So, we’re about to begin our exploration of chapter 14 of The Hobbit in Hall of Fire. Come along, bring your thoughts and join the discussion!
We’re done — thanks to everyone who joined in!
Tag: The Hobbit
Tomorrow, Hall of Fire returns to The Hobbit as we delve into the events of Chapter 14 — “Fire and Water”.
“The dragon is coming or I am a fool!” he cried. “Cut the bridges! To arms! To arms!”
Thus the people of the lake-town, Esgaroth, are warned of their approaching doom. As Smaug vents his fury on these innocent villagers, it seems that nothing can save them from the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities. But things are never quite as bad as they seem… Continue reading “Hall of Fire tomorrow: The Hobbit ch 14!”
Today marks the 74th anniversary of the publication of the Hobbit by George Allen & Unwin. It was on 21 September, 1937 that the first copies of this now-famous fantasy tale rolled off the presses and into the shops.
Allen & Unwin printed “only” 1,500 copies in the first impression of the first edition. It proved an immediate hit. By December, that first run had entirely sold out.
Since then, it’s estimated that the tale of Bilbo’s heroic quest defeat the dragon Smaug and reclaim the birthright of Thorin has sold somewhere between 35 million and 100 million copies. It’s also been translated into more than 40 different languages.
Numbers alone can’t tell its importance and influence on the fantasy genre. In 1937, heroic fantasy tales involving dwarves and elves barely existed. Taking inspiration from his love of fairy tales and sagas, and the work of proto-fantasists such as William Morris, Tolkien inadvertently developed and legitimised an entire genre of writing.
For, without the famous line “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit”, there would almost certainly be no Lord of the Rings.
And where would epic fantasy be without Lord of the Rings?
So raise a glass and toast The Hobbit. A most excellent and audacious book. To twist a phrase written by the professor himself: may the binding of its pages never fall out!
We’re about to start our book chat on chapter 9 of the Hobbit — Barrels Out of Bond. Come along and join the discussion as we trace Bilbo’s adventures through Thranduil’s deep halls!
We’re done! Thanks to everyone who came along. But if you missed out, you join our main chat anytime here.
Tomorrow in Hall of Fire we’ll finally return to our chapter-by-chapter discussion of the Hobbit with Chapter 9 — Barrels out of Bond.
After nabbing Thorin, the Wood-elves capture the rest of the Company — except Bilbo. Bilbo secretly follows the elves as they take the dwarves to Thranduil’s underground realm.
Bilbo realises it’s up to him to save everyone — again. Wearing the ring constantly, he soon comes up with and carries out a daring escape plan. Continue reading “Hall of Fire chats the Hobbit Chapter 9 tomorrow!”
We’re about to begin our weekly Hall of Fire discussion on the TORn chat server and this session is going to be dedicated to dissecting all the interesting tidbits from Pater Jackson’s latest video diary. (If you’ve been under a rock and missed it, it’s here.) So jump onto the chat via our Mibbit widget just below that works in your browser and join in the discussion!
We’re done folks! Thanks to everyone who came along! However, you can still visit our main chat room here where we’re talking Comic-con stuff!