laila_r

Congratulations! You are Low-Brow, Violent, Traditional and Romantic! These concepts are defined below.

J R R Tolkien could easily and accurately be described as the most influential fantasy writer of all times. His great, epic work, The Lord of the Rings (1954-55), set the standard for the genre, provided inspiration for fantasy writers for several decades to come and his influence can still be seen today. This influence of a single author does, of course, have its negative sides. People who don't read fantasy sometimes judge the whole genre by their opinion on The Lord of the Rings, thinking that Tolkien's less favourable attributes, such as his sometimes over-traditional prose, represent the best one can expect from the genre. Those who see Tolkien's great assets, such as his ability to stir powerful emotions, his grasp at telling a tale of truly epic proportions without losing the perspective of the (sometimes literally) little people or his skill at conjuring an entire fictional cosmos and making the reader believe in it, might, on the other hand, be disappointed when they look beyond Tolkien and find his less talented imitators.

Nonetheless, to ignore Tolkien is to ignore what amounts to the birth of fantasy as we know it. Literally millions of readers have travelled with hobbits through the grim world of Middle-Earth at the end of the Third Age and marvelled at how such a grim and violent world may still hold such beauty.

You are also a lot like David Eddings.

If you want something more gentle, try J K Rowling.

If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, Philip Pullman.

Your score

This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.

High-Brow vs. Low-Brow

You received -5 points, making you more Low-Brow than High-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, while a typical low-brow would favour the best-selling kind. At their best, low-brows are honest enough to read what they like, regardless of what "experts" and academics say is good for them. At their worst, they are more likely to read what their neighbours like than what they would choose themselves.

 Violent vs. Peaceful

You received 1 points, making you more Violent than Peaceful. Please note that violent in this context does not mean that you, personally, are prone to violence. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you are, and you do, then you are violent as defined here. At their best, violent people are the heroes who don't hesitate to stop the villain threatening innocents by means of a good kick. At their worst, they are the villains themselves.

Experimental vs. Traditional

You received -5 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhat narrow-minded.

Cynical vs. Romantic

You received -15 points, making you more Romantic than Cynical. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, romantic people are optimistic, willing to work for a greater cause than themselves and inspiring to their peers. At their worst, they are easily fooled and too easily lead.