IN A LAND FAR FAR AWAY...

TALES OF DRAGONS, ELVES AND DWARVES ABOUND

 

*I'm assuming everyone reading this post has either read or seen The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies/books so for those very select few who haven't, there may be spoilers.

 

This week we're going back to one of the fathers of modern fantasy, the man who defined wizards, dwarves, and elves as we know them today: Tolkien. There is a special place in my nerdy little heart for Tolkien (as there probably is for any decent bookworm). I first read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy back in middle school. I can't say—as I so often can with other books—that I have

read these books many times. I've read The Hobbit maybe four times and The Lord of the Rings only twice each. While The Hobbit is a fun, short, easy read, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is anything but (though I promise it is worth it to read them at least once). For those not interested in reading The Lord of the Rings and sticking with the movie versions (I love the movies too!), I would still recommend you read The Hobbit. It can more than stand on its own; in fact, it was originally going to be a stand alone until Tolkien decided to venture further into the world of Middle Earth with The Lord of the Rings. As an interesting side note, Gollum was not (in the original published version of The Hobbit) an evil creature at all. When Bilbo wins the riddle game, he has no ill will towards the hobbit and actually gives the ring to Bilbo as a reward in addition to leading him out of the tunnels. It was only after Tolkien decided to continue his story with The Lord of the Rings and figured out Gollum would make a fairly decent side villain that he decided to make the almost innocent creature more sinister.

 

A quick note on the movies (because we can't do a whole post on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings without even mentioning them), while I love the adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, I am not quite so fond of the adaptation of The Hobbit. Most of my dislike is probably due to the amount the movies stray from the book. They could have fit the entire book into one, maybe two movies. You know they're just trying to extend it for the money they'll make. I admit, I've only seen the first of the three planned films, so I won't judge the other two until I've seen them. But movies is not our topic today, so I won't say more than that. And now back to the books.

 

The Hobbit is a fairly quick read and few parts are slow paced. The Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, is a much longer read and has many more slow paced sections. I'll warn you in advance that The Lord of the Rings can be a bit difficult to get through, especially if you're not used to reading epic fantasy. Keep in mind that these books were written back in the mid 1950's. The writing style back then was very differet than the writing style of today. A lot of time and space was

given to description of both setting and people. So be prepared to read about a lot of flora and fauna. Though, I just have to say that I don't think the movies would have turned out nearly so well if Tolkien had not put in all that detail. Everything in the movie is detailed down to the smallest button. I believe that is due in part to the awesome team who was in charge of costumes/set design/etc for the movies, but a bigger part of it was Tolkien and his descriptions in the books. So be forgiving of the pages of description when you read them.

 

One thing I love about Tolkien is his mix of imagination and logic. He was not only an author, but he was a linguist (he made up the language of the elves himself), and he was a professor among many other things. He loved trees (you can see that love come out in his book in the form of the Ents). He delved so deeply into Middle Eartch, its history, its folklore, the different cultures, and how everything tied together. He has written an unbleivable amount about Middle Earth. Another book you may want to look into if you love Middle Earth is the Silmarillion (which I have yet to read myself).

 

There is so much more that could be said on Tolkien, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, but I will leave it here for today. Just one last note and I'll be finished. If you love Tolkien, you should check out the podcast The Tolkien Professor. It's amazing!

 

 

I do not read for

I have renounced life,

 

I read because one life is just

not enough for me.

 

-Abbas Al-Akkad