Oh no. And I most certainly am not. I’m quite proud of certain aspects of the rules system and syntax, though. That’s where I reach for originality.
Yes, yes, yes. I just wish… just wish… that they’d know that their fad is one of many, y’know? That there’s nothing special about this particular incarnation of it. Lord of the Rings, that was special in many ways. And when the first proto-gnostics invented the wizard/muggle world and the child-in-terrible-family-who’s-really-really-special deal 10000 years ago, that was special too. But even Star Wars was more original than Harry Potter.
“So what are you into?”
“oh I like yadda, yadda, yadda, Reading”
“Cool what books do you read?”
“Harry Potter mostly”
“Oh I only read one of them it was ok but not really my thing. What else do you read?” blink blink “No I only read Harry Potter books”
ARGHHHHH!!!
If there’s a book you love pick up another one. Maybe just maybe you’ll love that one too.
Major? Dunno. Harry Potter is easily the most successful. However, the wizard school is a staple of the genre and a bit of a genre unto itself.
Ursula LeGuin’s books feature a wizard school, for example A Wizard of Earthsea.
A websearch finds me A Bad Spell In Yurt and this series. The review specifically recommends it for “fans of the wizard school genre”. Some more searching shows me Wizard’s Hall and The Dark Lord of Derkholm. And, of course, there’s the Unseen University in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books.
Interesting…I’ve played EverQuest for going on 4 years now, and I’d never picture Aragorn as anything BUT a ranger (though, to clarify, he wouldn’t be considered an Everquest type ranger the way the game is played today, they’ve gotten so many bonuses to archery the last year or two, that it in no way pays for a high level ranger to melee, they get WAY more DPS (damage per second) with archery). He CERTAINLY, imo, wouldn’t be considered a paladin…unless I missed him doing some laying on of hands, or Healing somewhere along the way, which I am damn sure I didn’t. The ONLY thing I can think of that he did even remotely paladin-like (Everquest paladin that is, I know nada about UO), was use his sword as a 2-Hand slash weapon, instead of dual-wielding, or 1-Hand slash with shield.
Now that I’ve displayed my female geekness thoroughly, I’d like to additionally state, that I really don’t understand people who don’t like to read.
Hm, well, it’s not Wizard school, but Mercedes Lackey’s Heralds of Valdemar series does have a Collegium where they teach their future Heralds mind-magic and magery.
Also, Discworld’s Unseen University (Terry Pratchett), is a Wizard’s learning instituition that has no peer for funny wizard antics, imo.
Wart’s (Arthur) early education by Merlin in T.H.White’s The Sword in the Stone dates from 1938.
It’s private tutoring rather than a boarding school, and Merlin mainly uses shape-changing to teach Arthur about life rather than actually teaching him magic, but it seems to me to be an early inspiration for ‘wizard-school’ type stories…
Ehh. I’d never encounted hippogriffs before Rowling, and I read a hell of a lot. But I avoid fantasy like the plague. I can only cope with Rowling because it’s not really fantasy - I see it as Enid Blyton style school stories in a different setting.
I don’t actually play DnD but I thought I had some idea of what a paladin was, and Aragorn does seem to fit it in many ways, especially later. Though I agree he was SO a ranger from the start. He was even CALLED a ranger.
He represents a cause. He’s got an awesome moral code and goodness shines out of his pores. His virtue is so palpable he can stare down a dark god with it. He’s badass on the battlefield. He doesn’t ‘lay on hands’ but I’d say the bit where only he can heal the black-breathed at the end is representative of that. Though I admit I don’t know what +/- paladins should get…
Well, I was under the mistaken impression recently that she had invented hippogriffs, since I’d never encountered that creature before. I think maybe the OP is over the top, since some people read extensively but don’t waste much time on the fantasy genre, which is (with a few notable exceptions), mostly junk. There are no hippogriffs in Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Melville, or Joyce.
Hmm, I kind of take exception to your statement that fantasy is mostly junk. It may not be YOUR cup of tea, and that’s great, but I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to classify an entire genre of literature as “junk” just cause I don’t like it.
To clarify (My kingdom for an edit button!) my above statement. I’m not a big fan of who-dunit mystery. However, I’d never be so arrogant as to call the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, or or Alfred Hitchcock “junk”.
I have read thousands of books. I don’t read very much fantasy but I have read some.
The only place I have heard of a hippogriff is Harry Potter. If asked I would have guessed that J K Rollings invented hippogriffs. It isn’t like the half horse/half something else thing hasn’t been done before. I just thought it was a very slightly new twist.
Of course I have never played a fantasy game either. Perhaps you are just attracting a lot of first time fantasy game players. Good luck becoming Gary Gygax (whoever he is).
Sorry, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em. I’m not an aesthetic relativist who says Terry Brooks is just as good as Joyce and it’s “all a matter of opinion.” No, it’s all a matter of being well read and having good taste.
I did say “with a few notable exceptions,” which would include Tolkien and Mervyn Peak maybe even Rowling. But Christ, have you been to the fantasy section of a bookstore lately?
d&r
:D[/sub]