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April 28, 2010

I was born into time in the history of this world where fantasy literature consisted of blue women wearing barely any clothing and alien knights fighting trolls and wizards. To be honest, I have never been able to greatly appreciate the fantasy genre as it exists in most modern graphic novels, books, and board games.
When Tolkien's books where first made into movies, I loved them. I wasn't as obsessed as many people I knew, but I definitely admired both J.R.R. Tolkien for writing and Peter Jackson for developing such a wonderful screen adaptation.
I didn't really learn such a great respect for the author, or the roots of fantasy literature, until I began to learn about the man himself. I was gifted an awesome book of essays on Tolkien's life and works, and realized that this was a man seen deeper in his journal entries and personal letters than most men are seen in daily interaction. From here I learned to love his works, once I saw from where they found source matter.
Tolkien was passionate about mythology. Norse, Greek, British, and every other deep culture. His works where the natural outcome of his understanding of how and why these great people groups built so much into and upon narratives. It is because of this that he became what I would describe as a founding father of classic fantasy literature.
Since Tolkien, much has been dulled down. While much of the adventure or creativity which fantasy allows for is still active in the genre, it seems hollow when there is nothing greater in a story than the progressing of a handful of characters through a chain of events. This is true originally in the thought processes of the author, and becomes obvious when the story is built. The depth at which the author is processing his stories and their surrounding implications, or the implications of their fictitious surrounds upon them, is the depth at which the story becomes real to the reader. Or so I assume is also true for others.
I will end by saying this. Tolkien was not largely a fan of his good friend C.S. Lewis' Narnia fables. While I greatly admire the philosophic and emotional efforts and expressions put forth in these books, I think Tolkien saw within them the death of the genre he was nurturing. Tolkien is a great founder of a genre which went on to lead a rather ill fated historic progression in my opinion.