Word of the Day
noun
1. In ancient Greek and Roman drama, a god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot.
2. Any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of the plot.
Ex. "Clash of the Titans is a a literal analysis of deus ex machina."
Today, we need to criticize one of the most important fantasy authors of all-time, if not the father of what we think of as Western Fantasy, J. R. R. Tolkein. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are timeless and only made more beloved by their film adaptations (which were masterful and impressive, proving a genre film can be good fun). We all have a favorite character in the Lord of the Rings. I can't really choose between Smeagol/Gollum, Samwise, Gimli and wait, of course, Gandalf is the best. Silly me.
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| This gives me chills every frickin' time! |
Furthermore, he set the standard for fantasy world building, creating several languages, both spoken and written, a whole geography and history literally thousands of years long for his world. Yet, Tolkein has a fatal flaw. He doesn't seem to know how to write his characters out of a corner and has to save them from Deus ex Machina. Some more obvious than others.
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| Back in White, Baby! |
The worse Deus ex Machina he uses several times is the Eagles.
To the left, they save our heroes in the Hobbit.
To the right, in Lord of the Rings.
I really don't want to spoil this one but, to those who know, the eagles save the day about 5 times between all 4 of the books.
