
same story could have been told better in half the words. I read a story to
enjoy the *story*. Tolkein told a good story, but he also felt the need to
(with great pride, I felt) describe in intimate detail the world in which the
story took place. Some love these sort of "word pictures". Some don't. It's
a matter of taste.
--
David Gentzel
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://pobox.com/~gentzel/
