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A Tolkien Virgin: Of the coming of Men into the West by Mark-Edmond The Journey ContinuesDestruction, Destruction, Destruction. I'm worn out after reading this chapter. Tolkien has made no secret about the evil to befall the Noldor and Beleriand, and I know it gets worse, but his account of the Fall of Beleriand is absolutely devastating. So many Elves and Men die it's not comprehensible. Morgoth's forces detroy entire regions before they are (temporarily) stopped. I was most taken by the account of the fall of Fingolfin. I couldn't believe when he went as far as the very gates of...

A Tolkien Virgin: Of the Noldor in Beleriandby Mark-Edmond The Journey Continues Very nice. Very nice indeed. This chapter is a refreshing return to Tolkien's element. Some noteworthy developments come to pass in these pages: the construction of Gondolin and the move of Turgon and his people (amazing); Melian uncovers more of the story of the Noldor from Galadriel (this part gave me tingles); the rest of the story of the Noldor is uncovered. Thingol was made aware of the evil past of the Noldor via Cirdan (how 'bout that? I knew there was something special about him--more to...

A Tolkien Virgin: Of Beleriand and its Realmsby Mark-Edmond The Journey Continues Zzzzzz...huh? what? oh sorry, I must've dozed off their for a minute. Okay, so how many times did you have to read this chapter to get any real idea of how everything was layed out and who was where? I've read it 4 or 5 times, and I'm still not totally clear on where everyone is situated and all the names of the territories and rivers and marshes and forests and plains and hills and on and on and on...and I even have a map to help me...