[MUD-Dev] OT: Books

[Matt Chatterley]

On Fri, 12 Dec 1997 s001gmu at nova.wright.edu wrote:

> On Fri, 12 Dec 1997, Adam Wiggins wrote:
> 
> >  <snip quotings>
> 
> > <Off Topic:>

[Snip]

> > Tolkien's stuff (of course), especially the Silmarilion.  A lavishly
> > detailed, complex, and beautiful world.
> 
> It's hard NOT to use Tolkien for Fantasy based Muds.  It's so very 
> difficult to break away from the inertia a well defined, well accepted 
> genre carries with it.  you have to simultaneously add new symbols and 
> objects while maintianing enough familiarity that people have something 
> to identify with, and a reason to continue reading.

I am not a real fan of Tolkiens writing (I just don't really like his
style, its a personal-level thing, although I will admit I like the hobbit
in preference to LoTR - it had a lot more class). However, the degree to
which he has influenced what is conceived as 'modern fantasy' is really
quite astonishing. His works are very, very often (even subconciously)
used as the basis for things. I have very deliberately kept his ideas in
mind and tried to side-step them where possible (not entirely
successfully).
  
> > Frank Herbert's Dune.  See Tolkien.
> 
> Loved the books, but it's difficult to extract too many ideas from a 
> Sci-Fi book for a Fantasy theme.

I loved the first Dune book, liked the second, and do not believe the rest
to be worth the paper on which they are printed. I'd suggest that Dune
offers some excellent basis for fantasy-level desert based cultures (the
fremen ways of life, with some adjustments).

[Snip]

> Not a book, but the Highlander Movie/tv series has impacted our design.  
> We will have immortals of the highlander type running around, trying to 
> not get their heads cut off. :)

Heh. I am repeatedly impressed by the quality of the TV show, as far as
spin-off shows go. The first movie was a *classic* (Chris Lambert, AND
Sean Connery!), the second was utterly bizarre, and the third sucked.

[Snip]

I'm also a collosal fan of Raymond E Feist, whose writings are very
stylish, if a little gory and divulgery (is that actually a word?) in
places.

[Snip rest]

Regards,
	-Matt Chatterley
	ICQ: 5580107
"I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world." -Einstein