*sigh* we've had this argument before.
Let me give you some tips:
If you want friends, don't come on and make claims like this in your first dozen posts. ANd *never* make them so in your face.
People will disagree with you, and expressing weariness that most people disagree with you only alienates people further. You want to vent? Take it to the Rants forum. You want to have a discussion? Point out specific instances where Rowling fails.
Also, resurrecting an argument that was over more than 2 months ago is annoying.
Like I said, I'm not hte biggest Rowling fan, but I think she does a pretty good job. YOU don't have to like her, but comparing her to McDonald's is way off base. There's a lot more to get out of and think about with Rowling. People discuss for long periods where she's going with different characters or themes. She's pretty darn good at discussing the themes of the books completely and without being preachy. Yet she treats the characters realistically in their setting. On the whole, she's a pretty solid writer. Just because she's credited with re-creating a genre (which I agree, she didn't remotely do) doesn't mean that she's a terrible writer. The claims are over stated, but looking at the writing objectively shows a decent amount of skill.
So yeah, reactionary. Yes, I still think that. I think you have one or two pet-peeves about the way the media shows her, and because you disagree with that portrayal you want to translate that into a statement about how she's the opposite -- a terrible writer with good PR. I see you swinging the opposite way -- blaming the writer when you should be blaming the PR, and makign assertions that I don't think are very justifiable.
As for Pratchet, I've found him to be very funny. I giggle out loud frequently. But rarely, if ever, have I had occassion to think of his writing as anything other than funny. Maybe I've missed something, and you can give me some examples. (I've read only Hogfather and Jingo) But what I've read hasn't done a very good job of exploring the themes it brings up, the characters have been extremely static, and his style, other than word play, isn't exciting. It's very, very funny, and on that justification alone I can recommend him to people. But he's not where I'd call it brilliant.
