All right ringers, I told you a couple weeks ago, when profiling Weta Workshop, that the most impressive environment was going to be justaround the corner. Well, we’ve rounded the corner, and Rivendell is ready to be pre-ordered. If there was ever a must have environment this would be it!

Rivendell, the home of Elrond Half-Elven was found in 1697 of the second age where all the light of Middle Earth could go to have counsel during the darkness brought on by Sauron. Many of the most important characters of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings would take refuge here to rest their weary minds and bodies.  Then in 2001 Sir Peter Jackson and the amazing crew at Weta brought this critical place in Middle Earth to life. Follow the break for more images and details! Continue reading “Weta’s Rivendell Environment Pre-Order Open Now! 300 Piece Limited Run”

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults published during 2010 that best exemplifies the spirit of the Inklings. Books are eligible for two years after publication if not selected as a finalist during the first year of eligibility. Books from a series are eligible if they stand on their own; otherwise, the series becomes eligible the year its final volume appears. The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature honors books for younger readers (from Young Adults to picture books for beginning readers), in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult Literature award. The question of which award a borderline book is best suited for will be decided by consensus of the committees. Continue reading “2011 Mythopoeic Awards Finalists”

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s disaster management agency is testing the country’s emergency broadcast system with warnings of severe storms in Middle-earth, the fictional setting of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

Messages broadcast Wednesday mostly on state radio and television are warning Hungarians about floods and catastrophic weather in Gondor, Rohan, Rivendell, Helm’s Deep and other locations inhabited by Hobbits, Orcs, Elves, Ents and Dwarves.

Officials say they chose Tolkien’s fantasy world because they don’t want to alarm people by mentioning real locations in the test and want to gauge how effectively the emergency messages reach Hungary’s youth. [Washington Post]

Today, Turbine has released the first batch of screenshots from the latest content update for The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO), Update 3: Lost Legends of Eriador, which will launch on Monday, May 23rd.

Separately, Turbine will be at E3 in a few weeks providing first looks for media at the upcoming Rise of Isengard expansion for LOTRO! Let me know if you are attending and we can set up an appointment for you to meet with the team! Continue reading “Turbine releases new LOTRO Update 3 screens! Lost Legends of Eriador”

Strider continues his epic journey through the varying layers of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, examining the journey from book to game, this time focusing on The Two Towers. What connects a certain Scottish play to Fangorn Forest?

In part three Strider tackles the final levels of The Two Towers and explores Helm’s Deep through the eyes of Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien.

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