Hey I've started a Discord server stand-in for my Youtube channel, and I'll be doing a lot of content on the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game on there, as well as coverage on all the news about the new edition of Adventures in Middle Earth (the D&D 5e expansion for LotR) when we start getting some. Check it out if you're interested! Link: https://discord.gg/adpq6x8M
Hey I've started a Discord server stand-in for my Youtube channel, and I'll be doing a lot of content on the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game on there, as well as coverage on all the news about the new edition of Adventures in Middle Earth (the D&D 5e expansion for LotR) when we start getting some. Check it out if you're interested! Link: https://discord.gg/adpq6x8M
Then, in the interest of provoking conversation, I pose two questions:
1. What is everyone's favourite Tolkien work, other than The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion?
2. For a more broadly applicable question, what is everyone's favourite non-Tolkien fantasy novel or series?
For question one, I would go with Tolkien's prose translation of Beowulf. It is far from the easiest version of the poem to read--most versions of the poem, even prose translations, attempt to recreate some degree of the poem's cadence and flow. Tolkien foregoes the poetic elements to focus on making an accurate translation of the text, doing his best to recreate kennings and other literary devices in a manner consistent with modern language. Though I would likely not recommend this version for a first reading of Beowulf (that would be the Heaney verse translation, which does an excellent job maintaining the overall feel of the poem and is a little easier to read than Tolkien's), it is an excellent follow-up read if you already have a feeling for the epic and want to learn more about the actual language and writing. The best part of this translation is also the incredibly detailed and fascinating endnotes, written by Tolkien himself, that both provide fascinating insights into the poem, but also into Tolkien's thought process as he translated one of his favourite written works. You can really tell from his notes how much he loved the source material, and how dedicated he was to creating his particular translation.
For question two, Narnia holds a special place in my heart, and its probably the only fantasy series I have read as often as the LotR (to be fair, you can churn through a o big chunk of Narnia in a single sitting). It seems a little disingenuous though to ask for "favourite non-Tolkien work", only to choose a work by his best friend.
So, discounting Narnia,I will put forward Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as my nomination. Carroll's writing is deranged, nonsensical, and utterly brilliant. The man manages to weave a tale that is both cohesive yet disjointed; based in his Carroll's own love of mathematical logic yet illogical; incredibly complex yet maintaining a tone of childlike whimsy. The entire novel is as self-contradictory as Wonderland itself, taking the reader on as magical and frenetic a journey as Alice herself.
For contemporary fantasy, Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles would receive my vote. His writing is technically brilliant; his framing and expert use of an incredibly biased narrator is relatively unique; and the story and characters are complex--both complex in the subtextual reality that the reader only gets hints of through Kvothe, and in the way Kvothe chooses to describe the individuals and events of his tale.
2. I like Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time and Kings of the Wyld. I used to like Xanth as a kid but grew out of it. I also like Twilight (if that counts), the novels that go with the Blue Rose RPG and pretty much anything by Mercedes Lackey. And I liked The King of Elfland’s Daughter, a really old British fantasy novel that inspired Tolkien.
2. Way too many to list... Harry Potter, Fablehaven, pretty much any official D&D book (including campaigns and things like Tasha's Cauldron), The Maze Runner, Ready Player One, The Xanth novels, a bunch of stuff by Brandon Mull, Farworld, Hunger Games, Ender's Game, Discworld, and a few others.
2. Way too many to list... Harry Potter, Fablehaven, pretty much any official D&D book (including campaigns and things like Tasha's Cauldron), The Maze Runner, Ready Player One, The Xanth novels, a bunch of stuff by Brandon Mull, Farworld, and a few others.
I love the D&D campaign adventures. Also love Hunger Games and used to love Xanth as a kid.
1. My favorite Tolkien work is probably Lord of the Rings. Not a deep dive answer but I've read it quite a lot.
2. My favorite non-Tolkien fantasies (as traditional fantasy goes) are probably Howard's Conan, Moorcock's Elric and Hawkmoon (though I firmly disagree with Moorcock's dismissive tone toward Tolkien's work), Andre Norton's Spellsinger, and Raymond Feist's Magician series. I also like Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes (which is certainly fantasy, though not of the swords and elves type) and I've enjoyed a few of the Warcraft tie-in books. Oh, and Dragonlance.
And not quite fantasy but recognizing their influence just as medievalist tales, I really like Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (as my avatar might show) and Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.
I like Magician and Andre Norton’s Witch World. She also wrote a really good book called Quag Keep set in Greyhawk. And I love Ivanhoe.
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Hey I've started a Discord server stand-in for my Youtube channel, and I'll be doing a lot of content on the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game on there, as well as coverage on all the news about the new edition of Adventures in Middle Earth (the D&D 5e expansion for LotR) when we start getting some. Check it out if you're interested! Link: https://discord.gg/adpq6x8M
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
I joined for the AIME stuff 😊
LotR
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
Curufin the Clever (the only one of Feanor’s sons to have a son of his own)
Wow this be slow the last few days.
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
Yeah
Then, in the interest of provoking conversation, I pose two questions:
1. What is everyone's favourite Tolkien work, other than The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion?
2. For a more broadly applicable question, what is everyone's favourite non-Tolkien fantasy novel or series?
For question one, I would go with Tolkien's prose translation of Beowulf. It is far from the easiest version of the poem to read--most versions of the poem, even prose translations, attempt to recreate some degree of the poem's cadence and flow. Tolkien foregoes the poetic elements to focus on making an accurate translation of the text, doing his best to recreate kennings and other literary devices in a manner consistent with modern language. Though I would likely not recommend this version for a first reading of Beowulf (that would be the Heaney verse translation, which does an excellent job maintaining the overall feel of the poem and is a little easier to read than Tolkien's), it is an excellent follow-up read if you already have a feeling for the epic and want to learn more about the actual language and writing. The best part of this translation is also the incredibly detailed and fascinating endnotes, written by Tolkien himself, that both provide fascinating insights into the poem, but also into Tolkien's thought process as he translated one of his favourite written works. You can really tell from his notes how much he loved the source material, and how dedicated he was to creating his particular translation.
For question two, Narnia holds a special place in my heart, and its probably the only fantasy series I have read as often as the LotR (to be fair, you can churn through a o big chunk of Narnia in a single sitting). It seems a little disingenuous though to ask for "favourite non-Tolkien work", only to choose a work by his best friend.
So, discounting Narnia, I will put forward Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as my nomination. Carroll's writing is deranged, nonsensical, and utterly brilliant. The man manages to weave a tale that is both cohesive yet disjointed; based in his Carroll's own love of mathematical logic yet illogical; incredibly complex yet maintaining a tone of childlike whimsy. The entire novel is as self-contradictory as Wonderland itself, taking the reader on as magical and frenetic a journey as Alice herself.
For contemporary fantasy, Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles would receive my vote. His writing is technically brilliant; his framing and expert use of an incredibly biased narrator is relatively unique; and the story and characters are complex--both complex in the subtextual reality that the reader only gets hints of through Kvothe, and in the way Kvothe chooses to describe the individuals and events of his tale.
1. That’s all I’ve read by him
2. I like Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time and Kings of the Wyld. I used to like Xanth as a kid but grew out of it. I also like Twilight (if that counts), the novels that go with the Blue Rose RPG and pretty much anything by Mercedes Lackey. And I liked The King of Elfland’s Daughter, a really old British fantasy novel that inspired Tolkien.
1: Do those ones that are just all him trying to write LotR count (you know, Strider was a Hobbit named Trotter, etc)?
2: Harry Potter, definitely
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
Yeah I like Harry Potter too.
1. Farmer Giles of Ham.
2. Discworld.
And yeah, I agree on Beowulf. Heaney then Tolkien.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Haven’t tried Discworld yet but heard it’s awesome.
I assume you mean the History of Middle Earth? Though ultimately published by Christopher Tolkien, I think they're still fair game!
They most definitely are.
Looking for a campaign? Or, perhaps, trying to start one? Come join Rolegate! Just send me a friend request (same name as here) and I'll help you get started!
Ducks are just geese lite. Focus on the future. It'll become the past soon enough.
Istari and White Counsel in Club. Not the wish-granter of a thread.
Become a Plague Doctor today!
Join the Knights of the Random Table and Calius and Kothar Industries!
Homebrew: Artifact, Dungeon
May be offline due to school
1. The Book of Lost Tales.
2. Way too many to list... Harry Potter, Fablehaven, pretty much any official D&D book (including campaigns and things like Tasha's Cauldron), The Maze Runner, Ready Player One, The Xanth novels, a bunch of stuff by Brandon Mull, Farworld, Hunger Games, Ender's Game, Discworld, and a few others.
Looking for a campaign? Or, perhaps, trying to start one? Come join Rolegate! Just send me a friend request (same name as here) and I'll help you get started!
Ducks are just geese lite. Focus on the future. It'll become the past soon enough.
Istari and White Counsel in Club. Not the wish-granter of a thread.
Become a Plague Doctor today!
Join the Knights of the Random Table and Calius and Kothar Industries!
Homebrew: Artifact, Dungeon
May be offline due to school
I love the D&D campaign adventures. Also love Hunger Games and used to love Xanth as a kid.
It’s gone slow again…. We need Gradius back lol.
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
Definitely 😊
I like Magician and Andre Norton’s Witch World. She also wrote a really good book called Quag Keep set in Greyhawk. And I love Ivanhoe.