Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
IMHO, a classic is a book that stands the test of time or could stand the test of time. And if published now (any now you want to pick in the future) would still be a good book.
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The problem with that opinion is that many books considered classics were foundations and originals the subsequent authors built upon and/or imitated. The LoTR mostly founded the modern fantasy genre, for example. Sherlock Holmes did the same with detective genre. They were pioneers, forerunners. Without them those genres would not exist in the same form as we know them today. So how could you take them out of their time and reimplant in some future time period? That future time period would no longer be the same without their predecessors. Moreover, many original works seem like cliches today exactly because thousands of other authors have imitated and copied them. They were original when they were written. You cannot take them out of that context.