China Miéville on why Tolkien rocks

I saw China Miéville speak at a forum at Book Expo a few weeks back. Smart, articulate guy. Re His take on Tolkien is one often forgotten: Tolkien built the world --- mountains, forests, seas --- and made up languages,  THEN wondered who might live there to speak those tongues.

"The order is reverse: the world comes first, and then, and only then, things happen--stories occur--within it. ... So dominant is this mode now (as millions of women and men draw millions of maps, and write millions of histories, inventing worlds in which, perhaps, eventually, a few will set stories) that it's difficult to see what a conceptual shift it represented."

Plus, get this note by Miéville: "Tolk gives good monster. Shelob, Smaug, the Balrog...in their astounding names, the fearful verve of their descriptions, their various undomesticated malevolence, these creatures are utterly embedded in our world-view. No one can write giant spiders except through Shelob: all dragons are sidekicks now. And so on."

Indeed.

--- Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks

http://www.omnivoracious.com/2009/06/there-and-back-again-five-reasons-tolkien-rocks.html

Comments

[Tissot Ballade watches Swiss]

This is a good article,thank you for your share,I like it very much.Our products are superior in quality and moderate in price and are sure to be saleable in your market,by virtue of this superior quality, this product is often sold out in many areas. This new product is really much better than the previous one. You have to try it to believe it.
-Tissot Ballade watches Swiss

[Replica Breitling Watches]

This looks replica iwc watches
like such a severe injury and it's a little hard to look at these photos. Please keep us posted, I hope she makes a full recovery. Thank you for helping relieve her suffering, you are doing great work replica omega watches