Review: Tolkien's World 218
| Tolkien's World: The Paintings of Middle Earth | |
| author | Various Artists |
| pages | 110 pages |
| publisher | MJF Books |
| rating | 8/10 |
| reviewer | Jon Katz |
| ISBN | 1-56731-248-9 |
| summary | Paintings and images of Middle Earth |
Tolkien's World, The Paintings of Middle Earth, coincides with the centenary of his birth. More than a dozen artists, already famous for their interpretations of Tolkien landscapes, some newcomers to the trilogy, have created more than 50 paintings published therein ($15 from Harper Collins).
The full-page images are all illustrated with text from Tolkien's works, and they bring the stories to life in a way that is sometimes dark, sometimes lively, usually haunting. The book is clearly organized -- text on the left, painting on the right.
At the end, the artists -- they are from all over the world -- explain their interpretations and drawings and where applicable, their personal experiences with the trilogy. For a Tolkien afficionado, it's immensely satisfying to match your own imagination against those of artists like Michael Hague and Roger Garland. John Howe's "The Great Goblin" is amazing, and Inger Edelfelt has painted a stark, strange and simplistic "Gollum." As the Hobbit himself put it, "deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don't know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum -- as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face." There is more good writing in that paragraph than in plenty of fictional and mythological tales.
"Thorin, Prisoner of the Elves," "The Arkenstone," "Frodo and Gandalf." "The Haven of Morionde," "The Brandywine River " -- the collection will intrigue readers who want to prep for the movie, or newcomers who want a sense of what Tolkien's worlds might look like. It would also work beautifully for kids.
The art is uneven -- certain painters' images might not square with your own. But some, like Ted Nasmith's "Glittering Caves of Aglarond," or John Howe's "Gandalf," will make you want to frame them and hang them up. Tolkien's World is a first-rate creative achievement.
Philology (Score:3, Interesting)
I had to look it up in the dictionary
Hobbits (Score:2, Interesting)
In the movie Frodo looks like a human child, but wasn't he rather old (40 years or so.) In the paintings in the books and in the movie he looks too young. Although hobbits don't have beards one would expect a more rugged face. In addition hobbits are normally fat - in a jovial sense.
One thing I'm sertain about are their feet and toes. They should be hairy, but I've never seen drawings of their feet.
What do other people think. Are the pictures of hobbits correct, as the book presents them.
Tolkien's works (Score:3, Interesting)
Original Manuscripts (Score:1, Interesting)
See some of those pictures (Score:2, Interesting)
Amazingly, the url is still valid and works fine.
ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/pictures/fantasy/Tolkien
I hope the server owners forgive me
CU
Draxinusom
(PS, the famous and great albeit now stopped Ultima game series by Richard Gariott is/was heavily influenced by Tolkien which can be seen by his "borrowing" of the runic alphabet as well as familiarly sounding locations and people. Read the name of the big swamp in U7:2 backwards!)
Re:Correct Order (Score:2, Interesting)
Not terribly much, still I'd recommend you start with The Hobbit, then progress to LotR and finish with the Silmarillion to get all background details. If you're not satisfied then, start digging through the History of Middle Earth series to see how Tolkien's work developed...
I also think this order shows nicely how the third age stories progress from a friendly, adventurous, almost for-kids setting at the beginning of the Hobbit to the dark and looming atmosphere of some LotR chapters.
Compare the arrival in Rivendell in The Hobbit with the same scene in LotR to see what I mean. In the first one, the elves are merry foold jumping through the trees, in the second one they're the solemn warriors you'd expect after the Silmarillion history.
Katz, btw, is full of shit.
Images of Middle-Earth (Score:2, Interesting)
Huge image gallery. Check it out.
Tolkien Battle Lords. (Score:2, Interesting)
I play a LARP, called Dagorhir battlegames, that combines Tolkien's Middle Earth, the Dark Ages, and pure fantasy in a full contact combat sport. It is the most fun that I have had in years and is an amazingly cheap yet rewording hobby.
Check out the website [dagorhir.com]. Look at the pictures [dagorhir.com]. See you at the next battle [dagorhir.com]!
Re:What They Really Look Like (Score:3, Interesting)