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The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders' Guide (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) Review

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The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders' Guide (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) ReviewThis book is apparently intended to be the equivalent for young readers of the "Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide," which is also written by Brian Sibley (who was also the co-writer of the script for the BBC's excellent radio adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings," starring Ian Holm as Frodo). In many ways this children's version, although shorter and less detailed, is more interesting than the adult version. The "Insiders' Guide" contains some information not included in the "Movie Guide," such as the "Loom!" story mentioned by another reviewer below. Indeed, in general the emphasis of the "Insiders' Guide" seems to be a bit less on the production design of the movie, and more on the process of filming it and the experience of being on the set, than that of the "Movie Guide."
One interesting feature of Sibley's text as compared to that of the "Movie Guide" is that the chapters of the "Insiders' Guide" tend to begin with especially intriguing sentences intended to grab the reader's attention. Perhaps Sibley thinks this is more necessary when writing for children than for adults; I consider it a good technique when writing for any audience. ("Apollo 13," formerly called "Lost Moon," by James Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, is an excellent example of the use of this technique in a non-fiction book for adults.)
Tolkien fans, and those moviegoers who have fallen in love with Peter Jackson's film, may well want to collect all four movie tie-in books: this "Insiders' Guide" and the "Photo Guide" (both intended for children) along with the "Movie Guide" and the "Visual Companion" (both intended for adults). Young readers seeking paperback books about the movie will find both the "Insiders' Guide" and the "Photo Guide" fairly good choices; the "Insiders' Guide" provides information about the movie's production and the background behind it, while the "Photo Guide" is the better bet for images from the film.The Fellowship of the Ring Insiders' Guide (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) Overview

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The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Review

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The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) ReviewThis is an interesting new children's photo guide for the hit fantasy epic "Lord of the Rings"'s movie adaptation. Not quite the same as the adult ones, which have more complete info about places and people, but if your kid has never read LOTR and needs some basic info, this is the right book.
It has an excellent array of photos, of such characters as Legolas, the hobbits, the Uruk-Hai, Aragorn, as well as pictures of places: Bag End, Bilbo's birthday party, the tower of Orthanc, Lothlorien, Moria, and so forth. Some of the photos are unsatisfying -- we see only snippets of Rivendell, for example. Some of the pictures are so widely circulated that I wasn't interested, like Gimli kneeling at his cousin's grace, Arwen glancing at the camera, and the I've-seen-it-so-many-times-I'm-sick-of-it photo of Frodo staring at Sting, the sword given to him by Bilbo Baggins.
But there are photos not generally shown, like the picture of the four hobbits solemnly holding their swords, blades pointing down; Legolas holding his quiver, and a great still of Aragorn attacking the Nazgul on Weathertop. One slight disappointment is that the many amazing CGI effects (with the exception of shrinking John Rhys-Davies and the hobbit actors) go completely untouched. But perhaps they did not translate well to photo stills, or they didn't want to spoil the effect.
Often there are movie quotes (many of them taken out of the final cut) are near the photos, either quotes from the characters themselves, or relating to them. The text itself seemed a little dumbed-down, but as this appears to be a kids' book for new watchers, perhaps that isn't such a bad thing. It gives the basics on the characters' physical traits, brief biographical info (like Sam being the youngest son of the Gaffer) and their relationships with the other Fellowship members.
Spoilers are not given away. Major plot developments are hinted at but never stated; in addition, there are no spoilers for the finale, after they leave Lorien. Minor spoilers about some of the characters (like Aragorn) are given away, tho.
Overall, a nice little picture book, for either major Tolkien fans or for people who need to know just who these people are and what is going on.The Fellowship of the Ring Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Overview

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The Two Towers Movie Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Review

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The Two Towers Movie Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) ReviewDon't be fooled by the back cover that states "the official children's photo guide to The Two Towers." This great book is full of amazing photos from the upcoming Lord of the Rings film to delight fans of all ages!
The book itself is set up in a narrative style, which goes through the general movie plot with accompanying pictures. For instance, in the part where Merry and Pippin encounter the Ents, we are treated with a full-page picture of Treebeard (in all his glory!) holding Merry and Pippin.
The book has pictures of all the major (and minor) characters and locations in the film, including Theoden, Gollum, Faramir, Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, Gandalf the White, the Warg Riders and Easterlings, as well as Osgiliath, Ithilien, Edoras, Helms Deep and Fangorn Forest.
One word of caution, however: This book goes through the general plot of the movie and also reveals where changes were made from the book. So if you want SPOILERS, this is the book for you! However, if you want to remain spoiler-free (at least until the film arrives), then quickly browse through the book but do not read it!
Of the 4 movie tie-in books that were recently released (The Two Towers Visual Companion, Two Towers Creature Guide and The Making of the Movie Trilogy), this is the BEST in terms of Two Towers-related pictures. The Visual Companion comes a close second. If you want behind the scenes info, then pick up The Making of the Movie Trilogy as well. The books go hand-in-hand with very little overlap in terms of content.The Two Towers Movie Photo Guide (The Lord of the Rings) Overview

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Creatures of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) Review

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Creatures of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) ReviewAlthough this is the official movie guide for children to the Two Towers, I found that it was helpful for adults who are not Lord of the Rings fans and/or have not read any of the books by Tolkien. It is lushly illustrated with gorgeous photos of all of the people/creatures in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. There are also a few photos of how they developed CGI characters such as the cave troll and Sauron. Underneath each photograph is a sentence or two explaining who the person/creature is and how they fit into the story. The wording and the brevity of the descriptions make it perfect for younger readers or those looking for a quick and dirty introduction to the characters of Middle Earth including Hobbits, Ents, Easterlings, Haradrim, Uruk-Hai, Gollum, the Watcher in the Water, Dwarves, Elves, Wizards/Istari, Balrog, Gwaihir, and many more. The book also comes with a free fold out enlarged picture of Gandalf confronting the Balrog in Moria. I would recommend this book for those who are not very familiar with The Lord of the Rings trilogy and for children ages 8 and up. It is very short at app. 60 pages (most of which is taken up by pictures) and so is a great introduction. However, if you are a Tolkien fan and familiar with the stories or saw the first movie, there is nothing new for you here.Creatures of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings Movie Tie-In) Overview

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The Lord of the Rings Weapons and Warfare Review

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The Lord of the Rings Weapons and Warfare ReviewThis book is absolutely astonishing....224 pages of pure LOTR bliss! If you buy nothing else this holiday season, then you MUST get this book! It has all of the good facts about the folks in the three LOTR films...and it even backtracks to give us a little bit of history prior to the legendary War of the Ring. Of course, this is all done from a military/war aspect...which makes it even better! The illustrations are wonderful....the pictures are delightful and pleasing to the eye. The prose is not written for children...but it is not written in such a difficult language that a person with limited reading comprehension may not be able to understand it. I highly suggest you run right out today and get yourself a copy! You'll be glad you did!The Lord of the Rings Weapons and Warfare Overview

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Sauron Defeated: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Four (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 9) Review

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Sauron Defeated: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Four (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 9) ReviewIn "Sauron Defeated", Christopher Tolkien brings to a close "The History of The Lord of the Rings", a subset within his "The History of Middle Earth". Like the previous three volumes in this series, Christopher traces the development of his father's thought as the final chapters of The Lord of the Rings are written. Of special interest are the early conceptions of "The Scouring of the Shire" and the two versions of the never-published "Epilogue". The Epilogue was, to me, particularly touching, as it involved Sam, now a middle-aged hobbit with a houseful of kids, reading to his family and keeping the Story alive.
HOWEVER, the above material, while unable to fit into the previous volume (The War of the Ring), was not enough to warrent a volume all by itself. So Christopher has also included "The Notion Club Papers" -- a space/time/dream travel story, written at the same time as The Lord of the Rings was being developed. The story itself involves Numenor -- Tolkien's telling of the Atlantis saga. Of particular interest to CS Lewis fans, "The Notion Club Papers" purports to be a discussion of (among other things) Lewis' own space travel fiction, penned in the late 30's and early 40's. It's a shame that this story was never brought to completion -- I'm finding the ideas it expresses to be quite interesting.
Again, 5 stars, both for the Master, and for the tireless work of Christopher.Sauron Defeated: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Four (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 9) Overview

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Morgoth's Ring: The Later Silmarillion, Part One: The Legends of Aman (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 10) Review

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Morgoth's Ring: The Later Silmarillion, Part One: The Legends of Aman (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 10) Review. . .plus cultural information!
This book, the first of two in the "History of Middle-Earth" series dealing with later textual developments in "The Silmarillion" provides a great deal of information on how Tolkien's philosophical and theological development influenced the later aspects of this work. (As the reader should remember, Tolkien worked on these legends for more than 50 years.)
However, one of my greatest delights in "Morgoth's Ring" was a lengthy essay detailing aspects of Elven culture, including information on courting, betrothal, marriage, and child-rearing. Also included is a discussion of the judgement of the Valar concerning the remarriage of Finwe of the Noldor.
Throughout, the volume demonstrates that Tolkien wished to truly create a complete culture, not merely a history.
A worthy addition to this series.Morgoth's Ring: The Later Silmarillion, Part One: The Legends of Aman (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 10) Overview

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Bored of the Rings: A Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings Review

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Bored of the Rings: A Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings ReviewIt was in order to read and enjoy this book that I first read "The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. One of my high school buddies, now a struggling author, was tossed out of English class for laughing out loud while reading this book during class. I read it in 1974, and remember laughing out loud frequently. [Unfortunately, LOTR and BOTR led to the Dungeons and Dragons(tm) role playing games, which cost me points off my GPA in college. ] Here it is, 25 years later, and rereading this book made me chuckle with delight. My kids want to read whatever it was that made Daddy laugh, so I have promised them that when they have finished Tolkein's books, which are good, clean heroic fantasy based on a variety of Western Literary archetypes, that they can read this short and humorous spoof.
The book has not aged as well as it might have, since it has many pop culture references from the late 1960's/early 1970's. Back then, drugs were "cool," writing dirty passages was a daring/shocking assault on the perceived prudery of American society, the anti-establishment theme was still a vibrant part of American culture, and National Lampoon was becoming a very funny (albeit sohpomoric) magazine. Cultural norms change, and some contextual humor will be lost to the current generation. All that notwithstanding, BOTR is a great spoof of LOTR and an integral part of any Tolkein collection.
For those of you offended by a spoof of JRR Tolkein's trilogy, including the indignant 8th grader, I challenge you to write a parody of the LOTR for Generation X. You will find that it takes great love for a work to spoof it successfully. Example: Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail movie, a spoof of the most beloved legendary figure of English culture. I suspect there are a lot of sharp wits out there who could equal, or even better, the original spoof and in so doing make a whole new generation laugh without losing their affection for the LOTR. I for one would love to see a Generation X spoof of Lord of the Rings.
Laughter is good for you. . . so read this book.Bored of the Rings: A Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings Overview

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