In our report on TORn’s presence at DragonCon we made a mistake in the URL of the wonderful Tolkien Shop, who donated our hobbits standee and all the pens we gave away! Their website is in fact www.tolkienshop.com
Go and check out the shop! It’s not just a website – in fact it’s the only bricks and mortar shop in the world which is dedicated solely to Tolkien and his works. It’s located in Leiden, Holland – so if you find yourself in the Netherlands, you could visit in person! Meanwhile the rest of us can enjoy the store thanks to the wonders of the internet! Many thanks to Tolkien Shop again for supporting us at DragonCon!
Clever plot twist, or mere coincidence (with a very decided nod and wink to The Professor)? Either way, a September 22 birthday is shared by two of our favorite Hobbits: Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. In true Hobbit fashion, we are throwing a party of special magnificence on our Main discussion board. Games, puzzles, poems and other fun activities abound, so be sure and stop by throughout the day and help celebrate!
The pieces are moving, wheels are in motion and Wellington is looking for short and tall people for two anticipated movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”
Our friend Jack, from the Noldor blog, posted a piece of indisputable evidence on his site and shared it will us. In ran in the Wellington Dominion Post and looks to be pretty authentic. More text and a big reproduction of the ad after the break. Continue reading “Wanted: Tall or short people for ‘The Hobbit’”
Available now in paperback, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún reimagines one of the most famous Norse myths. The epic poem brims with passion, jealousy and drama, as the hero Sigurd and princess Gudrún fight to share their lives together. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún arguably contains Tolkien’s most passionate writing, as he delves into the mythology that inspired him more than any other. The 10 lucky winners will get a free copy of this amazing paperback! Fill out the form after the break! For the sweepstakes terms and conditions, click here. [Find a Local Store] [Amazon.com] Continue reading “Announcing the ‘The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún’ Giveaway!”
The following is a short essay from Ringer Squire. Do you agree? Disagree? Share your responses with our discuss or comment areas.
Headlined here yesterday, and discussed on the Main board just now is a link to an entertaining new interactive map of Middle-earth. It’s modeled on Google Earth, in that one can zoom out and see the whole subcontinent, or zoom in and see individual towns and towers close up. Of course it follows Tolkien’s own map, more or less exactly, but it has in fact been redrawn via computer by a new artist, Mr. Kris Kowal. And when you zoom in you see little bits that Tolkien could not or would not include in his original map, like icons representing the Argonath, the road to Isengard (see illustration below), and the ruined tower on Weathertop. Several place names have been added based on texts in Unfinished Tales, like the “Undeeps” of the middle Anduin, so the creators are clearly knowledgeable about their Tolkien geography.
Building on Tolkien’s map (left) and the story, Mr. Kowal’s map (right) shows the Road to Isengard.
I understand that it is a work in progress, so perhaps we may expect to see more of the details of the Shire in the future, based on the separate map that appears in Fellowship. But really, the power of zooming in, which is so much fun in Google Earth, is disappointing in this “Google Middle-earth”. There’s nothing to zoom in to for 99% of the world—and there never will be. Tolkien only drew on his map the specific places that were mentioned in his story; and for anyone to add anything else is, of course, just another form of fan-fiction.
This new map thus surprisingly reminds us just how poorly Tolkien detailed his physical world. The map, and several recent discussions we have had in the Reading Room about the distribution of hobbit-folk and the political organization of the Rangers, bring me back to an old question. Tolkien expressed his belief that one of the aesthetic virtues of The Lord of the Rings is that it contained hints of the earlier history of the world, but only hints. Continue reading “Why are there no ‘towers of a distant city’ on the map of Middle-earth?”
A New Zealand film website has declared, from its own independent sources, that Neill Blomkamp (District 9) will be directing a pair of movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” It was also kind enough to point out that we broke the story as a possibility in June.
The Kiwi site isn’t known for rumor mongering so this is a definitely an interesting possibility that might be pointing to increased Hobbit activity and a semblance of leadership at MGM and a future for these potential gigantic hits (and fan favorites) to get made. Thanks to message board user Magpie for posting this in our forum and to Ataahua for alerting us to the post. You can read the original June forum response here. And, of course, stay tuned for the latest on all things Hobbit, Tolkien and Middle-earth.
