When people complain about a lack of originality, I don't think they mean an author's prowess at thinking of non-existant names that have too many (or too few) consonants (or vowels). I think they're complaining about yet another repetition of the exact same quest narrative and character treatments and scene set-ups (ie forest ambushes, aerial combat, dwarves burrows, etc). Also, keeping his characters straight and building believable cities is the LEAST I expect from a fantasy author...so that's hardly raising the bar.
― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 18 December 2006 19:29 (seventeen years ago) link