Similarities and differences. Or as Tolkien might have put it, bones and soup. It’s the never-ending, never truly…
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Similarities and differences. Or as Tolkien might have put it, bones and soup. It’s the never-ending, never truly answerable question of who owes whom what.
In this recent article on the BBC, Jane Ciabattari examined how The Lord of the Rings has influenced the creator of A Song of Ice and Fire, George RR Martin.
Fair enough. Continue reading “Fantasy authors, media tropes and Tolkien’s great shadow”
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – June 8, 2014”
Why do some Nazgûl thrive when commanded to hunt their master’s stolen Ring while others falter under pressure?
Why do some revel in the responsibility of throwing down their enemy when others wither like fog in strong sunlight?
You might not know it, but nine (count them!) keenly honed success habits keep them hot on the trail.
Nazgûl apprentices, here are those nine instinctive habits that the most successful Ringwraiths employ to keep the Dark Lord number one.
Read and learn. Continue reading “The nine habits of the highly successful Nazgûl”
Emil over at LOTRProject has painstakingly assembled a new graphic comparing the distance each of our protagonists (Bilbo and Frodo) travel in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
I am very happy to reveal this interactive distance vs time chart of the journeys by Bilbo and Frodo in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. It contains information about each day. I hope you will find it interesting.
Continue reading “Compare the time and distance travelled in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings”
In our latest Library feature, Tedoras muses on how we can view Gandalf as the prime extension of the will of J.R.R. Tolkien within The Lord of Rings.
By Tedoras
“Hobbits really are amazing creatures,” a wise man once remarked. While Gandalf was indeed right about that, it is a rather fatuous comment for such a sage to make. The praises of the halflings are sung perpetually in our fandom, as they rightfully are affirmed by their deeds in the legendarium. But it is certainly time we reexamined our relationship with Gandalf — for here, truly, is an amazing creature.
In 1911, when Tolkien was only 19, he travelled with a on a walking tour of the Swiss Alps. It was his first and only experience of truly large mountains, and as he later made clear in several of his letters, the experience inspired the mountain landscapes in his Middle-earth writings.
`Only once before have I seen them from afar in waking life, but I know them and their names, for under them lies Khazad-dûm, the Dwarrowdelf, that is now called the Black Pit, Moria in the Elvish tongue. Yonder stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead: Celebdil the White, and Fanuidhol the Grey, that we call Zirak-zigil and Bundushathûr.
Gimli, The Lord of the Rings.
We’ve previously profiled the Swiss Alps around Interlaken on a couple of occasions, however if you missed those posts previously, here’s another nice write-up courtesy of BBC travel.
