Quote:
Originally Posted by ColonelHardisson
A very good example would be Lord Dunsany.

Indeed.

Also I believe it was MArgaret St. Claire who wrote The Secret People in which elves were very much like humans.

Of course, the early English folklore had elves akin to small humans, likely based on the Picts, and called stone arrowheads they found "elf bolts".

Cheers,
Gary




Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentlegamer
I think that in many ways, the sci-fi/fantasy dichotomy is a false one. Many of the most influential stories in the "fantasy" genre have a healthy dose of "sci-fi" in them as well. In fact, it is this quality that serves as the primary difference between that genre that began in the 20th century that separated it from the "fairy tales" that preceded it.

I think Gary's preference, like mine, isn't necessarily for "sword and sorcery" but for "pulp adventure" and the "well wrought tale" genre. This view is comfortable with running a pseudo-medieval campaign setting that has crashed space ships, side treks to Barsoom, guargantuan carnivorous apes, and cowboys. 

Actually, REH's and Leiber's tales are amongst my very favorites, and they are pure pure S&S. OTOH, I enjoy fairy tales and fantasy yarns with some technology/scoience fantasy included, as noted above.

So yes, my taste in fantasy is surely eclecticm and includes MArgater St. Claire's The Secret People

Cheerio,
Gary