Posted on 01/20/2020 7:28:34 AM PST by Kaslin
The appendices are incredible too. Gives a history of ME. Definitely a brilliant mind that can create an extremely rich world with such detail. Including and especially the languages that were created to enhance the book and the experience — the text, the words, etc. and pronunciation.
RE Ballantines:
I keep them in Ziplok bags, as I do with all of my old paperbacks. Gives them a little longer lifespan; unfortunately, the paper pages deteriorate over time.
You might be able to find a set on Ebay, though.
I would LOVE a hardcopy of those someday. Finances are tight at the moment, so that’s not an option right now.
“..Definitely a brilliant mind that can create an extremely rich world with such detail....”
He left a Gem for the following generations of young minds to discover, for sure.
I do remember “Beowulf” as required reading in HS. Loved that as well.
Mine also. The belonged to my Mom. They are in the storage unit now, but, I do have a LotR on the boat.
Mine also. The belonged to my Mom. They are in the storage unit now, but, I do have a LotR on the boat.
I also have the Ace Science Fiction “Conan” series in paperbacks as well. Robert E. Howard was another genius writer. Too bad he committed suicide.
Loved those stories when I was a kid. And Arnold was perfect as Conan... :^)
“and a hey nonny Nembutal” sticks in my mind for some reason. I might just have to go back and re-read that.
Anyway, my son gave the LOTR to me for my birthday. It is rare that I have even 5 minutes to sit in one place and read. So over Christmas I dusted it off and started reading it and haven't put it down since. A little slow going for me since I haven't read a novel in years.. ah, modern conveniences of the computer. We become lazy. But I am enjoying it immensely!
Didn't much care for "Beowulf" but "Grendel" was incredible.
“...modern conveniences of the computer...”
I try to read a book a month. PCs destroy the eyes, but they’re a part of life now. For better or worse.
However, a good book, in a comfortable chair, near a warm fireplace, and with a good beverage in hand is always hard to beat.
“Grendel” was one hell of a monster. The mother was even worse.
There was a semi-animated movie version of “Beowulf” some years back, with Sean Bean as Beowulf, and I believe Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother. Neat flick. Grendel was a complete savage lunatic.
What a perfect, beautiful eulogy.
As do I. I remember reading the Silmarillion during break in HS, while walking to the next class and smashing headlong into a pole.
I also have “Tolkien: The Lost Tales”, both books, in the collection somewhere as well. I think they’re still packed away from my last move.
“...walking to the next class and smashing headlong into a pole. ...”
I’ve done that, but alcohol was usually involved, pre-impact...
No kidding. And best of all books don’t require electricity and run out of juice just when you need them the most!
Low tech has huge advantages. :)
“...Low tech has huge advantages. :)...”
In almost everything, nowadays, in this over-monitored big brother society we’ve allowed ourselves to become.
J.R.R. Tolkien essentially invented "worldbuilding" in its modern sense, and no one has ever done it better. For one thing, elaborate worldbuilding requires great length. Unless one has commercial success in the early stages, sustaining such a work of fiction over multiple volumes and decades is a work that very few would attempt. And then it takes a rare combination of talents to pull it off: the imagination to conjure a plausible, very different but internally consistent world; the writing ability to bring it to life; and the discipline to adhere to the internal logic and avoid going "superhero" with the leading characters. Even Tolkien wasn't perfect on that score; one is entitled to wince every time he writes his heroes into a doomed situation and the eagles show up out of nowhere to bail them out.
A few of the science fiction greats also pulled this off, and the great contemporary example is G.R.R. Martin. The Game of Thrones devolution in the last seasons of the tv show is a perfect example of what happens when the tight discipline of the books was lost and the showrunners collapsed into comic book superhero shortcuts. Peter Jackson's mishandling of the LOTR and The Hobbit are another example.
[Internal discipline is especially tricky in managing magical worlds. The magic needs a coherent internal structure, so it requires a backstory. It must remain predictable on its own terms, so game-changing surprises aren't being pulled out of the hat in an arbitrary way; the key elements need to be established early. And it must be constrained enough to give the human characters real agency. It's a difficult balance to maintain.]
Christopher added immeasurably to the depth of the worldbuilding by brining the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and History of Middle Earth to publication. We may never see the like again, as technology has moved on and modern audiences lack patience and are too attuned to visual presentations.
My favorite part of the book is during the battle of Pelennor fields, the army of Rohan slips through the broken walls.
Great evil is about to sack the city and help is sneaking in the back door and about to spring a surprise on the bad guys.
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