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Actually, the Simarillion was written well before The Lord of the Rings and all the mythology in that series: Orcs, Balrogs, etc, was born from that book. I don't doubt that more people know of LOTR because The Simarillion is not an easy book to read. While LOTR tells a fantastic story that is easy to get involved in, The Simarillion reads more like a collection of history lessons that only hardcore fantasy fiction fans can fully appreciate.
That's why I spoke of LOTR as Tolkien's masterpiece. I think it's great that hardcore Tolkien fans enjoy books like the Silmarillion, but personally I consider it as negligible in terms of literary criticism. It might be important for those deeply interested in Middle Earth, but for the average reader it is fairly unimportant.
Personally, I'm not interested in the Silmarillion (and the lost tales, etc.) because I'm not overly interested in Tolkien lore. I'm interested in well-written novels.

As far as how many other fantasy novels were modeled directly after LOTR, I can't think of any. What other novel tells the story of 4 Hobbits, 1 Dwarf, 1 Elf, 2 Men, and 1 Maia setting off on a quest to destroy a ring by throwing it into a volcano?
I said modeled after LOTR, I wasn't talking about an exact copy. A significant number of fantasy books feature an abstract evil that has to be destroyed by a party of people, often consisting of members of different races. Isn't the the destruction of a mighty and magic artefact not also a well established trademark in fantasy? A companionship that has to travel long distances to reach a certain destination? Look at the "forces of evil" that LOTR features - isn't it obvious that orcs and the like have become the archetypical bad guys in fantasy novels? There are many more aspects that one could mention (the way, evil is protrayed, etc.)

I think it's safe to say that Tolkien laid down a pattern for fantasy (novels ans well as other media - just think about rpgs) that is prevalent nowadays.
 
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Then maybe you meant to say "influenced", and not "modeled directly" correct?

Also, when you say "isn't it obvious that orcs and the like have become the archetypical bad guys in fantasy novels?" I agree 100%, but that's an example of things that were born in the Simarillion not LOTR, whether people realize it or not.

Let's get back on topic please.
 
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Been there, done that
... how about a *good* and *original* game that integrates the themes of the Narnia universe ... that I could get behind ;)
An English Anglican borderline Roman Catholic RPG?! The Narnia books are very specifically for children containing distinctly children’s themes. They’re superb books, but what possible interest do they hold for adults beyond nostalgia?

I think it's safe to say that Tolkien laid down a pattern for fantasy (novels ans well as other media - just think about rpgs) that is prevalent nowadays.
Well, it’s safer to say that Tolkien spawned legions of imitators whom have so little understanding of his medium that they can't even be qualified as part of it. The ‘fantasy’ genre is utterly intellectually bankrupt.
 
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Also, when you say "isn't it obvious that orcs and the like have become the archetypical bad guys in fantasy novels?" I agree 100%, but that's an example of things that were born in the Simarillion not LOTR, whether people realize it or not.

Who claimed otherwise?
 
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I think Orcs were used far before the Simarillion, in ancient persian tales like Arabian Nights and by William Blake for example.

Edit: My favourite movie would probably be Alien, I love how it blended the horror and sci-fi genres together.
 
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I think Orcs were used far before the Simarillion, in ancient persian tales like Arabian Nights and by William Blake for example.

Undoubtly several literary aspects in LOTR were used by other authors before Tolkien. There is a widely accepted literary theory that everything has at some point already been writen. Authors do usualy not only write, they also read - therefore it is only natural that they are influenced by other authors and their ideas. And if you dig deep enough you'll very often end up with one of the greek classics anyway. They cover most of the basic motifs that even modern novels feature - believe it or not.
I'm not an expert on Tolkien, but I would guess that he was heavily influenced by British folklore. Also, if you think about themes like travelling, adventure, dragons, etc. that's certainly nothing new (just think about the European ballads of the Middle ages - knights, war, legends, supernatural, combat, adventure, voyage - it's all in there), but Tolkien put it into a certain context that heavily influenced today's fantasy. There certainly were some other authors as well, but I guess Tolkien is just the best known of them.

I've chosen the example of orcs because you can find them in a lot of fantasy novels by various authors nowadays, usually being rather primitive grunts serving a greater evil. And while it is safe to assume that the overwhelming part of these modern fantasy authors has read Tolkien, it is questionable if they have read Blake or ancient Persian Tales.
 
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Yes, but this IS the OFF topic forum!! :biggrin:
 
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