Tag: J.R.R. Tolkien

Book Review: Tales Before Tolkien

Tales Before Tolkien Edited by Douglas A. Anderson Tales Before Tolkien is a collection of literary fairy tales, or fairy tales written to imitate genuine folklore, all of which were written before J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was published in 1937. While there is no evidence that Tolkien was familiar with all of these stories, he …

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Book Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo Translated by J.R.R. Tolkien Edited by Christopher Tolkien While not strictly fantasy in the modern sense, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Sir Orfeo are both fantasy in their own rights. They are both circa 14th century poems containing fantastical elements which could not possibly …

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Book Review: The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion By J.R.R. Tolkien Edited by Christopher Tolkien Published posthumously, The Silmarillion is the bible to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Literally. Told mostly from an Elf-centric point-of-view, The Silmarillion covers the creation of Middle-earth, or Arda, through the rise and fall of the elf kingdoms, the rise and fall of Numenor, and the rise and …

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Book Review: Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth By J.R.R. Tolkien Edited by Christopher Tolkien Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth is the first book in a study of the many fragments of Tolkien’s writing on his legendarium. Tolkien’s son Christopher collects several lengthy fragments stretching from the First Age of Middle-earth to the beginning of the …

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Book Review: The Tolkien Reader

The Tolkien Reader By J.R.R. Tolkien Published in 1966, The Tolkien Reader is a collection of shorter works by the father of modern fantasy, The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. I was about ten years old when I bought my copy at a local used book store, the same store where I bought …

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