Martinez, Michael
UNDERSTANDING MIDDLE EARTH: ESSAYS ON TOLKIEN'S MIDDLE-EARTH
Michael Martinez
ViviSphere Publishing 2003
Pb 512 pages
ISBN#
1-58776-145-9
Did you get to the end of Tolkien's classic
LORD OF THE RINGS, read all of the appendices, and still hunger for
more? But standing in the bookstore staring at all of those shelves
of Histories of Middle Earth can be a bit daunting. Never fear,
Michael Martinez is here to offer lucid discussions on the entire
realm of Middle Earth, from the First Age and forward. I got the
impression that Mr. Martinez has read everything there is to read on
this subject, and has been writing about it himself for years.
UNDERSTANDING MIDDLE EARTH begins with a
breakdown of the many Tolkien texts, with detailed explanations of
each. The rest of the book is devoted to Michael Martinez's essays,
ranging in subject from the ancient elven king Gil-galad to
extensive discussions on magic, dragons, . . . and rings.
These are some of the questions he addresses:
What is Galadriel's history? How many Rangers would have been
guarding Sarn Ford the day the Nazgul showed up? Why did none of
Aragorn's ancestors claim the throne of Gondor? What did the people
of the Shire really think about Frodo Baggins? What is the parallel
between Gondor's history and the history of early medieval France?
What is the heritage of the Stewards, Denethor and Boromir? Was
Legolas at the Battle of Five Armies? Was Glorfindel of Gondolin
related to the Glorfindel of Rivendell? What of Arwen: who is she
and what does she want? Why was Bombadil left out of the movie and
how did that omission affect the film version of this story? How
did Sauron play at war prior to the Third Age? What ever happened
to the rings of power Sauron gave to the Dwarves? Why exactly were
the Elves fading? What happened to Middle Earth's dragons? What is
Elrond's background? What is the mythology of Valinor? What
literary worlds did Tolkien borrow from for his great works? What
exactly is Middle Earth anyway? Why did the rings of Elrond and
Galadriel hold back time for their entire communities when the ring
that Bilbo wore only affected his own personal time? How did the
magic between Sauron and his ring work? Why did dragons horde
gold? How much attention did J.R.R. Tolkien pay to food in Middle
Earth? And, why is it so difficult to develop a canon for Tolkien
discussions?
This is only a handful of the multitudinous and
multifaceted ideas in this book. And don't expect short answers to
any of the questions. UNDERSTANDING MIDDLE EARTH is just plain fun
for the hard-core Tolkien enthusiast, and it gives plenty to chew
on!
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