The Purpose of fiction Pratchett vs. Tolkein

[Khyron1144]

I don't know Howard, but i don't think you can compare Pratchett to Tolkein. They are two completely different styles of writing. The only thing that makes them even somewhat related is that Discworld is a fantasy world. So while you may like him more, it's unfair to judge Tolkein against him.

I believe the SN of the person who posted the quote is hairyfry.


Here's why I would compare two very different authors, who work in very different subgenres of the over-all fantasy genre:
They both write fiction.
I believe there are two purposes of all fiction:
1) To entertain.
2) To reveal Great Truths about the human race in a palatable form.

Thus any work of fiction can be judged on how it fulflils these two points compared to any other work.


I say that Tolkein has a hard enough job performing fiction's first job of entertaining that it will take a while and a bit of a struggle to find out if he fulfils the second one.

Pratchett on the other hand expresses many great truths, while being vastly entertaining.

[Hairyfry]

Yeah, that was me. I understand where you're coming from with your argument. But even though they are both fictional authors, they are so completely different. It's like comparing Casablanca with The Matrix. You can't. First off, Tolkein wrote over fifty years ago, while Pratchett is current. Tolkein was very serious, while Pratchett is purely comedical. Tolkein's work had real meaning, (to me, anyway) while Pratchett is what i like to call "brain candy." They are both phenomenal authors, and i don't mean to slight either of them in any way, but you simply can't draw meaningful comparisons. Also, even though i don't agree with your two purposes of fiction, i find that Tolkein accomplished them both far more than Pratchett likely ever will. (Puts on flame-proof shirt and pants.) While they are both unbelievably talented authors, there is no question that Tolkein is better.