PJGandalfAndDwalinWelcome 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 in the fun!

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – June 3, 2013”

laketown fire department 1Whether a candle falls over and lights the curtains on fire, or a Dragon with a grudge decides to wreck some havoc, the people of Laketown depend on the brave men and women of the Laketown Fire Department to save their homes and businesses. You can now be an honorary member of this elite team by owning your very own ‘Laketown Fire Department’ t-shirt! Made of 100% cotton and featuring the official seal, this shirt will make a great addition to your collection or an unforgettable gift for the Tolkien fan in your life. Place your pre-order today!  [Order Today] [Emporium of Goods]

Continue reading “Join the Ranks of the Laketown Fire Department!”

hobbit 2014It may only be the end of May, but many of us have already been thinking ahead to the end of the year, as we speculate about The Desolation of Smaug and wonder just how that dragon will look.  Publishers HarperCollins are clearly thinking ahead too – it’s already possible to preorder their Tolkien Calendar 2014!  This year the calendar features illustrations by British artist Jemima Catlin, and the ‘wicked worm’ himself takes pride of place on the cover.  It’s great to see another take on the magnificent fellow!

Catlin is also the artist for a brand new illustrated edition of The Hobbit, which will be released this Fall and will contain 150 new, colour illustrations.  More visual goodies from Middle-earth!  You can preorder both the book and the calendar at Amazon – click on the links below!

[Pre-order Tolkien Calendar 2014]   [Pre-order new Illustrated Hobbit]

Thanks to ringer spy Bomby for the heads up!

m1As we excitedly mentioned earlier, the folks at Asmus Toys have acquired a license to make 1:6th figures from The Lord of the Rings. The first figure revealed was the imposing Morgul Lord. Today, we’re pleased reveal this impressive looking figure! The Morgul Lord will stand stand 13.7″ tall, have 36 points of articulation, come with a metal helmet, and a plethora of other items that are going to make for a great figure. You can order the Morgul Lord figure right now from our friends at Alter-Ego Comics for $159.99. The figure is expected to ship in July so place your order today! (Check out the amazing gallery after the break!) [Pre-Order]

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Asmus Toys Morgul Lord Figure Reveal”

torn13-coupon-fbimageWe’ve got a great reason to build up your Tolkien t-shirt collection! From now through Monday, we are offering 25% OFF our entire catalog with purchase of $30 or more. The sale includes our most popular designs: OBEY (The Eye of Sauron), May the Dwarves be With You, ‘I Like Big Books…,’ Lake Town Archery Club, Peter’s Dragon and more! We have also heard your feedback and adjusted our shipping rates to make purchasing even easier and more affordable. Don’t delay, this 25% Off offer is only good through Monday night at Midnight (Pacific). [Click here] As always, when you support TheOneRing.net all proceeds go to directly running the website. We are a true 100% volunteer not for profit website. Thank you in advance!

 

fall of arthurAs we all know, J R R Tolkien was, from an early age, fascinated by myth and heroic legend, reading all he could of the romances and epics of many nations.  In a letter to Milton Waldman, which appears in the Preface to the second edition of The Silmarillion, he wrote that he was ‘grieved by the poverty of my own beloved country: it had no stories of its own … Of course there was and is all the Arthurian world, but powerful as it is, it is imperfectly naturalized, associated with the soil of Britain but not with the English; and does not replace what I felt to be missing…’

The Professor, then, had little time for the legends of King Arthur; but he did make one foray into those tales, and we are about to be able to read for ourselves the results of those labours!  Tomorrow, publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt release Tolkien’s narrative poem The Fall of Arthur, edited as ever by his son Christopher.  HMH’s press release tells us:

‘The Fall of Arthur, the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur, king of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skillful achievement in the use of Old English alliterative meter, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur’s expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere’s flight from Camelot, of the great sea battle on Arthur’s return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle.’

Alas, Tolkien never finished his poem; but amongst his manuscripts were sketches and drafts, which included ‘significant tantalizing notes. In these notes can be discerned clear if mysterious associations of the Arthurian conclusion with The Silmarillion, and the bitter ending of the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, which was never written.’

It’s a day of celebration for Tolkien fans whenever we have a chance to read more of the Professor’s work, and gain further insight into the explorations which lead to his great myth of Middle-earth.  You can read Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s full information about the book here; and you can order your copy from Amazon by clicking here. The Fall of Arthur will also be available as an e-book.  Happy reading!

[Order The Fall of Arthur from Amazon]