re: #295 LudwigVanQuixote

Silmarillion is my favorite of the Tolkien because it is the core “nuts and bolts” of Middle Earth. It is the First and Second Age. It is the grand mythos that Tolkien was shooting for - the mythos behind his mythos.

The Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin (also an R.R.) is not going for a mythos in the same way. It is an epic where part of the thrill is figuring out hat is going on in a very satisfying story that starts out complex and stays that way.

I have to wonder, cynical bastard that I am, whether George Martin inserted the “R.R.” like John Kerry did the “F.” so he could be a little more JFKish.

The thing I admire about Tolkien is that he did the whole backstory first, including fully-fleshed out languages and scripts, with no idea it would ever be published. Then he wrote “The Hobbit” for his children. Then he set about LotR, also with little hope that it was publishable. The children’s book was a hit, and the rest is history.

To my knowledge there are masses of notebooks that have still not seen the light of day.