For devoted Tolkien fans...

I've only read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books, though I have Children of Hurin, and I think we have a copy of Silmarillion around the house somewhere, both of which have been on my list to read for a while.  Unfortunately I recently discovered Vonnegut and Philip Dick and Jonathan Lethem and Jonathan Carroll and I'm still working through the Dune series and...well, I've got a lot of reading to do.  Of the two I've read though, I really can't say I like one more than the other.  I've always considered the Hobbit to be part of the same story as the main trilogy, so in my eyes they're one work rather than two.  No vote from me yet. 

http://tolkiengateway.net

Talking about music related to Tolkien I would have to say Bo Hansson's Lord of The Rings is the best I have come across. Reminds me a bit of MO's Tubular Bells in that it is not perfect and rough around the edges but it flows pretty much for 40 minutes starting with the Shire and ending at Mithlond ( Havens) For 1972 it is incredibly accurate IMO in depicting moods and scenes. Check out ' Council of Elrond' and the " Ring Goes South'

Raff wrote: Thanks! Unfortunately, my experience with the Italian Tolkien fans was quite negative (ended up in an unpleasant bout of backstabbing), therefore I have lost a lot of my original interest. Hopefully it will come back again some time in the future.

A bit of Grima and Curunir in the ranks

The Silmarillion.................the immensity of the First Age almost dwarfs ( no pun intended) the other works. I think Christopher Tolkien had a large role to play in the finishing off of this epic, hence the style different to LOTR. The tale of Beren and Luthien perhaps the best love story ever told too.

I don't think they tried to capture the atmosphere of the book ... they're a metal band, and they combined the style they had been developing for several years with some of the stories from the book. It's very sophisticated too ... you definitely need several spins to grasp all the little details in the music.

I don't expect everyone to love this album ... IMO people will either love or hate it, and I'm fine with both.

Unfortunately, I was not very impressed by Blind Guardian's album... I suppose it's just a matter of personal taste. I don't think it captures the spirit of The Silmarillion at all, but perhaps it's just me.

Raff wrote: [QUOTE=Negoba] Edit: Alberto, Ungoliant is a she...

Indeed

Negoba wrote: My family is so enmeshed in the Tolkien world that its mythology is our mythology. My father has read the books so many times it borders on obsession. The professor that spoke at my brother's graduation here in Saint Louis was a big Tolkien scholar. The work he's done simply will never be matched because the kind of scholarship he had in languages and mythology is rare enough, but to combine that with the obsession in a fantasy world....It just won't happen.   I personally can't separate the parts of the world and say "this is better" or "that is better" though clearly the LOTR was the most finished piece of work for adults. The Silmarillion is already a collection of lore, and other works are even more patchwork, though some of the stories still are great.   Anybody up for a round of "Where there's a whip there's a way" over a pint or two?

You mean Tom Shippey, I suppose? I edited the Italian translation of his book The Road to Middle-earth, and had the opportunity to meet him in person in 2005, at the Birmingham convention organised on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of LotR.

Edit: Alberto, Ungoliant is a she...


Edited by Raff - June 12 2009 at 12:45