One of the mysteries that J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have set up for the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the identity of the unnamed character who comets to Middle-earth near the encampment of the nomadic Harfoots. Known simply as “The Stranger” (Daniel Weyman) in marketing materials … [Read more…]
Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea is a story about a boy, Ged, and his experiences as he becomes a wizard. At one point during his education, Ged accidentally releases a shadow-spirit from the underworld and spends the rest of the novel alternately hiding from, running from, and chasing after it. It’s not until the end of … [Read more…]
So in an hour or so, I’ll be off to Baltimore for Mythmoot III: Ever on…, the third installment of the (nearly) annual academic/fan gathering for the Mythgard Institute. As with last year, I will be presenting a paper. This year, my subject is Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, specifically about her descriptions of … [Read more…]
I just finished Tom Shippey’s excellent book, J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, which I have wanted to read for some time now. In it, Shippey’s primary argument (as implied by the subtitle) is that twentieth century literature was dominated by the fantasy story, and that Tolkien holds the premier place of authorship among … [Read more…]
Today is Tolkien’s birthday — his “twelfty-first,” as some have pointed out, in reference to Bilbo’s “eleventy-first” birthday celebration at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring — and all across the world, folks are lifting a pint (or whatever amount) of ale (or whatever drink) in remembrance of one of the greatest author’s of the twentieth … [Read more…]