[bksvol-discuss] Merry Christmas Tolkien Fans, A Gift

  • From: "Estelnalissi" <airadil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:33:23 -0500

MessageDear Tolkien Fans,

Merry Christmas!!! Carrie's scan and my validation of, Meditations on 
Middle-Earth has been approved!!! I believe I'm experiencing what it feels like 
to win the lottery!!!

If you are a fan of The Lord of the Rings, you will probably love this book in 
which 15 successful fantasy authors, a Tolkien scholar, and the Hildebrandt 
brothers who illustrated Tolkien in the seventies and provided the art for 
several LOTR calendars, write about their first impressions of the trilogy 
which they read as children, and then talk about how their understanding of the 
book has matured with them and influenced their further reading of fantasy and 
their own writing.  Three chapters were so heartfelt, they made me cry. One 
made me scoff. One outlined talkie's other books and the books his son compiled 
after he died in a way which helped me understand his work as a whole and in a 
sequential fashion. Many authors talk about the other fantasy books they tried 
because they wanted more books like, The Lord of the Rings. 

Personally, I tried several fantasies and found very few truly engaging except, 
The Once and Future King, Watership Down, The Little Prince, Peter Pan, The 
Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. This book gave me ideas of other 
fantasies to try. 

Poul Anderson died the year this book was published. While reading his essay, I 
felt I had been granted one more conversation with an old friend.  Most of the 
essayists are men and many revealed in their response to Tolkien, what warm 
hearts they have. 

Reading this book you'll gain new insights in to The Lord of the Rings and 
learn a great deal about the fantasy genre Tolkien is credited with inspiring 
with his unforgettable characters and his Middle-earth which seems as real as 
our planet with its computers, taxes, and fast food, and timeless elements 
including nature, love, evil, loyalty, sacrifice, poetry, music, war and joy. 

Below is the long synopsis. 

Fantasy writers answer the questions, Why is The Lord of the Rings so popular? 
And How has Tolkien's writing influenced the path of Fantasy?. describing their 
first encounter with the trilogy, and how, their understanding of it's style 
and wisdom expanded as they matured. They say Tolkien influenced their fantasy 
writing, and examine fantasy literature. George R. R. Martin credits Tolkien as 
the first to create a fully drawn alternate world. Poul Anderson compares 
Tolkien's elves to Seraphim, Le Guin finds rhythm and patterns in Tolkien's 
style. Pratchett cannot recall where he was when JFK died but describes in 
detail the time and place he first read Tolkien. Michael Swanwick reads Tolkien 
to his 9 year old son, and accepts his honored role as a father and his place 
in the circle of life. Robin Hobb explains fantasy is popular because readers 
sought more books like Tolkien's. Orson Card reveals the true hero of Middle 
Earth. Esther Friesner thinks Elves are hotties. This is a wealth of 
information about Middle-earth, the nature of fantasy, and additional fantasy 
books

 

Merry Christmas, Tolkien fans and peace on Earth and Middle-earth!



Always With Love,



Lissi

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