Lord of the Rings Fans?

How many of you are fans of the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's work?

I'm a fan of the books, I read the whole trilogy in middle school.

I am a fan of both the movies and the books. Although I havent read the books in ages. The Hobbit is also a pretty decent book by Tolkien. I think he has other works as well but I havent read them yet.

I liked the books quite a bit more than the movies. However, my favourite book by Tolkien has to be the Silmarillion.

Yeah, I enjoyed the movies and the books, along with the Hobbit. He did write other books, but they were unfinished, and could only be published when Tolkien's son compiled them from his father's notes. I'm not

Sotnyk wrote:I liked the books quite a bit more than the movies. However, my favourite book by Tolkien has to be the Silmarillion.

What's it about? Is it good?

Godfaesten wrote:

Sotnyk wrote:I liked the books quite a bit more than the movies. However, my favourite book by Tolkien has to be the Silmarillion.

What's it about? Is it good?

It's great. But you need a lot of time to read through it. Summed up briefly, it's the historical and mythological background of the Lord of the Rings.

Sotnyk wrote:

Godfaesten wrote:

Sotnyk wrote:I liked the books quite a bit more than the movies. However, my favourite book by Tolkien has to be the Silmarillion.

What's it about? Is it good?

It's great. But you need a lot of time to read through it. Summed up briefly, it's the historical and mythological background of the Lord of the Rings.

Thanks.

Godfaesten wrote:How many of you are fans of the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's work?

I am a great fan of Tolkien's work. His writing is beautiful and his storytelling masterful. His characters and the world that they inhabit are brilliantly animated and vibrant. His is an idyllic story that fills me with a sense of longing. The peoples he created inhabit idealized racial societies that are organic and rooted in kinship. It is difficult, therefore, for a racial nationalist not to appreciate the charming nature of his work. In this day and age of materialism and decadence, his writing is almost quaint. It is fulfilling.

In my opinion, Tolkien's work is not mere storytelling: it is a quintessential example of English literature.

Of course what he was trying to do was to create a mythology for England to rival the 'Ring Cycle' in Germany.
Personaly I think he did a pretty good job. I've lost count of the number of times I've re-read that trilogy. His other books aren't bad either, I recommend the 'Silmarillion'. A hard read (reads like a history book) but well worth the effort as it fills in a lot of background to the 'Lord of the Rings' - as indeed does the 'Hobbit'.

When I was a kid certain books enthralled me, his was one, another was a rather large (enormous to a small child) book on Norse and Germanic mythology. These were the books that not only sparked an abiding interest in the 'Norse' religion, but started me down the road to racial awareness.

I've read all three (Hobbit, LOTR, and Silmarillion innumerable times). LOTR serves as a bridge between Hobbit and Silmarillion. The firsrt volume of LOTR was good; in the second and third, Tolkien lost his nerve and depicted a feudal order.

For an account of what happened in Middle Earth from the point of view of Mordor, take a look at this:

http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2011/02/15/last_ringbearer/index.html

I downloaded the 400+ pages of "The Last Ringbearer," and I recommend it. The machinations of Aragorn, Gandalf, and the elves are laid bare.

hermeticist wrote:I've read all three (Hobbit, LOTR, and Silmarillion innumerable times). LOTR serves as a bridge between Hobbit and Silmarillion. The firsrt volume of LOTR was good; in the second and third, Tolkien lost his nerve and depicted a feudal order.

For an account of what happened in Middle Earth from the point of view of Mordor, take a look at this:

http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2011/02/15/last_ringbearer/index.html

I downloaded the 400+ pages of "The Last Ringbearer," and I recommend it. The machinations of Aragorn, Gandalf, and the elves are laid bare.

I don't know if he "lost his nerve" so much as the story shifted to describe other societies. One cannot compare the simple and blithe existence of the Hobbits to the Elven outposts and the world of Men.

There are humans also in "Hobbit" (in Dale, near Smaug's desoloation) but they fit seamlessly into the story. In LOTR, humans are described in another way, and have become -- in Rohan and Gondor -- the centre of gravity of the book, rather than just one species of being. Likewise the elves, who are singing silly songs making fun of the dwarves in Rivendell, have been utterly transformed in LOTR. Gandalf, who in "Hobbit" is hiding in a tree with the dwarves and Bilbo to escape from the wolves and goblins and makes fireworks in the first volume of LOTR, changes into a master of geopolitics and grand military strategy in LOTR's second and third volumes. Strider (Aragorn) -- who is just a bloke smoking and drinking in a pub in Bree -- likewise changes into an implementer of military and political strategy. Tolkien admitted that he didn't really know what to do with him when he introduced him in Bree.

The depiction of grand strategies, alliances, and military operations in LOTR's second and third volumes jars with the magical and fantasy world of Hobbit and the first volume of LOTR. But this is merely my opinion.

http://www.bornofhope.com/

Brilliant fan film. Worth a watch, not the usual 'fan' film.

Isakenaz wrote:http://www.bornofhope.com/

Brilliant fan film. Worth a watch, not the usual 'fan' film.

I've watched this, and it's a great fan film. Also, check out 'The Hunt for Gollum':

Btw, if a mod could move this to the Literary section I would be very grateful. I accidentally put it in the wrong section when I made this thread.

I used the I Write Like test to see who I write like. (You put in something you've written, and it analyses it). I found out I write like J.R.R. Tolkien. I am so proud. My life is complete.

I read "The Hobbit" in 5th grade, "Fellowship" in 7th, and I read the others about a year ago.

A great series, and I'm glad to have read all of the books. They are very inspiring.

Also, I did that I Write Like analysis. I used a paper I wrote for my English class about the Declaration of Independence. Apparently, my writing style is similar to Edgar Allen Poe's.

For a dramatic short story I wrote, I got Anne Rice. For a short paragraph describing nature in great detail, I got Charles Dickens.

I think the way it analyzes may be a bit off. For my English paper, I was very wordy, yes..but I also put a lot of emotion and conviction into my writing, which is why I believe I got Poe. For the science abstract, I wrote mostly about scientific things, and my result was a science fiction novelist.
My dramatic story was fairly dark and intense, and featured romance..and I got Anne Rice. My short writing prompt described an element of nature in great detail..I got Charles Dickens. Though it fits their writing style to an extent, the content is also similar. Though I can understand that specific content is all written in a similar manner.

Interesting.

hermeticist wrote:There are humans also in "Hobbit" (in Dale, near Smaug's desoloation) but they fit seamlessly into the story. In LOTR, humans are described in another way, and have become -- in Rohan and Gondor -- the centre of gravity of the book, rather than just one species of being. Likewise the elves, who are singing silly songs making fun of the dwarves in Rivendell, have been utterly transformed in LOTR. Gandalf, who in "Hobbit" is hiding in a tree with the dwarves and Bilbo to escape from the wolves and goblins and makes fireworks in the first volume of LOTR, changes into a master of geopolitics and grand military strategy in LOTR's second and third volumes. Strider (Aragorn) -- who is just a bloke smoking and drinking in a pub in Bree -- likewise changes into an implementer of military and political strategy. Tolkien admitted that he didn't really know what to do with him when he introduced him in Bree.

The depiction of grand strategies, alliances, and military operations in LOTR's second and third volumes jars with the magical and fantasy world of Hobbit and the first volume of LOTR. But this is merely my opinion.

Strider was not "just some bloak . . . in Bree" he was revealed to be a Ranger, descended from kings and a master of lore, combat, politics, and terrain in the very next chapters. Also, Gandalf was an intellectual over 3000 years old. He was bound to learn a thing or two of geopolitics and war in that time don't you think? As for his restraint in The Hobbit with respect to the wargs it may have merely been in his judgement not worth killing them (I'm trying to remember from years ago). I do agree that the other books were focused more on the politics of men than anything else but this was set up in The Fellowship of the Ring and should not be viewed as inconsistent or a leap of any sort.

I sound harsh but I'm not angry, I'm just trying to be sterile in my analysis.

Happy Reading,
Red Aegis

Red Aegis wrote: Also, Gandalf was an intellectual over 3000 years old. He was bound to learn a thing or two of geopolitics and war in that time don't you think?

Intellectual!? Gandalf was actually a Maiar named Olórin who has been around almost as long as the Valar, and is actually a spirit. He was made an Istari by the Valar to help protect the first and second born against evil! Much more than an intellectual my friend.

I don't see why this thread is not more active. Life would not be worth living without Lord of the Rings and Tolkien lore.

Pantheon Rising wrote:I don't see why this thread is not more active. Life would not be worth living without Lord of the Rings and Tolkien lore.

True dat.