Well now.. this is quite the package.
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth (Collector's Edition)
https://www.bodleianshop.co.uk/collectors-edition.html
Price: £295
Delivery: UK: £20 EU: £35 Rest of the world: £40
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
TolkienERA |OT| Renewed shall be the blade that was broken
- Thread starter Loxley
- Start date
More Tolkien goodness.
The Two Towers' Complete Recordings reissues are due in July:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D54L...un-21&linkId=ce76ada73cc37c0754da108bbb632988
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D515...un-21&linkId=5a2720fcffbf210c693ec9de93dc208e
The Two Towers' Complete Recordings reissues are due in July:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D54L...un-21&linkId=ce76ada73cc37c0754da108bbb632988
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D515...un-21&linkId=5a2720fcffbf210c693ec9de93dc208e
I haven't really considered that, but yes, the merchandising for the show will be something to behold and with the Estate and HarperCollins involved, well, one can imagine lots of tie-in books.
£39.99 for the 30-disc Middle Earth Blu-ray set, if anyone here is missing it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Middle...5953&creativeASIN=B01LTHMP46&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Middle...5953&creativeASIN=B01LTHMP46&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
This seems to be the place for this, so...
I got this a bit ago to reward myself for making a human:
Tonight's the first chance I've had to crack it open, but just having it makes me feel warm inside. I'm a massive Tolkien fan, and I enjoy boring people with Middle Earth tidbits whenever the movies are playing. I imagine this will give me even more ammo.
I think I need that Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth Collector's Edition too now...
I got this a bit ago to reward myself for making a human:
Tonight's the first chance I've had to crack it open, but just having it makes me feel warm inside. I'm a massive Tolkien fan, and I enjoy boring people with Middle Earth tidbits whenever the movies are playing. I imagine this will give me even more ammo.
I think I need that Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth Collector's Edition too now...
This is the perfect place to do so and congratulations on becoming a parent.This seems to be the place for this, so...
I got this a bit ago to reward myself for making a human:
Tonight's the first chance I've had to crack it open, but just having it makes me feel warm inside. I'm a massive Tolkien fan, and I enjoy boring people with Middle Earth tidbits whenever the movies are playing. I imagine this will give me even more ammo.
I think I need that Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth Collector's Edition too now...
Dipping in and out of the proto-mythos in the Histories and getting an idea of Tolkien's thought process is always a joy.
The Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth exhibition opens tomorrow. I've put up a thread with some info:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/how-j-r-r-tolkien-created-middle-earth.45929/
https://www.resetera.com/threads/how-j-r-r-tolkien-created-middle-earth.45929/
Dantès said something nice the last time I made a big lore post so I'm back to inflict something even worse (5700 words including notes) on anyone foolish enough to click.
Who is a Númenórean?
(It's mostly about the political implications of that question and the issue of narrative bias. Thrilling, I know, but Queen Berúthiel and the Blue Wizards make guest appearances, for what that's worth.)
Who is a Númenórean?
(It's mostly about the political implications of that question and the issue of narrative bias. Thrilling, I know, but Queen Berúthiel and the Blue Wizards make guest appearances, for what that's worth.)
This is a wonderful piece of work Jacob. Well written, thoroughly researched and elucidating on some very important, but often overlooked aspects of the mythos.
If you find yourself in the UK at some point in the future, do consider submitting and presenting your work at a Tolkien Society Oxonmoot.
I'll certainly be keeping an eye on your tumblr, as should everyone in this community.
https://nolondil.tumblr.com/
OP
OP
This seems to be the place for this, so...
I got this a bit ago to reward myself for making a human:
Tonight's the first chance I've had to crack it open, but just having it makes me feel warm inside. I'm a massive Tolkien fan, and I enjoy boring people with Middle Earth tidbits whenever the movies are playing. I imagine this will give me even more ammo.
I think I need that Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth Collector's Edition too now...
That is one gorgeous set.
Man I wish I could attend these sorts of events. Seeing Tolkien's art in-person is on my bucket-list.
I'm about half-way through this and it's great stuff as usual Jacob. The politics and social aspects of Middle-earth are probably some of the more under-appreciated facets of the world.
Thank you so much, guys; that really means a lot to hear. My involvement with Tolkien fandom over the years has primarily been through message boards but attending Oxonmoot would, I'm sure, be a really cool experience. Hopefully I'll make it to England one day, at least; there are a bunch of Tolkien sites I would love to get to visit in person.
I was a political science major as an undergraduate and the internal history of the Secondary World has always been one of my main research interests within Tolkien studies, so it's always fun to blend the two. Plus it's nice to be able to shine a little more light on a neglected area of the field. :)
I was a political science major as an undergraduate and the internal history of the Secondary World has always been one of my main research interests within Tolkien studies, so it's always fun to blend the two. Plus it's nice to be able to shine a little more light on a neglected area of the field. :)
Middle-earth in colour: How Tolkien drew his fantasy universe
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/art...-colour-how-tolkien-drew-his-fantasy-universe
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/art...-colour-how-tolkien-drew-his-fantasy-universe
Some info about the project from an interview with Jennifer Salke
Salke inherited a number of projects in the works, none bigger than a forthcoming series adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," the subject of a massive deal last year that Bezos involved himself personally in. According to Salke, that deal only officially closed last month. But Amazon has been meeting with writers. Salke herself spent three hours with Tolkien's grandson Simon Tolkien, and the next step is for representatives of the Tolkien estate to meet with writers.
"It's a partnership," she said of Amazon's deal with the estate. "They have some lines in the play on this on strategy and on vision. The great news about that is that they're actually really thoughtful and smart, as you would expect."
The Tolkien deal covers most, but not all of the material connected to the author's Middle Earth saga. Salke said that it is still too early to say what shape, exactly, the series will take. But, she added, "It's not a remaking of the movies, and it's not a whole new thing. It's something in between. It's not, 'Oh, it's "Lord of the Rings" but you don't recognize anything in it,' but it's not totally familiar to you either. So it's original."
I think we might be in New Zealand. I don't know, but we're going to have to go somewhere interesting that could provide those locations in a really authentic way, because we want it to look incredible. There's no shortage of ambition for the project. We'll go where we need to go to make it happen.
The Peter Jackson conversations, right now we're right in the middle of them. It's like, how much do you want to be involved, how little? I know there's been some discussion, and he's even said some things, but as far as I'm aware, the latest is that we're just in a conversation with him about how much or how little he would be involved.
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/jennifer-salke-lord-of-the-rings-amazon-1202840237/
https://deadline.com/2018/06/amazon...ings-series-transparent-future-qa-1202407283/
Salke inherited a number of projects in the works, none bigger than a forthcoming series adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," the subject of a massive deal last year that Bezos involved himself personally in. According to Salke, that deal only officially closed last month. But Amazon has been meeting with writers. Salke herself spent three hours with Tolkien's grandson Simon Tolkien, and the next step is for representatives of the Tolkien estate to meet with writers.
"It's a partnership," she said of Amazon's deal with the estate. "They have some lines in the play on this on strategy and on vision. The great news about that is that they're actually really thoughtful and smart, as you would expect."
The Tolkien deal covers most, but not all of the material connected to the author's Middle Earth saga. Salke said that it is still too early to say what shape, exactly, the series will take. But, she added, "It's not a remaking of the movies, and it's not a whole new thing. It's something in between. It's not, 'Oh, it's "Lord of the Rings" but you don't recognize anything in it,' but it's not totally familiar to you either. So it's original."
I think we might be in New Zealand. I don't know, but we're going to have to go somewhere interesting that could provide those locations in a really authentic way, because we want it to look incredible. There's no shortage of ambition for the project. We'll go where we need to go to make it happen.
The Peter Jackson conversations, right now we're right in the middle of them. It's like, how much do you want to be involved, how little? I know there's been some discussion, and he's even said some things, but as far as I'm aware, the latest is that we're just in a conversation with him about how much or how little he would be involved.
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/jennifer-salke-lord-of-the-rings-amazon-1202840237/
https://deadline.com/2018/06/amazon...ings-series-transparent-future-qa-1202407283/
I was asked by someone I know IRL (not a Tolkien reader) to draw a chart explaining the relationships between the various Edainic peoples referred to in my essay so I took a stab at it and thought I'd share the result here. Apologies for my terrible handwriting.
A few notes:
- The "indigenous Eriadorians" were most likely a mix of proto-Beorians and proto-Marachians but to the best of my memory they were of primarily Beorian descent.
- The Men of Bree should probably be listed on the same level as the Dunlendings rather than as a descendant people but by that point I was running out of space to write in.
- The Drúedain are not listed but they lived alongside the Folk of Haleth in Beleriand and later in Númenor, in addition to populations that never left the regions of Middle-earth that later became Gondor and Rohan.
- The mixed "Umbarian aristocracy" label is somewhat speculative but I outlined most of my reasoning for this in the above-linked essay.
Major sources for this include The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and the chapter "Of Dwarves and Men" from The Peoples of Middle-earth.
A few notes:
- The "indigenous Eriadorians" were most likely a mix of proto-Beorians and proto-Marachians but to the best of my memory they were of primarily Beorian descent.
- The Men of Bree should probably be listed on the same level as the Dunlendings rather than as a descendant people but by that point I was running out of space to write in.
- The Drúedain are not listed but they lived alongside the Folk of Haleth in Beleriand and later in Númenor, in addition to populations that never left the regions of Middle-earth that later became Gondor and Rohan.
- The mixed "Umbarian aristocracy" label is somewhat speculative but I outlined most of my reasoning for this in the above-linked essay.
Major sources for this include The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and the chapter "Of Dwarves and Men" from The Peoples of Middle-earth.
The depth of Tolkien's mythos never ceases to amaze me. That Tolkien fans/scholars are able to speculate about and create such genealogies is just wonderful. Well done my friend.I was asked by someone I know IRL (not a Tolkien reader) to draw a chart explaining the relationships between the various Edainic peoples referred to in my essay so I took a stab at it and thought I'd share the result here. Apologies for my terrible handwriting.
A few notes:
- The "indigenous Eriadorians" were most likely a mix of proto-Beorians and proto-Marachians but to the best of my memory they were of primarily Beorian descent.
- The Men of Bree should probably be listed on the same level as the Dunlendings rather than as a descendant people but by that point I was running out of space to write in.
- The Drúedain are not listed but they lived alongside the Folk of Haleth in Beleriand and later in Númenor, in addition to populations that never left the regions of Middle-earth that later became Gondor and Rohan.
- The mixed "Umbarian aristocracy" label is somewhat speculative but I outlined most of my reasoning for this in the above-linked essay.
Major sources for this include The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and the chapter "Of Dwarves and Men" from The Peoples of Middle-earth.
Plus, your writing is perfect fine, certainly not 'doctor's handwriting'.
Found a product listing for an upcoming Three Great Tales boxset that suggests The Fall of Gondolin will be Christopher Tolkien's actual final work.
I don't doubt it. There isn't really much left that would merit another full on book release.
The boxset looks to be a nice package.
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/p...ien-editor-Alan-Lee-illustrator/9780358003915
OP
OP
I'd definitely snatch this up if I didn't already own way too many copies of the other books XD
That was an interesting read even for someone just mildly involved in the deeper lore.
I'm coming at this material from the perspective of someone who grew up with the MERP rulebooks, so it's a little bewildering to separate the actual canon lore with the stuff that Iron Crown came up with. They did their homework obviously, but that was built on studies available in the early 80's. The Kin-strife was covered as campaign materials, for example.
Thanks man. :) The Tolkien role-playing and fanfiction communities both have a lot of people doing really good book-based research and writing and there are some subfields that I think they've covered better than academic Tolkien studies has (though there's some overlap between all these groups). One does have to be careful at times to distinguish between material gleaned from the books and stuff that was invented for the purposes of games or fic, but when it comes to "meta" essays, at least, I think that authors are generally pretty conscientious about making such distinctions clear.
The publication of The History of Middle-earth, especially its last few volumes, definitely up-ended a lot of old debates though, yeah. I know some people who still get touchy about the identity of Glorfindel and the texts on that topic found in The Peoples of Middle-earth, but as someone who was two years old when that book was published I never had the opportunity to really engage in that debate. :P
I also found it interesting that you mentioned the letter where Tolkien stated that there was some resentment towards the Numenoreans that weren't just down to "black people are evil" like people tend to complain about with Tolkien. For all the "ubermensch" qualities of the Numenoreans, they did pretty much subjugate the "lesser" peoples for hundreds or thousands of years. Someone who lives twice as long is obviously more likely to be wise and strong, but also more likely to be arrogant about it. Even if Sauron obviously pushed them, the West kind of had it coming.
Man, I'd love to see some actual fourth age lore, if Aragorn actually succeeded in bringing peace. I guess I'll list that along "anything far east of Rhun" as things that will never be officially fleshed out.
Tolkien plaque unveiled in Warwick
https://www.warwickcourier.co.uk/news/tolkien-plaque-unveiled-in-warwick-1-8563537
https://www.warwickcourier.co.uk/news/tolkien-plaque-unveiled-in-warwick-1-8563537
OP
OP
That's really charming - it just goes to show how powerful Tolkien's legacy is. Nearly 50 years after his death he's still getting little honors like this.
Some third-hand info about the Amazon project.
Credit to White Hand on the WETA collector site and via MoreMorgoth on The OneRing.Net forum:
"I spoke in depth with Richard Taylor today at SDCC. He said that there has been absolutely zero contact from Amazon regarding the Tv series and he does not know what is happening with it any more than we do."
Credit to White Hand on the WETA collector site and via MoreMorgoth on The OneRing.Net forum:
"I spoke in depth with Richard Taylor today at SDCC. He said that there has been absolutely zero contact from Amazon regarding the Tv series and he does not know what is happening with it any more than we do."
OP
OP
Well that's a bummer if true, I guess those rumors about Weta digging out old props and sets from their storage weren't legit.
It could mean that the project just isn't very far into production yet. Collaborating with WETA certainly makes the most sense, unless Amazon have other ideas and want to go in a different direction in terms of aesthetics/design.
Old news, but certainly worth sharing. Esteemed Tolkien scholar has authored a book on Vikings.
Laughing Shall I Die: Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings
Laughing Shall I Die: Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings
https://www.amazon.com/Laughing-Shall-Die-Deaths-Vikings/dp/1780239092i
There's an interesting thread on the OneRing.net at the moment. A poster, uncle Iorlas, pitched a Second Age based show to Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke, but it didn't work out for him and his brother it seems.
http://newboards.theonering.net/for...=1;sb=post_time;so=DESC;mh=25;guest=206727075
http://newboards.theonering.net/for...=1;sb=post_time;so=DESC;mh=25;guest=206727075
I've seen a lot of people claim to have connections with Tolkien movie/TV productions over the years and while I obviously can't know for sure, this is one of the less believable stories to me. We know Amazon's made a five season commitment; the idea that their executives were literally unable to contain their glee at a proposal in which one of the most recognizable characters in the franchise doesn't appear until possibly six seasons in is ... highly questionable, IMO.
OP
OP
I've seen a lot of people claim to have connections with Tolkien movie/TV productions over the years and while I obviously can't know for sure, this is one of the less believable stories to me. We know Amazon's made a five season commitment; the idea that their executives were literally unable to contain their glee at a proposal in which one of the most recognizable characters in the franchise doesn't appear until possibly six seasons in is ... highly questionable, IMO.
Yyyyyyeah, that description seems really suspect.
Get the hype train started!
The show would still be years away so what do we think this is?
Looks like it's a retrospective on the two Jackson trilogies.
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/201...sics-return-to-middle-earth-magazine-special/
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/201...sics-return-to-middle-earth-magazine-special/
The showrunners for Amazon's project have been confirmed. New thread here:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/am...unners-confirmed-jd-payne-patrick-mckay.58501
https://www.resetera.com/threads/am...unners-confirmed-jd-payne-patrick-mckay.58501
OP
OP
Those names aren't really inspiring confidence :/ Hopefully they at least got the thumbs up from the Tolkien Estate.
George R.R. Martin on the Lord of the Rings.
A little excerpt:
"And then Gandalf dies! I can't explain the impact that had on me at 13. You can't kill Gandalf. I mean, Conan didn't die in the Conan books, you know? Tolkien just broke that rule, and I'll love him forever for it. Because the minute you kill Gandalf, the suspense of everything that follows is a thousand times greater, because now anybody could die. Of course, that's had a profound effect on my own willingness to kill characters at the drop of a hat."
A little excerpt:
"And then Gandalf dies! I can't explain the impact that had on me at 13. You can't kill Gandalf. I mean, Conan didn't die in the Conan books, you know? Tolkien just broke that rule, and I'll love him forever for it. Because the minute you kill Gandalf, the suspense of everything that follows is a thousand times greater, because now anybody could die. Of course, that's had a profound effect on my own willingness to kill characters at the drop of a hat."
An Amazon LOTR project rumour concerning a return to New Zealand:
https://thegww.com/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-series-is-expected-to-return-to-new-zealand
Certainly makes sense to return to New Zealand.
https://thegww.com/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-series-is-expected-to-return-to-new-zealand
Certainly makes sense to return to New Zealand.
OP
OP
Yep, definitely makes sense. Thanks to Jackson, the NZ film industry has experience in working on large-scale projects, plus there's just the fact that New Zealand's incredibly varied landscape has become synonymous with Middle-earth.
Good of Blackwells to do this:
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16...y-special-tolkien-day-at-blackwells-bookshop/
Anyone planning to visit Oxford in the future, should definitely visit this rather special bookstore, along with the usual Tolkien related attractions.
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16...y-special-tolkien-day-at-blackwells-bookshop/
Anyone planning to visit Oxford in the future, should definitely visit this rather special bookstore, along with the usual Tolkien related attractions.
How The Fall of Gondolin came together
"I think working on these books gives [Christopher] a new lease on life," says illustrator Alan Lee, who has been working on new Tolkien books and Peter Jackson's film adaptations alike for decades now. "He threw himself straight into Fall of Gondolin. We didn't actually know about it until this time last year there was a potential other one. I'm sure he'll be happy to have those books in his hand. This particular journey is completed."
https://ew.com/books/2018/08/27/fall-of-gondolin-jrr-tolkien
"I think working on these books gives [Christopher] a new lease on life," says illustrator Alan Lee, who has been working on new Tolkien books and Peter Jackson's film adaptations alike for decades now. "He threw himself straight into Fall of Gondolin. We didn't actually know about it until this time last year there was a potential other one. I'm sure he'll be happy to have those books in his hand. This particular journey is completed."
https://ew.com/books/2018/08/27/fall-of-gondolin-jrr-tolkien
OP
OP
Do we know if The Fall of Gondolin is the last of Christopher's editing/commentaries on his father's works? Given that he's 93 years old I can't imagine he's got much left in him.
I wouldn't know. But it's nice to think that this exercise has been so positive for him.
After his comments in Beren and Luthien, I was ready to accept that it was the end, but the manner in which he tackled The Fall of Gondolin gives me some hope that there might be more to come.
We'll see how that holds up, I suppose, but there isn't an immediately obvious future direction this time.
(source is Amazon's look inside feature)
We're on to you Christopher, you just don't want to let go.
We'll see how that holds up, I suppose, but there isn't an immediately obvious future direction this time.
(source is Amazon's look inside feature)