Bakker and Tolkien

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Madness

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« Reply #30 on: November 15, 2013, 02:58:36 pm »
Galbrod, I'm thinking of writing a Machiavellian reading of TSA, thus far. I think there's a profound amount of overlap, moreso than many other philosophers/political scientists. If you have thoughts, let me know.
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RandolphCarter

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« Reply #31 on: November 23, 2013, 04:25:45 pm »
I had given DtCB to one of my neighbors to read, around the time TTT was published. I had described it to him as having a heavy Tolkien influence, but as if it was reflected in a cracked funhouse mirror.

Even the map of Earwa is extremely evocative of the maps of Middle-earth.

After reading the series, he observed the same relationship between Bakker and Tolkien as in the Phillip Pullman books (Golden Compass, etc) and Paradise Lost - not just influence, but a level of response that is almost symbiosis.

Since almost all of the readers of Bakker's work have been consuming Tolkien for decades, he is able to use our preconceptions as an additional delivery mechanism for his story.  You might even say we had been... conditioned... to be receptive in this manner.




Wilshire

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« Reply #32 on: November 23, 2013, 08:13:09 pm »

Since almost all of the readers of Bakker's work have been consuming Tolkien for decades, he is able to use our preconceptions as an additional delivery mechanism for his story.  You might even say we had been... conditioned... to be receptive in this manner.
I think Bakker could also use this to "trick" readers into reading whats not there. He seems to be into that sort of thing.
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Madness

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« Reply #33 on: November 23, 2013, 09:22:59 pm »

Since almost all of the readers of Bakker's work have been consuming Tolkien for decades, he is able to use our preconceptions as an additional delivery mechanism for his story.  You might even say we had been... conditioned... to be receptive in this manner.
I think Bakker could also use this to "trick" readers into reading whats not there. He seems to be into that sort of thing.

+1 - I agree.

I don't think it's a trick so much a natural occurrence in writing Literature and specifically tackling certain aspects of genre. It's all about how many connotations we share with an author or how many we can come to understand.

Lol... a buddy of mine once summed up (L)iterature (big L) with an analogy to rap. When someone name drops a bunch in their verses and you catch more of a rapper's references, it gives you a boost of satisfaction, moreso when those in your communities who listen to the same music don't get the references. The more name dropping you sneak in, the more writing equals (L)iterature ;).
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mrganondorf

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« Reply #34 on: April 15, 2014, 05:49:03 pm »
@ Meyna - Mog is taunting the gods, awesome!

@ Madness - are you suggesting that Mimara is going to give birth to the captain?!?!

Another comparison?  Morgoth bound outside the world vs something in the Outside?  Sauron's actions in Numenor, if they ultimately meant to bring Morgoth back, parallel Consult summoning Mog.  There's something in Tolkien about the end of days and the release of Morgoth; final war and stuff.  Celmomian Prophecy

Madness

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« Reply #35 on: April 16, 2014, 12:04:25 pm »
@ Madness - are you suggesting that Mimara is going to give birth to the captain?!?!

Sometimes the dead bounce...
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mrganondorf

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Somnambulist

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« Reply #37 on: April 17, 2014, 04:40:24 pm »
I actually lol'd
No whistling on the slog!

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« Reply #38 on: April 20, 2014, 02:02:15 pm »
 ;)
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mrganondorf

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« Reply #40 on: April 21, 2014, 01:31:32 pm »
The Mop :).
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mrganondorf

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« Reply #41 on: April 29, 2014, 10:35:41 pm »
The WLW's too-be-broken blade vs Aragorn's reforged broken blade.

Wilshire

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« Reply #42 on: May 02, 2014, 02:11:13 am »
I dislike this, or any other, topic that compares X to Tolkein. That is all :)
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« Reply #43 on: May 05, 2014, 12:57:45 pm »
Lol. Do you also secretly hate our conversations about TSA/Dune :(?
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Wilshire

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« Reply #44 on: May 05, 2014, 07:35:54 pm »
Nah all other comparisons are fine.

Comparing things to Tolkien just bothers me for some reason... Probably because all the world sees Tolkien as the unequivocal measuring stick, and I dislike this. Even Asimov and/or Herbert, though widely appraised and highly regarded, are not held to the same mystical standard that Tolkien is so often afforded.
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