h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi
I love Tolkein's books. In fact that's how I first got to this page by spotting your nickname Imladris (AKA Rivendell). I LOVED LOTR but I thought that if you read the Hobbit straight after it thenthe Hobbit seems to be a bit lame. Well that's my opinion anyway.
ood luck with your finals
Emma
'The road goes ever on and on'-JRR Tolkein

MANY ARE THE STRABGE CHANCES OF THE WORLD- jrr tolkien.
Finally people are starting to recognize my name!! THANKS!!
I agree that the hobbit is a bit lame. Most people try to read it first and then never read Lord of the Rings because they cant even get through the hobbit. It took me a while too. But Tolkien is definitely one of my favorite authors. I can read the hobbit now just because my love for JRR is so great. Thanks for the luck on my finals I shall definitely be needing it! Tolkien rules!!!

I meant "strange", not stagbe or whatever i put in the quote, my faux pas:/

Sorry to hear about the lack of success in your finals, I thought seeing as how you enjoyed Tolkien so much, similar books might just cheer you up.
-A little depressing in places but written in a simliar manner, at least in parts, I quite enjoyed Stephen Donaldson's first 3 Thomas Covenant books.
-The Dune series (Frank Herbert) was interesting, well it started to go down hill after the first, but it was still good.
-The Lion of Macedon and The Dark Prince (both David Gemmel, they are consecutive) were very good, brilliant, highly recomended, I loved them!
Enjoy!

Well, thank you. I am actually in a library as i write this so i may check a few of those out. Ah. finals, atleast they are over. I like the Dune series, from mr. herbert and the movies pretty awesome too (sting!! patrick stuart,etc.. they had a great caste) But i shall definitely check those books out seeing as i have multitudes of spare time now that school is done.

Those are great but try and find some books in the "chronicles of an age of darkness" series by Hugh Cook.
There are 10 books which don't need to be read in order (but I would suggest starting with #1) which are the absolute best fantasy books I ever read!.

The first one is called 'The Wizards and the Warriors' and all the titles follow this pattern, ie: 'The Wazir and the Witch', 'The Walrus and the Warwolf'.

The best thing about it is that it's not just another Tolkien rip off fantasy series with minor changes. You know how in fantasy they always have Elves and Dwarves and Ogres and all that. I love Tolkien but I get annoyed at Fantasy authors who can't imagine worlds of their own so they just rip off ideas from the master. Hugh Cook just comes up with a really original and really exciting world!!!!
Am I raving?

oh and did I mention he's a New Zealander? (think he lives in the UK now though).

Well I tried but my local bookshop don't seem to stock Hugh Cook, I guess I'll have to visit the library when I get home. Thanks for the tip!

I know I'm about to get shot down by Ac-1D for this, but has anyone tried Piers Anthony. He's a great author - admittedly the only entire series of his I've read is The Apprentice Adept series, but I have read others of his. Most of the books he's written provide a witty storyline which at some points you HAVE to laugh out loud at. I agree about Dune - after the first one the going gets a little rocky reading wise - and I've just finished a David Gemmill (Dark Moon).
One more name to throw into this mixing pot is David Eddings. He's brillllliant when it comes to fantasy.

No I actually do enjoy a lot of those tolkien rip offs (except for the really unimaginitive ones). I haven't read Piers Anthony (but I have heard of him).

As for David Eddings - I really enjoyed them at first but by the time I got onto the Mallorean I was growing vehemently sick of prophecy this and prophecy that and yahda yahda yah. The coolest things about the Hugh Cook ones I was mentioning is that the author isn't telling the story like some kind of fairy tale - it's true saga but with all the less pretty parts left in - like men trapped on a raft on an underground river for days with their bodies atrophying and rotting and real wounds and battle. I think Eddings is just to clean!!

I mean TOO clean.

Piers ANTHINY IS GREAT!! ive read most of his books including the xanth series, incarnation deries, tarot series, mode series, and a few of his otheres. Definitely great reads, AHHHHH!!! the excitement!!

I read the Hobbit a while ago...and enjoyed it quite a big fat bit
After reading all this jrr praise I think I'm just gonna have to skip down to the library and read some more of his stuff *grin*
thank you everyone

And if we're talking good authors....try Albert Camus....he's great
As is greg egan :]

Just thought i'd say....make my msg look all jam packed and wholesome

anyhoo...i better toddle off and write some e-mails or something
Byeee

I bet if you like Tolken and you obviously like Douglas Adams you do or will love Terry Pratchett, you know Disk World books?

of course we do what do you take us for? and hey while were about it how about Russell Hoban and Robert Rankin while were about it, it's all the same, it just gets more and more mad

yes and?????????

LOVE Terry Pratchett - especially the diskworld series! He lives in Canada and is on the internet - has anyone got a web address for him?? Tolkein also lived in South Africa - Bloemfontein I believe - and thanks to both the Hobbitt and Lord of the Rings I am totally hooked on fantasy. I re-visit Lord of the Rings periodically and just hate having to emerge into the "real world" when the read is over..it feels a little like dying. By the way - best wishes for your "resits" in September.

Funny no one liked to talk to me so much when I was here all the time. When I left they all came running and now I'm back and I can't find them. Dune is the shit of all shits. Heinlein, ah gottta love him. Zimmer bradly. Books are the best. ok taffeta, any new news on the book scene people??

Glad to see your back, I'm back to, now on to business. By `shit of all shits`, do you mean to say you didn't like Dune? You did get the right Dune, the first one, didn't you? I cant understand it, I really liked Dune, this amazes me.......... oh well, I guess I shouldn't carry on about it if you didn't like it, I'm probably not going to able to convince you otherwise. So then, lets try another book and author... How about Brian Lumley, I think thats the spelling, anyway his first book in the series, the Necroscope, began sickeningly, I was so disgusted with the content of the first main chapter, I actually felt ill, I even contemplated putting the book down then and there and never coming back to it. This is not to say it was badly written, but that I actally felt like I was there, in the scene smelling the smells, seeing the sights, yuck... I say yuck because the scene described a necromancer tearing information from a dead body. The rest of the book and the series then goes on to add vampires which then becomes the central theme.
I did enjoy the books, they were a little silly in parts but I think its worth putting up with a little unbeliveability every now and then, especially when the rewards are incredibly emersive scenes now and then, even though they may put you off your food. All in all I suggest that, if you have time, go borrow book one from the library and see for yourself. -NECROSCOPE by Brian Lumley-

By the shit of all shits I meant that the Dune Series is the BEST!! how disturbing it must of been for you to sit there and think I didn't like it. I love it , so that clears the air. As for Necroscope I shall check it out and see if I like it. Thanks so much. I just read Battlefield Earth by L. ron hubbard. It was ok, but very lond winded and a little dry. I give it one star. I don't reccomend it to others. However, I would like to state the fact that Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land was awesome. Peace Laters.

Has anyone tried Katharine Kerr? She's got some REALLY REALLY good books!!

That's my extensive contribution to the conversation!