Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun would be a great counter-example. The novel owes absolutely nothing to Tolkien; it's entirely its own thing, subverting ge

Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun would be a great counter-example. The novel owes absolutely nothing to Tolkien; it's entirely its own thing, subverting generic fantasy tropes left and right, while providing a clever variation on the classic hero's journey. And the same time it has this magnificent aura of otherwordliness, like a mythological narrative written thousands of years into the future (which it purports to be). It's an absolute masterpiece. Wolfe really made a career out of subverting fantasy tropes. His Latro series [2] (Soldier of the Mist, etc.) is set in Ancient Greece, and features an amnesiac mercenary whose memory resets every day. The Wizard Knight is another good one; essentially a riff on Tolkienesque Norse mythology and Medieval romances, it features a prepubescent boy who is accidentally transported to a fantasy dimension, and then into the body of an adult knight. It's absurd, but also deliciously weird, just like some of Wolfe's other books (the Long Sun and Short Sun books, etc.). [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JL493G https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JL493G [2] https://www.amazon.com/Soldier-Mist-Latro-Book-1-ebook/dp/B009E6VSBG https://www.amazon.com/Soldier-Mist-Latro-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Knight-Gene-Wolfe-ebook/dp/B086S3X5CP https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Knight-Gene-Wolfe-ebook/dp/B08...