If Tolkien had not written his epic, where would Fantasy have gone?

[Durin1]

Originally posted by LutraMage
Okay, so we're all agreed that JRR is the best (surprise, surprise) but does anyone think that he will ever be surpassed? That is, will there ever be another author who can put so much into their tale without it just becoming a pale imitation of the master?

I strongly believe that JRRT will never be surpassed. Also that there will always, from now on, be a standard to go up against - which in itself would be pretty daunting

[Elvellon]

True, but fortunately there are, occasionally, actually good ones.

I would point out Amber, from the late Roger Zelany, the Dying Earth series from Jack Vance or the Tree of Swords and Jewels from C J Cherryh as examples. Both are quite different from Tolkien’s work, and in my opinion not so good, but still very enjoyable

[ethuiliel]

I haven't read all the posts yet, so someone might have said this already, but the reason I think that Tolkien is so much better than other fantasy (not that I don't like other fantasy story, there are many that I do like) is the depth. Tolkien invented languages, and came up with an elaborate history for the world, and used hints of this in the books. These hints made it seem real, because there were so many layers, while most fiction, especially fantasy (where so much is not real) has a story, but less background.

[macmico]

i think that since tolkien released his works he has set a very high stardard for other fantasy writers to achieve. i often find myself and my friends comparing fantasy novels that we have read to the level that tolkien has set. i love his writing because it isnt just a story, it is a history and sometimes have to tell myself that it is actually only fiction. tolkiens stories i think are so compelling because you actually feel his passion for his own writing when you read it. i think that fantasy writing would have been alot lower in standard had tolkien never published. i have read a few very poor books lately and i think that i only find them so poor because they do not satisfy my need for detail the way tolkien does. i mean every aspect of his writing, his races of people and places and his legends for example can be studied and always have a history. you never meet a dead end. i think that had tolkien not released his books then fantasy novels would be very different and may even have merged totally with sci-fi.

[Laurelyn]

Gah. Most modern fantasy sucks. Plot holes galore, weak villians, weak protagonists as far as emotions are concerned, badly developed lands. (Wait a minute . . . why on Earth am I a fantasy writer? )

I doubt, then, that anyone will ever surpass Tolkien's work. Besides everything else, he was the first really great fantasy writer. If anyone ever did surpass him, he would still be the first. He'll go down in history that way. He created languages, he created histories, oh, what everyone else so far has said in his praise. As I learn Quenya, the depth of his work is impressed on me again and again. He knew what he was doing as he did it. Each detail came from both his heart and his vast knowledge. Middle-Earth was something he devoted his life to.
That amazes me. Again and again, it amazes me.
A friend of mine has decided that he thinks Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time is a better work than Tolkien's. Rubbish, that's all I say.

[ethuiliel]

Tolkien raised the bar for fantasy, which makes most other fantasy seem disapointing, but it also gives something for other fantasy writers to strive for, so that even if thier stories are nowhere near as good as Tolkien's, they are still good stories. It also got more people interested in fantasy, which increased the amount of fantasy literature (good and bad).