Is "High-Fantasy" Overrated Nowadays?

[Ediruc]

Well, I just brought this up in another thread and I think it just might be worthy of discussion. Now I will never write in high fantasy, unless of course I'm gonna get paid for it

I think with crappy teen novels like Eragon, maybe Twilight, hey, even a good number of Jordan's books, uhh...Harry Potter, I think High Fantasy has really gone down the drain and become a cesspool of MSM entertainment.

I still enjoy High Fantasy though like the Lord of the Rings (except I can't say I liked the movies so much). And to me High Fantasy has really become apart of the the MSM and has had what was once, as I perceived it, its Germanic spirit of artistic beauty torn right out of it.

When I tried to write high fantasy, I just couldn't do it. Time and time again I close my Word in frustration I only managed to finish two pieces of work of high fantasy, everything else I just ended up deleting.

So, I think High Fantasy is overrated nowadays.

[Huginn ok Muninn]

Have you read the Belgariad and Malloreon series of books by David Eddings? One of my favorites aside from Tolkien.

[Linnea]

If sparkly vampires are considered "High-Fantasy" then yes, extremely overrated! :\

[Ediruc]

Have you read the Belgariad and Malloreon series of books by David Eddings? One of my favorites aside from Tolkien.

No. Fantasy authors I have read the ones I mentioned above, and Michael Moorcock, Poul Anderson, Robert E. Howard, Lovecraft, Keith Baker, Stephen King, George R. R. Martin (can't say I liked him), umm...who else? I've picked up one of Edgar Rice Burrows' books; Tanar. I tried to read Robert Newcomb. I've read some of the stuff Tolkien's son published. Oh, and I think I read another D&D author, but I can't remember who. Oh, Orson Scott Card too!

I know I'm being a little unfair to the authors I haven't read yet, but I've been meaning to look into some other fantasy authors. Thanks for the book suggestion.

Oh, yeah, I got a funny story to share with you how I came across reading a little bit of Twilight. It was last day of my Sophomore year, and as I was walking to my locker to clean it out, I saw a trash can full to the brink and on top of the pile of trash was the first Twilight book. Curiosity drove me to picking it up and reading the first chapter till I skimmed and then put it back xD

[Grey]

Read a lot of Tolkien when I was younger. Then I wanted something similar so I tried reading a few Forgotten Realms books, but modern fantasy doesn't appeal to me at all. It's just unimaginative stories with weak plots, undeveloped characters, and completely arbitrary names. Nothing captivating about them.

[Ediruc]

Read a lot of Tolkien when I was younger. Then I wanted something similar so I tried reading a few Forgotten Realms books, but modern fantasy doesn't appeal to me at all. It's just unimaginative stories with weak plots, undeveloped characters, and completely arbitrarily names. Nothing captivating about them.

Yes, I really feel fantasy, originally a genre of literature created by Nordics inspired by our sagas of our people, has really lost its spirit with the perpetrators being the MSM.

[Erlkönig]

The novels based on Warhammer 40k are quite good.

[Ediruc]

Oh! I forgot Ursula Kroeber Le Guin. I've read her Wizard of Earthsea and I did not like her writing style at all. I'm not sure what all the hype was about her books anyway.