Had a flip through this one at the bookstore the other day: A Middle-earth Traveler: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor. The book is illustrated by John Howe, who worked as a production designer on the Peter Jackson films, and offers a spectacular insight into his artistic vision of Middle-earth. Would highly recommend to any Tolkien fans, regardless of whether they prefer the books, the movies, or both.
September 22nd | Happy Birthday, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins!
Today also happens to mark the two year anniversary of this blog.
“I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Window shopping for Tolkien ...
Look what I found at the bookshop today ...
Poem by @tolkienenthusiast
Journey long done at last,
So set the sails and raise the mast.
I journey now to Elvenhome,
Where ill be cured and pain unknown.
For there is light beyond the sea!
Carry me, carry me.
Carry me, carry me.
Through shoreless seas and starry nights,
My path will lead me where there’s light.
So mortal shores, I leave you now,
With stars set firmly on my brow.
For there is green beyond the swell!
Fare you well, fare you well.
Fare you well, fare you well.
Dearest friends, I take my leave,
Though may I ask you not to grieve.
With gulls of white to guide my way,
I take my leave, I cannot stay.
For though the journey may be done,
The road goes on, the road goes on.
The road goes on, ever on.
The Grey Havens. Concept art for The Return of the King (2003) by Alan Lee.
Wasted potential: that is the thought that springs to mind when I look back upon The Battle of the Five Armies, the final chapter in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. Among the most disappointing aspects of this film is that it doesn’t seem to know whether it’s going up or down. What initially started as a rather heartwarming rite-of-passage about a sheltered hobbit finally finding his courage, essentially turns into something quite different by the end of the franchise.
In a sense, the whole film can be summed up as one over-bloated action sequence, in which the audience is showered with what appears to be Hollywood’s main source of income these days: fan service for the sake of nostalgia. The elf-and-mortal romance exhibited by Kili and Tauriel is, of course, little more than a desperate re-enactment of Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship that we saw in The Lord of the Rings. Similarly, the minutes and minutes of screentime dedicated to Legolas don’t seem to serve any other purpose than to remind us that this is indeed the same gravity-defying badass that will accompany Frodo on his quest years later. All in all, it seems that the filmmakers haven’t let slip a single opportunity to shove in a Lord of the Rings reference wherever they could fit one, no matter how far-fetched. Perhaps the most subtle-but-not-so-subtle example of this can be found in a scene towards the end of the film, in which Legolas’s father Thranduil urges him to seek out a young "ranger" whose "name" he must discover for himself. This constant attempt to imitate on the success of its predecessor leaves a lot to be desired because it clearly goes to show the filmmakers’ own lack of faith in their creation. After all, if they truly believed their production was worthy, why should they have felt the need to rely on past triumphs?
That’s not to say that The Battle of the Five Armies is not without its glimmers. As in the previous two films, Martin Freeman practically shines in his role as Bilbo Baggins. In fact, you can expect some rather excellent performances from all across the cast, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Richard Armitage as the dwarf-king Thorin, Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman, and Lee Pace as Thranduil. These small glimmers of quality cinema are unfortunately not quite enough to keep The Battle of the Five Armies afloat seeing as the film's definite shortcomings way overpower them.
Overall, I would call The Battle of the Five Armies a painfully mediocre action film, which, although strayed with some heartfelt performances here and there, unfortunately, does not deliver to the standard set by its predecessor in The Lord of the Rings.
Overall rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
I’ve listed some of my Middle-earth originals for sale at shop.ullathynell.com!
These are large, original watercolour paintings I created in 2012. I have a special emotional attachment to my Tolkien themed artworks – they are from an era when I really fell in love with illustration and decided I want to start doing it full time. But now I need to raise money to print more books, so I hope the paintings will find new homes. 💚
The blog has a new logo!
Designed by @tolkienenthusiast
Reeds by the shady pool, lilies on the water:
Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter!
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien Aesthetic | Aug 2018
Mirror of Galadriel | “For it shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be”
Elvish Months of the Year: August
In the High-Elven tongue, the eighth month of the year was named Úrimë (Urui being its Sindarin equivalent). Now, the root úr— comes from the Quenya word úrë, meaning ‘heat’. From this, we can conclude that Úrimë was the month of hot weather.
July—another month gone by, and with that comes a new Elvish Lesson. So in the High-elven tongue, the seventh month of the year was named Cermië (Cerveth being its Sindarin equivalent). As to the meaning of that name, there are actually surprisingly few references. However, in my research I did discover that one of the meanings of the Quenya root ‘cerm’ is ‘to give’. By this, I’m assuming that Cermië was the month of harvest or plenty (though don’t take my word for it).
As for the above picture, July always reminds me of Lothlórien somehow.
Tolkien Aesthetic | Jul 2018
Lothlórien | “I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew”
Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings. Fineliner and coloured pencil drawing.
Illustration by @tolkienenthusiast
When it comes to the immensely popular fantasy genre, we all know the highly iconic works that dominate our bookshelves. These include The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Song of Ice and Fire, and of course, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. But for every popular franchise, there are unfortunately dozens of hidden gems that never truly see the light of day. For that reason, I would love to hear what some of your most underrated fantasy books are. New or old. Long or short. Children’s or (young) adult. It matters not. What I’m truly interested in is the impact which these books have had on you as a reader as well as the reasons for why you loved them as you did.
Leave your responses either by reblogging or commenting below.
I’m looking forward to getting to know some of your under-appreciated fantasy favourites. And who knows … you might even discover your next summer read. 📚📖
Best regards,
The Tolkien Enthusiast 🍃
Thanks for your responses, guys. Seeing as I’m the original poster, I think I should probably mention some of my underrated fantasy books, too.
There is a Dutch fantasy book called The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt, published in 1962. It became a children’s classic in the Netherlands, and was translated into multiple languages, but for some reason it wasn’t translated into English until much later on.
A quick synopsis:
If he is to be knighted the next morning, 16 year-old Tiuri has to spend a night shut inside a chapel in silent vigil as proof of his loyalty to the king. However, when there is a desperate knock on the door in the middle of the night, Tiuri has to choose heart over duty in order to help someone in grave need. By abandoning his task Tiuri suddenly finds himself charged with a dangerous mission: he must travel west over the mountains to deliver a letter to King Unauwen. He must travel in secrecy. He must be careful whom to trust. And most importantly: he must never reveal what is in that letter.
The book also has a sequel named The Secrets of the Wild Wood, which is equally exciting.
When it comes to the immensely popular fantasy genre, we all know the highly iconic works that dominate our bookshelves. These include The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Song of Ice and Fire, and of course, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. But for every popular franchise, there are unfortunately dozens of hidden gems that never truly see the light of day. For that reason, I would love to hear what some of your most underrated fantasy books are. New or old. Long or short. Children’s or (young) adult. It matters not. What I’m truly interested in is the impact which these books have had on you as a reader as well as the reasons for why you loved them as you did.
Leave your responses either by reblogging or commenting below.
I’m looking forward to getting to know some of your under-appreciated fantasy favourites. And who knows ... you might even discover your next summer read. 📚📖
Best regards,
The Tolkien Enthusiast 🍃
