Understanding Middle Earth: Essays on Tolkien's Middle-Earth

Synopsis

Michael Martinez calls himself a populist commentator. He has long been an advocate for fans of science fiction honing his encyclopedic knowledge of all of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien with Tolkien special interest groups on the internet, arranging Tolkien programming at fan run science fiction and fantasy conventions and making live, sophisticated presentations to audiences world wide. His coverage of Tolkien Topics in this collection of 36 essays is so thorough that you will feel as if Martinez has left no stone on Middle-earth unturned. He explains how the first elves lost their innocence taking their first step on a long road, filled with loss and grief, toward sorrow. He describes what they lost on their 500 year journey across a frozen wasteland and how Melkor's lies transformed artists who celebrated beauty to avaricious, vengeful, murdering, hoarders. He outlines the long lives of some of our favorite Elves including Gil-galad, Glorfindel and Legolas. He explains how the roles of elves changed through the long ages. For example, Elrond evolved from a warrior to an innkeeper. Exuberant, benevolent yet powerful Tom Bombadil is beloved by most Tolkien readers. Martinez illustrates Bombadil's importance to The Lord of the Rings and makes a strong case that it is a mistake to underrate him or pass him over as nonessential to the plot. We learn that only a few elves were vegetarians and that limbas is much like our cornbread though the corn used by the elves was a special, magical variety. Most of Tolkien's evil characters paid dearly for their deviation from goodness. In one essay Martinez explains why unlike other villains, Frodo is forgiven for crumbling and claiming the ring as his own instead of casting it in to the fire. This long book answers many of your questions about Tolkien's writing and stimulates further thought and debate on Tolkien's complex fantasy. Whether you read it all or skip to the essays that interest you, time spent reading this fascinating, well grounded book will enrich your Tolkien experience. A list of accented words with a key identifying the specific accents is provided on pages III and IV.

Copyright:

2003

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

512 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781587761454

Publisher:

N/A

Date of Addition:

08/09/07

Copyrighted By:

Michael Martinez

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Literature and Fiction, Religion and Spirituality, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Language Arts

Submitted By:

Carrie Karnos

Proofread By:

Lissi

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.