Pratchett v Rowling (round one?)
Jul. 31st, 2005 01:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swordmagePratchett anger at Rowling's rise
Pratchett anger at Rowling's rise
Terry Pratchett is the author of the best-selling Discworld series
Author Terry Pratchett has complained that the status of Harry Potter author JK Rowling is being elevated "at the expense of other writers".
Pratchett, one of the UK's most successful novelists with 40 million books sold, said the media ignores the achievements of other fantasy authors.
He also took a sideswipe at Rowling for saying she did not realise Harry Potter was fantasy until it was published.
His comments came on Rowling's 40th birthday, also Harry Potter's birthday.
In a recent interview with Time magazine, Rowling said she was "not a huge fan of fantasy" and was trying to "subvert" the genre.
JK Rowling recently launched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The magazine also said Rowling reinvented fantasy fiction, which was previously stuck in "an idealised, romanticised, pseudofeudal world, where knights and ladies morris-dance to Greensleeves".
Pratchett, whose first fantasy novel was published 34 years ago, wrote to the Sunday Times saying the genre had always been "edgy and inventive".
"Ever since The Lord of the Rings revitalised the genre, writers have played with it, reinvented it, subverted it and bent it to their times," he wrote.
"It has also contained come of the very best, most accessible writing for children, by writers who seldom get the acknowledgement they deserve."
He also expressed surprise at Rowling's comments that she only realised Harry Potter was fantasy after the first book was published.
"I'm not the world's greatest expert," he wrote.
Birthday celebrations
"But I would have thought that the wizards, witches, trolls, unicorns, hidden worlds, jumping chocolate frogs, owl mail, magic food, ghosts, broomsticks and spells would have given her a clue?"
Rowling's latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, sold almost nine million copies in the UK and US in its first 24 hours of release on 16 July.
Meanwhile, Rowling celebrated reaching 40 on Sunday, the same day she has given as her young creation's birthday.
The author's website displayed pictures of a birthday cake and birthday card with the words: "Happy birthday Harry Potter."
Fans have been trying to deduce how old he is, with one site saying the boy wizard has now turned 25.
I think "anger" is a bit too strong of a word to use here, he came across as more annoyed to me. Seemed like it was because she, a relative newcomer to writing, is being given credit for revitalizing a stuffy old genre (something fantasy most definitly is not).
Sure, the traditional idea is that it's all knights rescuing damsels in distress, but there's a large number of books that don't fall into the category-Neil Gaiman's work comes to mind automatically, as does Jennifer Fallon, and many others whom I'm thoughtlessly forgetting.
Rowling deserves credit in the book world, without a doubt, but I think Pratchett's got a point or two.
EDIT: Neil Gaiman's got a bit more on the subject. And he makes more sense.
Pratchett anger at Rowling's rise
Terry Pratchett is the author of the best-selling Discworld series
Author Terry Pratchett has complained that the status of Harry Potter author JK Rowling is being elevated "at the expense of other writers".
Pratchett, one of the UK's most successful novelists with 40 million books sold, said the media ignores the achievements of other fantasy authors.
He also took a sideswipe at Rowling for saying she did not realise Harry Potter was fantasy until it was published.
His comments came on Rowling's 40th birthday, also Harry Potter's birthday.
In a recent interview with Time magazine, Rowling said she was "not a huge fan of fantasy" and was trying to "subvert" the genre.
JK Rowling recently launched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The magazine also said Rowling reinvented fantasy fiction, which was previously stuck in "an idealised, romanticised, pseudofeudal world, where knights and ladies morris-dance to Greensleeves".
Pratchett, whose first fantasy novel was published 34 years ago, wrote to the Sunday Times saying the genre had always been "edgy and inventive".
"Ever since The Lord of the Rings revitalised the genre, writers have played with it, reinvented it, subverted it and bent it to their times," he wrote.
"It has also contained come of the very best, most accessible writing for children, by writers who seldom get the acknowledgement they deserve."
He also expressed surprise at Rowling's comments that she only realised Harry Potter was fantasy after the first book was published.
"I'm not the world's greatest expert," he wrote.
Birthday celebrations
"But I would have thought that the wizards, witches, trolls, unicorns, hidden worlds, jumping chocolate frogs, owl mail, magic food, ghosts, broomsticks and spells would have given her a clue?"
Rowling's latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, sold almost nine million copies in the UK and US in its first 24 hours of release on 16 July.
Meanwhile, Rowling celebrated reaching 40 on Sunday, the same day she has given as her young creation's birthday.
The author's website displayed pictures of a birthday cake and birthday card with the words: "Happy birthday Harry Potter."
Fans have been trying to deduce how old he is, with one site saying the boy wizard has now turned 25.
I think "anger" is a bit too strong of a word to use here, he came across as more annoyed to me. Seemed like it was because she, a relative newcomer to writing, is being given credit for revitalizing a stuffy old genre (something fantasy most definitly is not).
Sure, the traditional idea is that it's all knights rescuing damsels in distress, but there's a large number of books that don't fall into the category-Neil Gaiman's work comes to mind automatically, as does Jennifer Fallon, and many others whom I'm thoughtlessly forgetting.
Rowling deserves credit in the book world, without a doubt, but I think Pratchett's got a point or two.
EDIT: Neil Gaiman's got a bit more on the subject. And he makes more sense.
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-31 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-31 08:41 pm (UTC)Not to mention he's been at it for far longer then she has. Rowling just turned 40, he publlished his first book about 34 years ago. She also has no plans to write any fantasy after book seven comes out.
(And by the way-Neil Gaiman just posted some stuff on the article. I've added the link at the bottom of my post. You should read it.)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-31 08:42 pm (UTC)(Ah~ I read it, thank you. ^_^)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-31 08:51 pm (UTC)There's also the small fact that her plot really isn't all that unique. And while it's done well, I still can't help but think of other books as I read it which treat certain elements better.
Found!
Date: 2005-07-31 08:55 pm (UTC)If you want a contemporary, fantasy, literary goddess-Yolen is the one. This particular book bears some serious similarities to Potter, but should be read nonetheless. Possibly better, in my mind, and certainly shorter.
Re: Found!
Date: 2005-07-31 09:07 pm (UTC)Oh, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Harry Potter, but on the level that it's meant to be enjoyed. It's a fun read and more than a little crunchy. That said, JKR believes or appears to believe too much of the hype surrounding her and her books. That is what bothers me. And most of fandom too. *cringes* So, books are fun, the woman scares me on some levels. Recently, I've been frightened at how bad she is at maths. o_O
Re: Found!
Date: 2005-07-31 09:10 pm (UTC)Read any and all you can get your hands on by Jane Yolen. One of my personal favorites is The Pit Dragon trilogy.
Re: Found!
Date: 2005-07-31 09:14 pm (UTC)Re: Found!
Date: 2005-07-31 09:35 pm (UTC)Everyone should read her.
Re: Found!
Date: 2005-08-01 12:21 am (UTC)Oh yes. *goes to dig out and reread*
Re: Found!
Date: 2005-07-31 09:13 pm (UTC)Then you go to fandom wank and laugh your head off.
hhmmm... I didn't notice any math problems, but then again.
Re: Found!
Date: 2005-07-31 09:20 pm (UTC)Mmmm... fandom wank. I should go over there soon.
Oh, mostly with ages and whatnot. It breaks your brain sometimes.