Well, now I want to dig out my copies to re-read, wherever they may be. Those were my covers, too. I remember quite enjoying them, but I was probably 12 or 13 when I read them.
I found myself wondering if there's also a line of thought about fan-created content and its interaction with fantasy worlds starting around 1960. That's right around the time Star Trek 'zines were getting revved up, and then LOTR hits the scene - Sword of Shannara isn't original fantasy so much as it is a fanfic of LOTR. (I re-read it maybe 2 years ago out of curiosity and was just boggled at how transparent it was.)
Lackey also actively encouraged fanworks of her series, from filks at conventions to short story tie-ins published in annual collections (still). (And some authors, like McCaffrey, went out of their way for a long time to tamp down on fan involvement, or try to control it.) There's something there about the borders between authors and fans being much more amorphous than it might appear.
Interesting read! I'll be curious to see how all of this pans out.
On a semi-related note, I've never read any of the Dragonlance books and I'm wondering if they're still worth visiting?
Well, now I want to dig out my copies to re-read, wherever they may be. Those were my covers, too. I remember quite enjoying them, but I was probably 12 or 13 when I read them.
I found myself wondering if there's also a line of thought about fan-created content and its interaction with fantasy worlds starting around 1960. That's right around the time Star Trek 'zines were getting revved up, and then LOTR hits the scene - Sword of Shannara isn't original fantasy so much as it is a fanfic of LOTR. (I re-read it maybe 2 years ago out of curiosity and was just boggled at how transparent it was.)
Lackey also actively encouraged fanworks of her series, from filks at conventions to short story tie-ins published in annual collections (still). (And some authors, like McCaffrey, went out of their way for a long time to tamp down on fan involvement, or try to control it.) There's something there about the borders between authors and fans being much more amorphous than it might appear.