tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post1262459767702354684..comments2024-02-20T10:12:20.623+00:00Comments on The Blog That Time Forgot: Tolkien Fanfics A-Go-Go - Mirkwood: A Novel About JRR TolkienTaranaichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-34392063566968021422012-06-23T08:51:47.420+01:002012-06-23T08:51:47.420+01:00Intriguing, I'll keep an eye out for that one....Intriguing, I'll keep an eye out for that one.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-60794137975251171052012-06-22T16:49:12.226+01:002012-06-22T16:49:12.226+01:00You'd think Hillard could just make it about a...You'd think Hillard could just make it about a famous fantasy author who's never named, but is obviously Tolkien.<br /><br />Anyway there's a film called <i>The Lion Awakes</i> which is in production. The main characters seem to be CS Lewis and Tolkien. The film seems to set in the real world, and mostly about CS Lewis' conversion to Christianity.anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-18764364577546304092012-02-23T11:22:14.085+00:002012-02-23T11:22:14.085+00:00Ara is not a Rose Cotton (being no sleight against...Ara is not a Rose Cotton (being no sleight against her) and is a perfect match for Frodo. She is just as strong as a Samwise but as wise and tender as Frodo. She also has a delightful method of speech as direct and 'familiar' as any hobbit, but deeper I think too. She is chosen by Frodo to join the quest as she is a hobbit from Frighten with good training and experience in scouting the lands of the Shire and somewhat beyond. Very far beyond the Shire by most hobbit's reckoning, and even by some of them from Frighten, who are more than a little Tookish, though in decidedly their own way. And she understands Frodo, and Frodo is understood by the author. He may be called Amon but he truly is the Frodo we know. A scene and dialogue showing this:<br /> Here Cadence stopped. Yes, the tale finally gets to the him, whoever he was.<br />… Ara first met him after a series of the Great Parties (for births and holidays tend to be clumped in spring and fall in this land). He was quite lonely. He was no doubt looking for someone, yet perhaps afraid to venture too far in search.<br />It is known that the one in times hence known as the Bearer had taken to long walks, even days of wanderings, about the far reaches of the little corner of the world then known. It was in this period, perhaps, that he met Ara. For one element of Ara’s character is—if “consistently told” is a reliable witness—well known: she loved the wilds and often visited the less trodden frontiers of the Far Forest. She was spoken of for her lore and wisdom even onto the far edges of their domain. She doubtless had, at times, passed well beyond those unguarded borders.<br />From this account, little can I glean of her in later times, save this: a promontory often described as “Ara’s Watch” or “View Rock” was marked on maps for years, even into our times. It lay at the far western guard post of the Old Land, and from its vantage the dark blue sea could first be spied. Less reliably, it was said that in local lore it was regarded as a place for lovers to share their vows, earnestly ignorant of the namesake for the place they had chosen.<br />As sadly, are we.<br />Your humble scribe<br />And a letter from Ara to Frodo:<br />My Dearest Amon,<br />The harvest moon begins to fill and we have not seen each other. Remember the glade?<br />Your wizard came today, and he sat me down with my father and my mother. He said you will be going— leaving! And that I must simply wait for your return. I remained quiet, though he looked very directly at me. I did not tell him of our plans, or of my knowledge of your precious, the gift from your cuz.<br />I will see you by the waxing moonlight at the Catpaw Bridge. I will not fail you, and we shall be together.<br />My love, Ara<br />P.S. My father draws forth a group of the most stalwart of our village. “Trouble in the south,” he says.<br />I could go own quoting the thing all day citing evidences and making the case, but I'd really just say to you "read it". I personally liked the alternative take on the material and feel that while there are many differences, it's the fun of the endeavour. Also, that the characters we know really aren't butchered, but well understood, and just represented in different shades of light by a few extra scenes that "didn't fit in LOTR".<br /> It is a very interesting story, with nuanced writing at points, fast and plain at others, and quite intelligently funny too. Well drawn characters with personalities that I found that I couldn't hate even when they were being idiots. And a nice theme to boot. Believe your heart and it will reward you!nodeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11903097136706055808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-49788185015265707512012-02-23T11:21:35.056+00:002012-02-23T11:21:35.056+00:00"I welcome anyone who has read the book to co..."I welcome anyone who has read the book to come by and say "dude, you should read the book, it's actually really good!"<br />And here I am. Not without blemishes though, this book is a pretty good, at times really good representation of that world. And a good story on it's own.<br />Let me present some warning bells first up.<br />Frodo (Amon here, sometimes just Bearer)had a girlfriend who made it as far as Bree with the other 4 hobbits in quest. (And further on her own)<br />Aragorn (Quickfoot... a variation on Wingfoot I would imagine) is much more openly known to be seeking the Throne and his rangers display airs of men already Lords with claims to territory.<br />Sauron, hadn't lost his ability to take form 'that seemed fair to men'. And like Amon and Quickfoot he had different names. The name 'Sauron' is in fact, if anything a mock nickname, or a byword derived from the name of his lands 'The Land of Source'. Closer to the mark it suggests that *gasp*, Tolkien was in error by giving this Maia that name at all. <br />What's the question here to ask? "Why the name changes and the alterations of the facts of things? How can this be good?" The synopsis of the thing more or less sets out that this is the purpose of the book, that it's an exercise of collecting and writing history alongside a contemporary story. But what's to talk about and cite that lends anyone's openness to the success of it?<br /><br />>>>nodeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11903097136706055808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-49386672738094453922011-02-28T10:29:07.415+00:002011-02-28T10:29:07.415+00:00Ahh good, I wonder if it's better than Owens.....<i>Ahh good, I wonder if it's better than Owens.. I eagerly snapped that one up.. but wound up disliking it immensely because it treated imaginary characters like Capt. Nemo as if they had been real people.. seemed odd and I never wound up reading any more of them. </i><br /><br />Hmm.<br /><br /><i>Acually, when reading the book, my favorite characters wqas EOWYN and GALADRIEL... you know, the ONLY WOMEN in the story!!! Because were interesting characters. Arwen was NOT.</i><br /><br />Can't believe I forgot Galadriel!<br /><br /><i>Y'know, for someone who regularly attacks Howard commentators for not having read the books they're discussing, you yourself don't seem to have any problem dismissing works you haven't read. </i><br /><br />You are correct, I don't. The difference being I'm not pretending to have read them in the first place, or claiming to be some sort of authority on them. All cards are out on the table. It isn't as if I'm claiming to have read them and then lied through my teeth about it. I'm only commenting that on which I'm in a position to comment upon: that is, the elements of the book which bother me which can be easily discerned by the information available. Generally people are allowed to do that, no? Indeed, there are many occasions when one can only do that, such as when the book in question hasn't been released yet.<br /><br />I'm not criticising Mirkwood's characterisation, plot, dialogue or whatnot. I'm not in a position to do so. What I <b>am</b> in a position to criticize is that which is known about the book - and what is known about the book is that it's literary criticism combined with fiction, featuring the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien and the man himself.<br /><br />Now, if I'd gone and said "Ara is a horrible character," or "Hillard's interpretation of Tolkien is completely wrong," or "the guy doesn't even know his Sauron from his Saruman," then you might have a point. But I didn't. And I won't. Because I'm not talking about elements that I haven't read.<br /><br />I welcome anyone who has read the book to come by and say "dude, you should read the book, it's actually really good!" but thus far nobody has. After all, if I go about correcting people on my favourite authors, then I can only expect others to do the same if I'm grievously mistaken on someone.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-25641117379139370722011-02-28T09:54:11.033+00:002011-02-28T09:54:11.033+00:00Y'know, for someone who regularly attacks Howa...Y'know, for someone who regularly attacks Howard commentators for not having read the books they're discussing, you yourself don't seem to have any problem dismissing works you haven't read.Michael Halilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813965292738048095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-66457111128965250612011-02-28T09:20:28.301+00:002011-02-28T09:20:28.301+00:00Hollywood want to make cash with fantasy. The main...Hollywood want to make cash with fantasy. The main problem is: Hollywood have no freakin idea of what "fantasy" MEANS.Kikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15070254713050025760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-11385812463162129852011-02-28T09:19:06.412+00:002011-02-28T09:19:06.412+00:00Acually, when reading the book, my favorite charac...Acually, when reading the book, my favorite characters wqas EOWYN and GALADRIEL... you know, the ONLY WOMEN in the story!!! Because were interesting characters. Arwen was NOT.<br /><br />The criticism against the lack of women in Tolkien books is ludicrous. And the solutions from Jackson and his team were pathetic.Kikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15070254713050025760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-48043661385406029872011-02-27T20:06:39.793+00:002011-02-27T20:06:39.793+00:00Ahh good, I wonder if it's better than Owens.....Ahh good, I wonder if it's better than Owens.. I eagerly snapped that one up.. but wound up disliking it immensely because it treated imaginary characters like Capt. Nemo as if they had been real people.. seemed odd and I never wound up reading any more of them. <br /><br />I understand they are being adapted into a film however.. but I don't expect it to go very far... none of hollywood's attempts to catch that Potter Fevre have worked very well.. <br /><br />Eragon, Golden Compass, Spiderwick, Unfortunate Events.. I dunno if Percy Jackson will be getting a sequel or not..Lagomorph Rexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06385231158384929598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-66007658064281588502011-02-27T20:02:42.699+00:002011-02-27T20:02:42.699+00:00Great quote, Taran.
Thanks for the heads-up, Lago...Great quote, Taran.<br /><br />Thanks for the heads-up, Lagomorph. I've actually found another via Google Alerts: David C. Downing's "Looking for the King" which features the Inklings. So that's *three* recent instances of Tolkien appearing as a fictional character in a fantasy/SF/whatever story without being served papers by the Tolkien Estate.<br /><br />Zaentez Enterprises does sound like a possibility: after all, they have their bobbleheads to protect.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-73649948859089122892011-02-27T19:01:58.980+00:002011-02-27T19:01:58.980+00:00You also missed one of the 'Tolkien as Charact...You also missed one of the 'Tolkien as Character' worked, Back in about.. 2000ish.. Image published "Heaven's War" a rather nice trade Paperback which featured the story of the Inklings vs. Aleistar Crowley for fate of the universe. <br /><br />Tolkiens barely in it.. and I'm not sure he's ever referenced as anything but John though.. I know C.S. Lewis is constantly referred to as Jack.. and most of the story centers around Charles Williams. <br /><br />Another thing to consider is, are these Takedowns coming from the Tolkien Estate only or are they also coming from Zaentez interprises who owns the film rights.. Since well.. Zaentez once sued a man for sounding too much like himself.Lagomorph Rexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06385231158384929598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-90135411102147589632011-02-27T17:41:42.323+00:002011-02-27T17:41:42.323+00:00"Yet Tolkien has arguably committed no crime ..."Yet Tolkien has arguably committed no crime worse than being a man of his time and place, or failing to transcend it in the way J.S. Mill, say, did his in relation to feminist issues. And it is too easy to ask a work to be something it isn't, or its author to do something he or she didn't set out to do. Indeed, maybe we should be grateful that Tolkien didn't attempt a more feminine Middle-earth. Without prejudice to those male writers who have succeeded in placing believable female characters at the centre of their work, the results can be ghastly. Imagine what Tolkien might have wrought!" <br />- Patrick Curry, "Tolkien and his Critics: A Critique", 6.Michalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02198881279554204600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-38742750043938974122011-02-27T16:17:11.179+00:002011-02-27T16:17:11.179+00:00Oh, absolutely. Seriously, even in the '50s w...Oh, absolutely. Seriously, even in the '50s women warriors were few and far between. It's ludicrous to think Tolkien should've included more female characters to fit standards half a century, or even a few decades, later.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-43440409416053613622011-02-27T15:40:58.942+00:002011-02-27T15:40:58.942+00:00It's also worth noting that Tolkien attended K...It's also worth noting that Tolkien attended King Edward's School in Birmingham, which was all boys, fought alongside men in WWI, and taught mostly young men at Oxford. His social/reading group, the Inklings, were all men.<br /><br />His was a male-dominated world. To expect him to adhere to 21st century standards and have a neatly equal representation of the sexes in his books is rather ridiculous.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-87013232382251113962011-02-27T15:20:15.394+00:002011-02-27T15:20:15.394+00:00You know, you're absolutely right, James. I h...You know, you're absolutely right, James. I haven't read any of the "essential" stories to my niece, but we have been watching a lot of classic films (by "classic" I mean the likes of <i>Back to the Future</i>, <i>Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Princess Bride</i> etc). Not once did she lament the lack of a heroine in those that were male-dominated.<br /><br />It does indeed sound a lot like "where are the heroines" (would they even say "where are the heroines?" Surely "where are the girls" or some such) is the voice of the cynical adult.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-68896477730228196332011-02-27T14:56:35.414+00:002011-02-27T14:56:35.414+00:00I read The Hobbit to my daughter years ago and she...I read <i>The Hobbit</i> to my daughter years ago and she was absolutely enthralled by it and never once complained about the absence of "Itaril." For that matter, I can't recall my son ever having trouble identifying with female protagonists in stories I've read to him. Like so many things, I can't help but think that "Where are the heroines?" is the kind of question only a cynical adult would ask; children almost never notice these "deficiencies" in stories well-told.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-84107207130950527042011-02-27T10:37:51.957+00:002011-02-27T10:37:51.957+00:00Hah, been a long time since I've been a voice ...Hah, been a long time since I've been a voice of anything resembling reason, I appreciate it.<br /><br />That said, I don't want to exonerate the Tolkien Estate necessarily: I just think people are too quick on the trigger.<br /><br />The button quote, I feel, is meant to sound pretentious. "When you were reading Dostoevsky, I was watching The Matrix!" sort of thing. I know a few Evangelion fans, and they are admirably self-aware enough to recognize how pretentious some of the fandom can be.<br /><br />Oh, and Ioreth doesn't get nearly enough love. You'd think she'd get a role in the films.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7177193073415704349.post-16303821895274227982011-02-27T10:04:39.840+00:002011-02-27T10:04:39.840+00:00Thanks for being a voice of reason. It's good ...Thanks for being a voice of reason. It's good to hear about all this here first. Nothing much I can add about the copyright issue. The old nurse Ioreth and Arwen count as heroines, right (albeit secondary supporting characters)?<br /><br />The button quote just sounds pretentious, but then again it does strike home to me. In a sea of Japanophilia (or so I labeled it), I was reading Tolkien, and if I had discovered Howard then, I would have been reading him too, all to go against the grain. (Some chip on the shoulder...)Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05315348028756856231noreply@blogger.com