Happy Tolkien Reading Day!

This post contains spoilers for both the book and film versions of The Lord of the Rings. March 25th is Tolkien Reading Day, because that’s the day J. R. R. Tolkien gave for the climactic event of his epic fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings, when the One Ring went into the fire and the

Driven by the oath. — Middle-earth Reflections

When it comes to stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, you can always rely on him in providing his readers with the most many-dimensional characters. There are rather few who are either absolutely good or absolutely evil: most individuals in the tales of Arda are rather complex and have their own — not always easy […]

A Journey in the Dark

This post contains spoilers for both the film and book versions of The Lord of the Rings. Some of you may recall that back in September I declared my intent to begin re-reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings that month for the first time in many years (since the Peter Jackson

Accidental Riddles in the Invisible Dark (Throwback Thursday, and The Hobbit Read-Along, and Hobbit Day) — A Pilgrim in Narnia

At A Pilgrim in Narnia, we have an occasional feature called “Throwback Thursday.” By raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s, I find a blog post from the past and throw it back out into the digital world. This might be an idea or book that is now relevant again, or a concept I’d […]

Tolkien Week

Every September 22nd, fans of J. R. R. Tolkien celebrate Hobbit Day, because that was the calendar day given by the author for the celebration of both Bilbo’s and Frodo’s birthdays, and also because The Hobbit was published the day before on September 21st. The week that contains Hobbit Day is known as Tolkien Week,

Mind Magic: Escapism, Fantasy, and why it’s the best thing mankind invented. — BookmarkedOne

By now you know I am convinced fantasy is the best and most beautiful genre of fiction in the world. But I don’t often talk about why. A while back (yes, concerts and work and university finals, I know. I’m awake now) I stumbled across Sarah Seele’s lovely post “They Found Loveliness Everywhere.” Do go […]

Worldbuilding for Fantasy Writers and Gamemasters, Part Four

DRAWING ON REAL-WORLD HISTORY, POLITICS, AND CULTURE Every worldbuilder, whether a novelist or a game designer, has to draw upon real-world history, politics, and culture to a certain extent. It’s important, however, to be sensitive to those nations and cultures that are not one’s own, particularly if they have been subject to colonialism, enslavement, and

Reading J.R.R. Tolkien by Audiobook and Adaptation: Thoughts on a Portland Discovery (#tolkienreadingday) — A Pilgrim in Narnia

It was pouring rain in Portland as Nicolas and I wove our way through the artisan-filled streets of this renewed East Coast City. I love Portland, though we were not visiting on the best of circumstances. Just a couple of hours earlier, with too little sleep, Nicolas and I had left a sunny Boston behind. […]

Tolkien Reading Day 2021! — BookmarkedOne

All hail the Ring-bearer and the master of words who brought us all to Middle Earth. It’s Tolkien Reading Day, everyone! So grab your nearest Hobbit, eat second breakfast, take a hike, and of course, start reading. In case you are one of the many (like me) who has lamentably finished reading The Lord of […]

“The Song of Sighs” (2013) by Angela Slatter — Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein

I am hidden, but lovely, O ye daughters of darkness, as the dreams of Great Old Ones as the drowned houses of R’lyeth —Angela Slatter, “The Song of Sighs” in Weirder Shadows Over Innsmouth 169 The pathos of “The Shadow over Innsmouth” is that the nameless narrator does not know who he is. What should be […]