I’ve been a huge fan of the movies since they first came out but didn’t read the books until the beginning of this year. I just wasn’t a reader until recently. I’ve been yearning for some more fantasy but haven’t been able to find anything similar. I tried The Silmarillion but it reads too much like a textbook to me.
What are some other great fantasy books that I might like?
Most people can agree that LOTR is about “good vs evil” with high attention to details, which can be found in many other fantasy books.
One thing that make me obsessed with LOTR that’s way less common is Tolkien’s approach with how to do good.
In LOTR, it’s not enough to claim “the end justifies the means”, where Gandalf could use the ring to destroy Sauron and be a “good” leader. It’s in the little things that goodness wins. There’s a nice quote from Sam in one of the last chapters about it.
In my opinion, Tolkien’s witness of WWI made him aware that the “good” side would commit as much atrocities as the “bad” side in a war. That was something he learned from it, and tries to push in his stories.
In that sense, i liked Wheel of Time. It starts in a Game of Thrones style, where the good guys work against each other because “the end justifies the means” (encouraged by infiltrated bad guys). To win, the good guys have to learn Tolkien’s lesson, and make sure they don’t cause harm when trying to achieve their goals. Also, it’s very detailed and deep.