The Lord Of The Rings Book Club

[Theplatymaster]

I have just pretty finished The Lord Of The Rings

I am completely a fan, and thought, maybe some other people on here are fans aswell, so ive made this thread for use lord of the rings nerds (ringies?) to talk about the book.

@jwcarlson@Hobbit

[jwcarlson]

I appreciate the books and what they have meant to fantasy.  But I find the books... Aged.  

I know that's unpopular, but I also don't have the nostalgia as I had read A LOT of fantasy before LoTR.  

I enjoy the films more quite honestly. Not the Hobbit ones. 

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by jwcarlson

[JettsPapa]

On 3/1/2023 at 7:01 PM, Theplatymaster said:

I have just pretty finished The Lord Of The Rings

I am completely a fan, and thought, maybe some other people on here are fans aswell, so ive made this thread for use lord of the rings nerds (ringies?) to talk about the book.

@jwcarlson@Hobbit

I'm also a fan, and have read all four books a number of times over the last 45 or so years.

On 3/2/2023 at 5:02 AM, jwcarlson said:

I appreciate the books and what they have meant to fantasy.  But I find the books... Aged.  

I know that's unpopular, but I also don't have the nostalgia as I had read A LOT of fantasy before LoTR.  

I enjoy the films more quite honestly. Not the Hobbit ones. 

 

I also enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, but didn't care as much for the Hobbit movie.  Putting that dwarf/elf romance in it was inexcusable.

[jwcarlson]

On 3/2/2023 at 8:33 AM, JettsPapa said:

I'm also a fan, and have read all four books a number of times over the last 45 or so years.

I also enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, but didn't care as much for the Hobbit movie.  Putting that dwarf/elf romance in it was inexcusable.

If they would have made one Hobbit movie instead of three and edited down to all the best parts it probably wouldn't have been too bad. 

 

Now they're making new LOTR movies apparently.  Or considering it.

[Flumpweesel]

Loved the books, accept the films really enjoy the very old animation   - might be nostalgia talking there but would take it over the new films anyday.

In a aside I live not that far from the school Tolkien was teaching at when he wrote the stuff and have walked the routes he allegedly based the book on.  Hard to see the link but a nice walk non the less.

Also from friends that have worked in the same school it pretty strange in there.

[Hobbit]

Late to this party but you’re right, I’m a pretty big fan. 😁 @jwcarlson I think it’s very realistic to say the books have aged. Our conventions for storytelling (and fantasy specifically) have changed a lot over the last ~60 years! No one can deny the books set the foundation for the fantasy genre as we know it, but if you don’t have the nostalgia factor motivating you, they can be a bit of a slog to read

I personally have a huge nostalgia factor for the books. I discovered them in middle school, just before the movies came out. So not only did I read the story at an age where I had a huge imagination and a decent amount of free time, I got to totally fangirl with my friends over Orlando Bloom as Legolas. Plus seeing those movies when the cgi technology was still so new… ahhh 😍😍😍 it was so impressive!

I’ve seen the original animation (at least the first of the trilogy) and it doesn’t do a whole lot for me I’m afraid… but I do sing “The Greatest Adventure” song to tease my husband sometimes. It’s a real ear worm! 😁

Edited March 18, 2023 by Hobbit

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/18/2023 at 10:02 AM, Hobbit said:

I’m a pretty big fan.

so i guessed by your username.

On 3/18/2023 at 10:02 AM, Hobbit said:

but I do sing “The Greatest Adventure” song to tease my husband sometimes. It’s a real ear worm! 😁

i dont remember that song.

but i have the Tom Bombodil one stuck in my head.

[jwcarlson]

@Hobbit It's funny how much the timing and your age can change your perception.  I read a good portion of LOTR after the first movie came out as I recall.  I left the book open on the floor and our cat puked all over the thing (it was a compendium).  I own multiple copies of the books.  At that time (2001) I was already up to date on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series and had read a ton of his books because my parents owned a lot of them.  I've always read a lot, but I cannot necessarily remember what other fantasy I might have read at that time.  I know I read everything I could get my mitts on from Roald Dahl.  But, at the time my mom thought Harry Potter was satanic... though she is now a huge HP fan and has read the series like 4-5 times.  I read HP as an adult and within the last 5ish years (I'm 38) and enjoyed it.  *Please don't put much thought into the fact that we owned a bunch of Stephen King books and that I was allowed to read them, but that my mom thought Harry Potter was inappropriate.  I don't think my dad ever believed anything like that, but I still find it... amusing.*

I do tend to lean towards "grim dark" series within the genre... like A Song of Ice and Fire, Gentlemen Bastards, The First Law.  But I do appreciate changes of pace and more light-hearted stuff.  I've also read The Silmarillion and the Hobbit, of course.  I'm not positive that I didn't read The Silmarillion before LoTR, honestly.  I also enjoy what amounts to 'ancient' fantasy, particularly creation myths (like Enuma Elish), though mainly to see how they were plagiarized by biblical authors. 😄  In a lot of ways it feels like Tolkien created his entire world so that he could make language/languages for it.  Which is quite admirable.  Part of me wishes I liked the series more because it has absolutely laid the groundwork for modern fantasy as we know it.  I wish a recording existed of Tolkein himself reading the book.  There's at least some snippets available and his reading of the Ride of the Rohirrim my get me tear'd up a bit depending on how the day has gone.  

 

That might be better or different or more complete recordings of this... if they exist I'd love to hear them!

@Theplatymaster I think they're talking about something from one of the (animated) movies. 😉 

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by jwcarlson

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

On 3/23/2023 at 9:47 AM, jwcarlson said:

Please don't put much thought into the fact that we owned a bunch of Stephen King books and that I was allowed to read them, but that my mom thought Harry Potter was inappropriate.  I don't think my dad ever believed anything like that, but I still find it... amusing.*

I was going to say.....whaaaaaaat??????? SK is far more "satanic" than any of the other writers you mentioned IF we're going to measure that possibility. 

I read the Dark Tower series and was sorely disappointed by it by the end. Not to say I'm one of those who didn't like the ending, I actually did like it but felt that the first 3 books were great however it seemed via the writiing SK was tired of the series and just dragging it on after that. 

His best fantasy BY FAR is Through the Eyes of the Dragon, which I've found most people have not read. 

I have yet to get through LOTR, too many flashbacks of being an English major. 

Edited March 23, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[jwcarlson]

On 3/23/2023 at 1:18 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I read the Dark Tower series and was sorely disappointed by it by the end. Not to say I'm one of those who didn't like the ending, I actually did like it but felt that the first 3 books were great but felt like SK was tired of the series and just dragging it on after that. 

His best fantasy BY FAR is Through the Eyes of the Dragon, which I've found most people have not read. 

Eyes is a great book, I read it awhile back based on recommendations here.  Interestingly, I have read the vast majority of his books.  But I had not read that one.  Nor 'Salems Lot until recently.  

More broadly about The Dark Tower... Stephen King is not known for his endings.  In many cases his stories just kind of... wind up.  When I read it, I actually thought it was fitting for Roland and was certainly foreshadowed.  I think one thing that really affected King and The Dark Tower was when he got hit by a car and had a close call with death.  I think he panicked a bit that something would happen and he wouldn't be able to finish his 'magnum opus'... and increasing noise about getting it done from the fans.  Feels like he rushed it a bit, but I still think it's such a great series... but like everything... it's got warts!

I'm excited to see Mike Flanaghan's adaptation.

[Guppysnail]

On 3/2/2023 at 9:33 AM, JettsPapa said:

Putting that dwarf/elf romance in it was inexcusable.

🤣 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

On 3/23/2023 at 11:32 AM, jwcarlson said:

Stephen King is not known for his endings

100% but I felt like the ending to the Tower was actually perfect. A modern day Sisyphus.

It may be unpopular for me to say but I dislike King's work though I've tried several times to like it. I feel for me he is far too wordy and his work would be much better if he cut his stories down by half-  I find myself skipping page after page of pointless details. He takes the reader's ability to imagine things for themselves away by over describing- adding 100s of pages needlessly to what would otherwise be a good story. 

On 3/23/2023 at 11:32 AM, jwcarlson said:

King and The Dark Tower was when he got hit by a car

I do agree with this, story went totally off the rails when he even added himself to the story. 

I no longer read his works. 

[jwcarlson]

I won't say that I've never wished King would "get to the point", but I'm a fairly character driven reader vs plot driven, so his style just works for me.  I think that's where King really shines.  I'm not always in the mood for slice of life kind of stuff, be he's the king in the regard (pun intended) in my book.  

 

Please don't take this as me like arguing that he is better than he is or that you should like him or anything.  I know sometimes it's difficult for me to convey that properly. 🙂  I think it is great that we all get to mostly do what we want to do and oh how boring it would be if everything was exactly the way we currently like it best!

Sorry for dragging the thread down Tower Road. 😄

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@jwcarlson oh no worries there, clearly I'm in the minority about his writing style since he's always a best seller. However I'm with you I'm character driven but found authors that for ME do a better job and allow me imaginative freedom (because I have a very, very active imagination). King doesn't give the same freedom but his characters are super specific and don't really allow for that- which makes him a great writer for most people. BUT THEN they make a Tower movie and the clearly  painted picture of the characters is totally changed?? With King's approval? I say what's the point then! Anyway. To each their own of course :-) That's why there's so much great reading out there! 

[jwcarlson]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:08 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

BUT THEN they make a Tower movie and the clearly  painted picture of the characters is totally changed?? With King's approval?

King is quite rarely faithfully adapted and probably gives over far too much freedom, see also Game of Thrones... 

As a Dark Tower fan I feel qualified to speak for all of us when I say that we just pretend that movie doesn't exist.  Or at the very least, it only was released on a different path of the beam.