J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most popular writers of the 20th century. His two most famous works of fiction, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, have sold hundreds of millions of copies and completely transformed modern fantasy fiction. In addition, Tolkien was a celebrated scholar, a professor at Oxford, and the author of the most influential article on the great Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf ever written. The new Critical Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien provides a reliable, up-to-date, and encyclopedic source of information on this influential writer for high school and college-level students, teachers, and the general public.
Added by: zryciuch_83 | Karma: 392.34 | Fiction literature | 3 July 2011
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Silmarillion [Illustrated ebookThe collection begins with the "Ainulindale," a creation myth, proceeds to the "Valaquenta," an elvan account of the Powers (Valar and Maiar), then to "The Silmarillion," and finally to two short pieces, the "Alkallabeth" and a short legend bridging this collection and "The Lord of the Rings," entitled "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age."
Perhaps the greatest value to The Silmarillion is the cosmology that Tolkien uses to establish his world. There is certainly a very Christian element to it, with Eru (God) casting down the powerful, but prideful Melkor. But Tolkien also makes extensive use of Finnish, Norse, and Greek influences.
The final installment in Australian author Cecilia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde trilogy, takes place in Erith, a richly detailed realm filled with a plethora of magical seelie (benevolent) and unseelie (malevolent) creatures. Seamlessly mixing British and Irish myths, fairy tales and folklore, Dart-Thornton (called Australia's answer to J.R.R. Tolkien) creates an extraordinarily wild world, comparable to Middle-earth, that can be both breathtakingly beautiful and, in the blink of an eye, the stuff of nightmares.
J.R.R. Tolkien's zeal for medieval literary, religious, and cultural ideas deeply influenced his entire life and provided the seeds for his own fiction. In Tolkien's Art, Chance discusses not only such classics as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, but focuses on his minor works as well, outlining in detail the sources and influences--from pagan epic to Christian legend-that formed the foundation of Tolkien's masterpieces, his "mythology for England.
The long-awaited sequel to the popular classic The Last Unicorn is the centerpiece of this powerful collection of new tales from a fantasy master. As longtime fans have come to expect, the stories are written with a grace and style similar to fantasy's most original voices, such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, and Kurt Vonnegut. Reuploaded. Thanks to badaboom
The long-awaited sequel to the popular classic The Last Unicorn is the centerpiece of this powerful collection of new tales from a fantasy master. As longtime fans have come to expect, the stories are written with a grace and style similar to fantasy's most original voices, such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, and Kurt Vonnegut. 
