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My favourite Middle Earth books  I love me some maps. I was one of those geeky kids who read LOTR every year. Fellowship is my favourite. I'm not particularly into lore and language in terms of the people of Middle Earth, but I love the landscape and buildings and scale of it all. I was well into the Middle Earth Role Playing Game as it tried to capture that and... once again, lots of maps. These teo were my favourites as they had more detail about Dol Guldur and the Black Gates respectively.   I love the films as well. I know some people who are into the lore are bothered by them because of the changes. But for me they it's still the setting and I think the film captures the scale of Middle Earth as well as the whole world-in-decline vibe perfectly.
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Nov 9, 2013 10:52
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| # ? May 5, 2024 20:34 |
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Whether you'll enjoy the Silmarillion depends a lot on how much patience you have for its style. Some people (myself included) are bonkers for it. Others can't get past page 10. If you find yourself bogging down at all, try interspersing chapters of the Silmarillion proper with the Better Myths version of it. http://bettermyths.com/category/mythos/silmarillion/
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Nov 9, 2013 20:57
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Data Graham posted:Whether you'll enjoy the Silmarillion depends a lot on how much patience you have for its style. Some people (myself included) are bonkers for it. Others can't get past page 10. The Silmarillion was actually more enjoyable for me than LoTR. I'm a huge mythology nerd though, so my experience is probably not typical.
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Nov 11, 2013 06:29
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Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad is a loving fantastic book and is amazing to read. It's not just the maps you find in the front pages of each book, it's very detailed and well researched. There's plain old maps that show you terrain features and whatever, but then there's maps that show you the paths (or possible paths) taken by characters and groups of characters, it shows maps of weather patterns, languages, it has very detailed maps of settlements or important locations like Helms Deep or Cirith Ungol, and it's even got maps that describe the important battles and the forces involved and the various movements of the armies during each battle. The book contains information on pretty much everything ever in the world of LotR, not just from the trilogy but from the Hobbit and from the Silmarillion as well, describing Beleriand in really great detail. All of this stuff is referenced back to the actual books themselves, it's awesome.
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Nov 16, 2013 02:16
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I originally read the books in Spanish (my first language), and now I want to read them again in English. What edition should I get? (I'd like a rather "fancy" edition instead of regular paperbacks)
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Dec 11, 2013 13:59
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This was the one I got: Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition Hardcover It's not as oversized as the Illustrated Edition, but has a nice heft to it.
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Dec 11, 2013 16:16
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Having the Atlas of Middle-Earth on hand while reading The Silmarillion has actually made reading it bearable because I can get an idea of where the gently caress places are, what regions are ruled by what people, what people are doing during a big battle, etc.
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Dec 27, 2013 16:24
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pixelbaron posted:Having the Atlas of Middle-Earth on hand while reading The Silmarillion has actually made reading it bearable because I can get an idea of where the gently caress places are, what regions are ruled by what people, what people are doing during a big battle, etc. That's funny, my copy of the Silmarillion had both a regular map and a map showing the rulers of the areas of beleriand.
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Dec 27, 2013 16:29
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Mine has a map in the back but that starts to become a pain in the rear end to flip to and it doesn't show who rules what.
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Dec 27, 2013 16:41
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Reading the Silmarillion is bearable because it's awesome  (I guess I've just never let myself get bogged down in details if it took checking maps and all that stuff to get it to come together, I'd just kind of move on. Not great for scholarly study or something but good for entertainment)
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Dec 28, 2013 00:49
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Having that atlas book handy does make reading the books a lot more fun though, I agree.
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Dec 28, 2013 16:46
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I've always wondered about the Balrog in Moria. Why is it hanging around in there? Is it explained anywhere why it doesnt just bust out of Moria and join up with Sauron?
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Dec 28, 2013 20:44
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They were servants of melkor not sauron. He probably had his own ideas about he wanted to do.
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Dec 28, 2013 20:48
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Its motivations are left unexplained, but I imagine it would have wanted to remain hidden for fear of the Valar and their servants. Gandalf, after all, was but one of the the five Istari sent to Middle Earth, and several powerful Noldor yet remained.
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Dec 28, 2013 21:27
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Maybe it just had too much fun playing Dungeon Keeper against the dwarves.
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Dec 28, 2013 21:44
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It was probably asleep for most of those years (like five thousand years).
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Dec 28, 2013 21:58
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Thanks for the answers. I guess it makes sense that the balrog is hiding in Mora. While I'm at it, another question: For those of you who have read unfinished tales, Does it offer any more information on the witch-king's war with Arnor?
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Dec 29, 2013 01:04
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I got the revised edition of the atlas of middle earth for Christmas! This book is so cool. Thanks for the recommendation guys.
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Dec 29, 2013 23:14
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GyverMac posted:Thanks for the answers. I guess it makes sense that the balrog is hiding in Mora. I read it but I don't remember, I'll try to check when I get home but I think at the most it probably just gives some sketchy general information
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Dec 30, 2013 17:09
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I think most of the info for Angmar is from the Silmarillion. Of course LOTR online I think does a lot with Angmar.
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Dec 30, 2013 17:19
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I have a question: Waaaay back when I first read the Hobbit, I remember thinking their must of been some previous incident in Bilbo's past that set him apart in Gandalf's mind. Which is why he then recommended him to Thorin in the first place, and why everyone keeps calling him a burglar. Am I correct? Or am I giving Tolkien too much credit/mis-interpreting his themes?
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Dec 30, 2013 17:23
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Bilbo is related to that one Took who could ride a horse and knocked the head off a goblin chief's head in a battles one time. He's got some of that Took blood in him and Gandalf can tell. All the poo poo that Bilbo pulls off in The Hobbit shows that Gandalf weasel right.
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Dec 30, 2013 17:33
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The reason everyone keeps calling Bilbo a burglar is because Thorin wanted to hire one and Gandalf got him to go for Bilbo by scratching a sign meaning "yo, burglar for hire" into Bilbo's door without telling anyone. It's just what his role in the party is supposed to be.
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Dec 30, 2013 17:41
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Yeah Bilbo was a bit unusual for a Hobbit in that I believe he did things like go for walks outside of the Shire and fantasize about having adventures, but really didn't do much beyond having some bloodlines to some famous hobbits.
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Dec 30, 2013 18:02
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Has anyone written any good books or stories set in Tolkien's legendarium? I know none will ever be half as good as his own work, and I probably wouldn't want to settle for any less but possibly there's one or two that are ok?
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Dec 30, 2013 18:26
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Chris Tolkien has the poo poo locked down man. That isn't going to happen (other than Chris's stuff).
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Dec 30, 2013 18:34
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concerned mom posted:Has anyone written any good books or stories set in Tolkien's legendarium? I know none will ever be half as good as his own work, and I probably wouldn't want to settle for any less but possibly there's one or two that are ok?  Terry Brooks
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Dec 30, 2013 18:36
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Did Christopher Tolkien actually write anything at all that wasn't basically just editing his fathers notes?
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Dec 30, 2013 18:37
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Levitate posted:Did Christopher Tolkien actually write anything at all that wasn't basically just editing his fathers notes? I don't think so.
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Dec 30, 2013 20:01
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He has not been the only author listed on his JRRT work but his "editing" consists of a lot of writing, which was my point.
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Dec 30, 2013 20:05
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SirPhoebos posted:I have a question: Waaaay back when I first read the Hobbit, I remember thinking their must of been some previous incident in Bilbo's past that set him apart in Gandalf's mind. Which is why he then recommended him to Thorin in the first place, and why everyone keeps calling him a burglar. One of the earlier books in The History of Middle-Earth (The Book of Lost Tales perhaps?) goes into this briefly. In essence, it was originally an impulse on Gandalf's part, and one which left him greatly troubled when he later thought upon it. Gandalf later came to believe that the idea was put into his mind by the Valar (most likely Manwe), or possibly even Illuvatar My memory of the passage is sketchy, however, so anyone else: feel free to correct me.
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Dec 31, 2013 03:41
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Ynglaur posted:One of the earlier books in The History of Middle-Earth (The Book of Lost Tales perhaps?) goes into this briefly. In essence, it was originally an impulse on Gandalf's part, and one which left him greatly troubled when he later thought upon it. Gandalf later came to believe that the idea was put into his mind by the Valar (most likely Manwe), or possibly even Illuvatar
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Dec 31, 2013 08:16
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SHISHKABOB posted:Bilbo is related to that one Took who could ride a horse and knocked the head off a goblin chief's head in a battles one time. He's got some of that Took blood in him and Gandalf can tell. All the poo poo that Bilbo pulls off in The Hobbit shows that Gandalf weasel right. But then why not refer Thorin to an actual Took (like I dunno, Pippen's dad?) ^^So it was basically his Plot Sense tingling?^^
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Dec 31, 2013 16:14
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One of Tolkien's drafts from Unfinished Tales also suggests that it was part of his bigger purpose in uniting Middle Earth, making Hobbits more aware of what was going on in the world in order to help them fight Sauron in their own way when he would eventually return. He just got the idea out of nowhere and suddenly realized it was important as gently caress that Bilbo would go along. Basically Tolkien's tl;dr for "it was destiny".SirPhoebos posted:But then why not refer Thorin to an actual Took (like I dunno, Pippen's dad?) He wanted someone based in a more "stable" family like Baggins. Plus he had already known Bilbo for a while, and to his neighbors Bilbo was this loving weirdo who was already occasionally meeting dwarves and elves who were passing through the Shire.
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Dec 31, 2013 16:21
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SirPhoebos posted:Plot Sense i.e. the will of Iluvatar.
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Dec 31, 2013 16:38
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A funny fan theory posits that Bilbo's mother was quite the adventurous person, and might have gone on similar adventures with Gandalf. Personally, I don't think there's anything against it in the text, and I find it kind of funny, so I'll accept it until proven otherwise.
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Dec 31, 2013 18:13
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Levitate posted:Did Christopher Tolkien actually write anything at all that wasn't basically just editing his fathers notes? If only Christopher Tolkien had the artistic integrity to give the fans what they want, like Brian Herbert...
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Dec 31, 2013 21:16
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Hannibal Rex posted:If only Christopher Tolkien had the artistic integrity to give the fans what they want, like Brian Herbert... At least if he did, he'd probably be teaming up with Guy Gavriel Kay, who is awesome and a wonderful author in his own right, rather than Kevin J. Anderson...
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Dec 31, 2013 22:03
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I think he's done a good job really. It would be so easy to sell it all to coca cola but he seems like he's actually interested in it from a scholarly perspective.
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Jan 1, 2014 00:29
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Yeah Middle Earth as an "extended universe" work of fiction would be terrible. Tolkien wrote the history up to and through the LoTR and after that is more or less left to the idea of "the age of man comes and eventually it becomes our world because all those other races gently caress off and we never hear from them again" Also that this was all written and published back in the day probably helps keep that stuff from happening
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Jan 1, 2014 04:33
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