Look at it this way mhoram--go in2 any Walmart, Dept. store (like Target), phamacy (like Walgreens), supermarket, etc...and look at the book section. Sandwiched in between the Grishams, Clancys, Cooks and tons of Romance novels u will find a VERY small smattering of Fantasy--most of which consists of authors like Brooks, Jordan and Eddings. Looking alot nicer lately due 2 Tolkien reissues 2 go along w/the movies. Tons of people buy Romance novels. The majority of people (and I don't want 2 sound like an intellectual bigot here..) buy mass-marketed pap Fantasy and don't kno any better--they haven't been xposed 2 the great stuff like we have...
Like romance novels, these type of books r what some people call "Summer" or "beach reads". They take one on a nice little adventure and don't require the exertion of brain matter. These type of books bcome familiar and safe. It's like network television--simple mindless fun--they bcome easily used 2 these books--basically because they're lazy. It's sort of apparent=the people who frequent REAL bookstores have some idea what they'r looking 4 in the 1st place--the people who buy books elsewhere never had a clue 2 begin with. So if u don't put out the effort--u get what u pay for.
Un42nately it is a large majority of the populus--like Tolkien, originally, Donaldson and Martin, 4 xample, the really good stuff is circulated by word of mouth. The positive thing I see with the LOTR movies, and even Harry Potter 4 that matter, is that they r inspiring whole new generations 2 read a better class of Fantasy than ever b4! If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. Lyall Watson <i></i>
|