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David Brin On LOTR

Posted by Hemos on from the looking-towards-the-future dept.

hprotagonist0 writes "Salon has posted an article by sci-fi author, scientist, and essayist David Brin (The two Uplift trilogies, The Transparent Society) with his thoughts about LotR. A technophillic optimist, he warns against waxing too Romantic about feudal, good vs. evil fantasy. Instead, he says, we should look ahead to the future. Thought-provoking."

4 of 547 comments (clear)

  1. Serious question by SteweyGriffin · · Score: 0, Troll

    OK. Who do you think would win in a straight out fight? The troll from Harry Potter or the troll from LotR. My vote goes to the LotR troll, he was fast! The Harry Potter troll was dumb and slow, but he looked bigger. And how about between Dumbledore and Gandalf?

  2. Buy me. NOW. by Mulletproof · · Score: 1, Troll

    "Instead, he says, we should look ahead to the future. Thought-provoking."

    Not that writing about the future is where his principle source of income comes from or anything... I'd suggest that too!

    In Soviet Russia, you'd be shot for making fun of the Motherland like that...

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  3. David Brin Has It Out For Heroes by analog_line · · Score: 2, Troll

    I believe someone posted an article from Brin, like this, before Star Wars Episode 1 was released damning it for worshipping the ubermensch over the real people. IE, the only ones worth mentioning are the people who've got nothing mentionable about them. I've never read any of David Brin's books, but I don't imagine I'd be all that interesting. A bunch of forgettable cogs in the wheel of society each having hardly any impact on the world as events overtake everyone? Ah, how enthralling. And I need to pay $5.99 for the paperback version of this startling insight into the completely bloody obvious?

    Tolkien stated many a time that his books were not meant to be taken as social commentary on the present (at least, his present). People who insist otherwise are probably the same kids of people who believe that "no means yes". Of course the times, and his experiences in the trenches of WWI influenced his writing, but influenced by != commentary upon.

  4. Like Brin's Movies Are Any Better by crawling_chaos · · Score: 1, Troll

    C'mon, it's obvious that Brin is just upset that the movies made from his stories didn't make the kind of money that LOTR or Star Wars (another movie he's written rants on) did. I call it sour grapes because The Postman really was a fetid, steaming, pile of crap.

    --
    You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are.
    -- Colonel Adolphus Busch