J.W. Braun’s Bookshelf – May

May 1st, 2012 by celedor | No Comments »

This month,  J.W. Braun reviews the new fantasy book, Deep Into the Heart of a Rose, by G.T. Denny and gives away another prize. Also, he answers your questions (including a couple about the upcoming Hobbit movies) in his new mailbag section below.

Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Orthanc – Black Tower of Isengard

April 24th, 2012 by elessar | Source: WETA Workshop | No Comments »

“Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman and the union of the Two Towers?”

   – Saruman to Sauron during The Two Towers

At Comic-Con 2011 the folks at Weta announced and displayed the newest environment to land in our collections. Then on July 31^st 2011 this amazing collectible went up for pre-order to those wishing to purchase this collectible. If you were one of the first 400 people to order Orthanc, you would end up with a numbered addition, and a special gold-plated Eye of Sauron pin commemorating the day of sale. Originally, this collectible was named Orthanc Pre-Ruin but Weta and TheOneRing.net teamed up to give it an even cooler name. The winning name chosen by Weta was Orthanc – Black Tower of Isengard. This version of Orthanc shows this place as we see it when Gandalf the Grey arrives to talk with Saruman upon realizing that The One Ring has been found. This memorable moment has been amazingly captured by Weta. Follow after the break for my complete review.

Tolkien + Dickens = New Fantasy Books for Children

April 21st, 2012 by Altaira | Source: BBC | Discuss | | No Comments »

Poet Michael Tolkien, the eldest grandson of the The Hobbit author, will write two novels based on stories his grandfather read to him as a child. Gerald Dickens, the great-great grandson of Charles, will narrate the audiobook versions. Both works are due to be released later this year. Publisher Thames River Press said the first book, Wish, was inspired by Florence Bone’s 1923 story, The Rose-Coloured Wish. It tells the story of two children who set out to use an evil enchanter’s wishing chain of stones to save their alpine valley, only to fall into trouble.

Read more about the books in the BBC article and more about Michael Tolkien at www.MichaelTolkien.com.

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to publish U.S. ‘Hobbit’ tie-in books

April 13th, 2012 by newsfrombree | Discuss | | No Comments »

Our friends at Houghton Mifflin alerted us that they will be publishing the U.S. books from The Hobbit films. The entire press release follows:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to be U.S. Publisher of Official Tie-ins to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again Films

New York – April 13, 2012 – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired U.S. publishing rights from HarperCollins UK, through a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, for tie-in books to the two highly anticipated films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, directed by Peter Jackson and productions of New Line Cinema and MGM.

“Inspired by the two films based on The Hobbit, the companion books are a fantastic way for fans of the world of Middle-earth to immerse themselves in the film experience,” said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President of Domestic Licensing and Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has a strong history with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and we know that the detailed tie-in books will bring The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again to life in an in-depth and imaginative way.”

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HarperCollinsPublishers to Publish Official Tie-ins to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again Films

April 13th, 2012 by newsfrombree | Source: HarperCollinsPublishers | Discuss | | No Comments »

London, 13 April 2012: HarperCollinsPublishers has acquired exclusive worldwide publishing rights from Warner Bros. Consumer Products for tie-in books to the two highly anticipated films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, directed by Peter Jackson and productions of New Line Cinema and MGM. 

“Inspired by the two films based on The Hobbit, the HarperCollins companion books are a fantastic way for fans of the world of Middle-earth to immerse themselves in the film experience,” said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President of Domestic Licensing and Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “HarperCollins has a strong history with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and we know that the detailed tie-in books will bring The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again to life in an in-depth and imaginative way.”

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Collecting The Hobbit – the latest goodies

April 11th, 2012 by greendragon | No Comments »

Every week – almost every day! – seems to bring further news of goodies to come for those who are eager to start snapping up Hobbit related items!  Following on from this article posted here last week, we read today about Fantasy Flight Games’ ‘The Hobbit Over Hill and Under Hill’ expansion, which will be released later this year.  This is great news for gamers; and indeed, there will be a further Hobbit expansion set coming from Fantasy Flight Games towards the end of 2012.  All details here.

As more news comes in, we’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest in anticipated collectibles.  If you haven’t already started saving, now might be a good time to start!

J.W. Braun’s Bookshelf – April

April 10th, 2012 by celedor | No Comments »

This month,  J.W. Braun expands his bookshelf segment to include a giveaway, as well as a new written feature where he answers your questions. For this month, Braun reviews ”The Magical Worlds of The Lord of the Rings: The Amazing Myths, Legends, and Facts Behind the Masterpiece” by David Colbert and gives away a Sean Astin audiobook. The new mailbag feature can be found below.

Collecting The Precious – Collecting ‘The Hobbit’

April 4th, 2012 by elessar | Discuss | | No Comments »

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,as you all know, comes out in December 14, 2012. There is obvious build up to the movie ranging from the trailer, video blogs, the leaking of pictures, to random writings of what we think will happen, etc. Another aspect of the excitement for The Hobbit is collecting The Hobbit. This for me personally brings everything together, getting those awesome collectibles that tie my love for the book, movie, and the people I share that passion with together.

As of right now there are a few companies out there who have already announced products that tie into the movie or would fit within the movie. We know the folks at LEGO will be making those awesome sets for The Hobbit and have already showed some really great sets from The Lord of the Rings. Action figure collectors will have a chance to get the cast of characters from The Hobbit thanks to our friends at The Bridge Direct who have the license to create toys from the movie.  If you love plushies and bobble-heads then Funko will have you covered. If you visit their web page you can see a list of the products they will be selling but right now its just items of Gandalf, Bilbo, and Gollum.  We also hear that Warner Bros. Consumer Products have signed Ravensburger to create 2D and 3D puzzles and card games tied to the upcoming films, for distribution in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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Goodies to come from Weta Workshop?

March 30th, 2012 by greendragon | No Comments »

A friendly spy let us know some exciting news!  As seen on a book supplier’s ordering site -  listings for a pair of Hobbit movie themed books by Weta Workshop!

The first, titled “The Hobbit Chronicles: An Unexpected Journey”, is a hardcover expected to retail at $39.99(USD).  It’s listed as coming out on November 6th, 2012.  Presumably this will be some kind of ”making of/behind the scenes” book for the first film.

The second book has a publication date of October 15th, 2013 – a long time to wait for this one!  Titled “The Hobbit Location Guide: Where the Journey Begins”, it is a trade paperback with an anticipated price of 14.99(USD).   It seems likely that Ian Brodie, author of the “Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook”, would be involved with this one.  This will come in handy if you’re planning a pilgrimage to Middle-earth, aka New Zealand!

Neither appears to be available for the public to pre-order just yet; but as we make our way through this year of ‘Hobbit Eve’, the good stuff just keeps coming and the anticipation just keeps building!

Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Uruk-hai General’s Helm

March 26th, 2012 by elessar | Source: Weta Workshop | No Comments »

Weta Workshop’s first helm in the relaunch of the 1:4 helm series is none other than the Uruk-hai General’s Helm. This is one of Weta Workshop’s helms, that if you have seen the Weta Collector’s Guide book, was under consideration before the line ended several years ago. Now, fans get a chance to get going again on collecting these awesome collectibles. Shipping for the Uruk-hai General’s Helm will not be until quarter three of this year allowing you time to make sure you have your fifty dollars ready. Make sure you order now though because at a 500 piece edition size this is sure to go fast. [Click Here]

Celebrate Tolkien Reading today by, uh, reading!

March 25th, 2012 by MrCere | No Comments »

Join TheOneRing and the Tolkien Society, who started the event, by celebrating Tolkien Reading Day! Held annually since 2003, it is meant to encourage reading and is a great day to dust off a copy of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s many works and dig in. (It also marks the downfall of Barad-dûr and the passing of Sauron, but that happened long before 2003.) Many schools mark the day with an in-class read, but since this year it falls on a Sunday, parents will be in charge of helping children celebrate but reading to pets, the infirm or yourself is also more than acceptable. Enjoy!

New LOTR Shirts and Sale at WBShop.com

March 23rd, 2012 by newsfrombree | Source: WBShop.com | Discuss | | No Comments »

Looking to pad your collection of LOTR themed T-shirts? The official WBShop.com has just added a slew of new designs to their online shop, upping the total catalog to approximately 35 unique designs. The new styles include a Middle-earth map shirt, a shirt with the Boromir quote “One does not simply walk into Mordor,” Saruman’s White Hand, and more. To sweeten the pot they are offering $10 OFF when you purchase two shirts together. (Some of you may notice that the entire website has been redesigned as well!) Happy Shopping! [LOTR Section of WBShop.com] If you do get a shirt, we’d love to see you in it – post a pic on our Facebook page!

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