Finishing The Trilogy

As an aspiring author, it's pretty much a given, unspoken rule: the more well-read you are (both in and outside your genre of choice), the better your chances of creating something unique, with a voice of your own that isn't just a rehashing of older ideas.  The additional addage that "It's all been done before, in one way or form" simply lends credence to the preceding argument.  To that effect, it is likely a rare fantasy author that will therefore not at one point either read or attempted to read the J.R.R. Tolkein Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I first read this trilogy back when I was in high school, not really knowing what I was getting into.  I actually read it while waiting for the Elfstones of Shannara to come into the local bookstore.  When I did read, my first thoughts were "huh, a lot like The Sword of Shannara."  I'll admit to my naivety at the time and ask for the forgiveness and latitude from any readers; the internet as an idea was in its infancy.  My recent embarkation into this rich and wonderous realm of magic and prose was something of a challenge to myself.  Given the prose involved, this wasn't so light a commitment.

That said, it has been completed.

I must admit to a few things about my experience reading Return of the King.  First, this was a fairly long and difficult read; I realize this was one of those "so close yet so far" from the finish line issues.  There were over a hundred pages of Annexes that led me to believe I had so much more to tackle.  Secondly, the pacing and energy of the first half (the exploits of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, Gandalf, as well as Merry and Pippin) was much better paced than the Frodo and Sam portion.  I understand in retrospect that this pacing effect only adds to the turmoil for our wayward pair of Hobbits, whereas the prior section was a hectic and valiant battle against near-impossible odds.  The ability of Tolkein to immerse his readers into the morose and terrible realms of Mordor and the effects it had on Frodo and Samwise only reinforces my highest opinion of Tolkien's works.

Return of the King was an incredibly rewarding read, in the end.  Out of the entire series, I think the most poetic and inspiring prose were the scenes where the Fellowship is reunited under the banners of the new King of Mordor.  The beauty of the words were inspiring in their tragedy.  For so long they shared a purpose, their quest.  Now that it's over, they face the prospect of returning to the previous lives, away from the friendships they have forged.  This bittersweet end only adds to the realism and scope of Tolkien's work.

One of the rewards I set for myself for reading the trilogy was to spend the time to re-watch the film trilogy.  The films were such a trigger for people to get into fantasy realms that I couldn't resist reading them The Lord of the Rings trilogy again. something I am infinitely happy for.

2013 - Books Read in Review

Well, Christmas and New Years’s have come and gone.  Hopefully things as you hoped for, happiness and health in plenty, enjoying the season for all it can provide.  One of the first things I did at the turn of the New Year was to take stock of what I read and what I have immediately sitting on my ‘to read’ list.

1.       Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien (9 out of 10):  For any lovers of fantasy and authors of the genre, don’t throw anything, allow me to beg forgiveness and come out from hiding behind my rock for not giving this a 10.  I’ll grant this is the grand-daddy of the genre, heck the work that defined the genre.  Written back in a time where language had its distinct idioms from works we see published today, the language is particularly dense.  That said it is poetic and exceedingly influential in conveying the spirit of Middle Earth to the reader.  Tolkien may take a full page to describe a certain scene, yet there is no doubt that the reader is therein fully immersed into the scene.  Tom Bombadil scenes included, this was a rousing and endearing return to Middle Earth.

2.       Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien (9 out of 10):  In what could only be described as two finite story arcs, I found the division of the book into near exclusively Helm’s Deep and the battle of Isengard, followed by Frodo’s voyage, to be a bit distracting.  Understanding that today’s process would have seen the chapters intertwined differently, this is hardly a point of serious critique.  I found the Helm’s Deep battle particularly engaging, the relationship between Gimli and Legolas particularly well done.  Again, the language would be an impediment, but reading this straight after The Fellowship, I found the language as engrossing as the events within the plot.  Frodo’s trials suffered from a certain amount of denouement after Helm’s Deep and Isengard; this despite my fear of insects adding a slightly agonizing and personal effect to the Shelob scenes.

3.       Stormdancer, by Jay Kristoff (8 out of 10):  The first in a samurai-steam punk trilogy, I found the idea intriguing.  To be honest, I also wanted to see how another writer was presenting a samurai culture.  After purchasing the book, I discovered some rumblings on the Internet about the author’s inappropriate use of the Japanese language.  No expert by far, there were a few instances I noted a detraction, but nothing that forced me to stop throwing the book against a wall.  The steam punk aspect of the plot is interesting, the cultural impacts on samurai and peasant alike convincingly portrayed.  Although suffering obvious symbolism, I like how Jay executed the concept that the chi that powers the technology is derived from a plant that is killing the land.  The heroine, Yukiko, through use of a secret power in which she can communicate with animals, links to an arishitora (a griffon by the name of Buruu) to combat the vile influence of the Shogun.

4.       Kinslayer, by Jay Kristoff (7 out of 10):  The follow-up to Stormdancer, I found the pacing fell way-off.  Yukiko gets dragged off by Buruu’s raging hormones.  By far the most interesting part of the book was the intrigues that occurred in the capital, as members of the rebellious Kagé attempt to undermine the process of recognizing a new Shogun.  The results sent the empire into absolute revolt.  This, his sophomore release in the trilogy didn’t quite meet my expectations; it established a great story arc for the Kagé, yet really only seemed to set things up for the third instalment, Yukiko playing a really minor role.

5.       Characters and Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card (7 out of 10):  In all honesty, this is more about reading the book after having written my manuscript, and largely because much of it seemed rather self-explanatory.  Some of the character development sections proved useful, yet the majority were rather unnecessary after the section heading.  The viewpoint section helped solidify some issues I had with my third-person perspective.  Overall, it’s a fine reference book, one I would highly recommend to any budding authors.  It will certainly be a source I refer to in the future, if nothing else than to review the viewpoints and perspective sections.

6.       The Perfect Nazi, by Martin Davidson (8 out of 10):  Taking a break from genre books, I read this gripping account of a Scottish historian’s efforts to delve into the history of one of his great uncles, whom he discovered was a card-carrying Nazi and member of the SS.  This quasi-history and social commentary in the context of researching his family’s history reviews the social influences on German youth and the post-Weirmach era; competing politics were literally at war in the streets and pubs of Berlin until a radical by the name of Hitler finally rose to power.  Following what documentation he could find, the author brings us through a Germany in flux, where the young boys who watched their fathers go off to war with a feeling of impunity, forcibly submitted to punishing post-war concessions, and then latch on to the ideals of Hitler.

7.       WWZ, by Max Brooks (9 out of 10):  I really liked the way this book was presented.  A series of small expose-style reports from a multitude of perspectives give an overview of the war with raging zombies.  Divided into several sections, each builds upon the preceding section, demonstrating how the virus was spread, the general ignorance the world placed on the threat until it was too late, as well as the stumbling steps taken to finally defeat it.  I found the military perspectives amusing and pretty much spot-on for how soldiers react to higher command’s orders, often mixing bewilderment with perceived errors in judgement with a sense of duty and perseverance; often the macro-picture doesn’t translate well into micro-level scenarios, something Max Brooks did well to show.  There were a few scenes I simply wandered through until the following scene:  the Chinese sub and the blind Japanese swordsman left me shaking my head.  Overall, a great read; I have yet to see the cinematic interpretation.

Books In My ‘To Read’ Pile (no particular order)

1.       Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien:  Having completed the first two, it would simply be criminal to not complete the trilogy.  Despite ‘knowing how it ends,’ the language and the depth of the characters and landscape are breathtakingly worth it.  Then I can pull out my DVDs and watch the cinematic versions again.

2.       Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson:  One of the New Year’s commitments my wife and I made was to a book club run by one of our friends.  It’s just the couples that went to New York City, as well as another very close high school friend of my wife’s and her boyfriend.  This, the first book chosen, is something of an enigma, though some quick research places it on a large number of Best Seller lists and Must Read Lists.

3.       Drift, by Rachel Maddow:  A controversial piece by an investigative journalist, it examines the American capacity, inclination and the evolution of how the country decides and makes war on others.

4.       1984, by George Orwell:  As part of my Christmas wish list, I started including hardcover versions of classic science fiction and fantasy novels.  Since nearly all my leisure reading is done on my Kobo, I thought to begin collecting the best of the best in hardcover for my personal library.  The first I received was 1984.

5.       Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card:  Regardless of the debate about the author’s politics, this book I believe is worth the investment and the read.  Like 1984, it is part of my project to collect some of the classics and better books I have read.  Previously read when I was sixteen, I think.

Overall, I can honestly say I'm rather surprised just how little I accomplished reading this year.  Typically I'd belt out about twice as many.  Work and an eight-week long illness likely the biggest culprits.  Now that both have dramatically improved, I should be able to get back and enjoy a few more.

One Down: Two to Go....

Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring

A short while ago I found myself with a fairly light reading stack and decided to tackle a project I had been contemplating for some time, yet never got around to.  The task was daunting and I was biased against re-reading the Tolkien classic, Lord of the Rings, because of how difficult I remembered it.  Let me be honest, the thought of skipping over parts to simply immerse myself into the film adaptation was incredibly powerful.  Each time I consoled myself that it would get better and the accomplishment of reading the trilogy would compensate.  I can’t say I was wrong.

This certainly won’t be a critique of the work, because the plot is well known and been reviewed in far better detail by far more qualified people than I.  Instead I’ll concentrate on what I took out of it and some key notes.

Scene from Bladerunner, a movie
that added to the written work

First things First: Comparisons of Tolkien’s prose to Steve Jackson’s films are obvious and in many ways an entirely appropriate filter for the reader.  The imagery conveyed was incredibly complementary to the written works, an achievement I would think both Jackson and the Tolkien family are immensely proud of and happy for.  Having seen the film trilogy, it is impossible not to make the visual reference to the cinematography as you read.  The only other SF/F film adaptation I can recall off the top of my head with any kind of success and relevance to the original written work is Bladerunner; despite deviations from Philip K. Dick’s written plot, the movie itself was an absolute masterpiece.  As an aside, the most astounding failure would have to be Starship Troopers <shudders>.

Scene from a movie <cough> that failed
in almost every respect compared to the written work

The prose for Fellowship of the Ring is dense and takes a while to get accustomed to.  Written in Third Person Omni, I liken it to The Last of the Mohicans, which appears to be written in a way to be read out loud, the descriptive elements almost better spoken aloud than simply read.  It is relatively easy to see why a new reader to epic/high fantasy would turn their nose after trying to read one of the most revered books of the genre.  Tolkien’s work is certainly not for everyone and I could sympathize why new-to-the-genre readers would turn away.  The pace at the beginning of the novel is slow, introducing the Hobbit worldview and way of life.  Combined with the style of prose, it can be a tough read.  This said, once the ‘code’ is cracked, the prose becomes a character in and of itself, an innate luxury to the plot that draws you further into Middle Earth.

Some key elements to the Fellowship that made specific impact:

Tom Bombadil:  Apparently removed from the film version, largely due to pacing, film length and budgetary reasons, I can see why.  Frodo and gang leave The Shire escaping the dark riders only to be forced into a nasty little forest, complete with Hobbit-eating trees; Tom sings to said tree, setting them free.  Tom also assists in dealing with the Barrow Wight, once again through song.  For Tom everything is a reason for a sing-along jingle, like a guy desperate to get to the nearest karaoke and just decided to sing along while he went to one.  Most shocking for me was the fact Tom Bombabdil knew Frodo had the ring, and then placed it on his finger to no effect.  Elrond’s reference to Tom also makes for somewhat bizarre reading; one of the ageless and most wise has little other than to add Tom’s an ‘odd sort.’  One of Tom’s most evocative lines does get used, spoken by Treebeard as he describes his wrath for the Orcs in the cinematic version of The Two Towers.  In Tolkien’s own words, Tom is more a concept, a characterization of pacifism in a post-WWII world.

Flight from the Village of Bree:  In the cinematic version, the Nazgul send four of their kind in to assassinate the Hobbits in an incredibly stirring sequence.  The book draws out some shenanigans with the residents of Bree and has Aragorn lead them to Amon Sul, but not before getting lost in the woods and eventually heading back to the East Road and finally meeting Glorfindel at the Ford of Bruinen near Rivendell – notably not Arwen.

The Mines of Moria:  In this case, I completely believe the cinematic version outshines the written original.  The visuals, the pacing and tone were excellently done.  From the deep dark recesses throughout, to the Cave Troll battle and ultimately the fantastically rendered “You Shall Not Pass!” sequence and sense of loss the party suffered as they fled was terribly well conveyed.  Some parts of Jackson’s work I found entirely forgettable: the Frodo/Aragorn balance beam-bridge sequence, as well as the way the goblins literally spider their way down the columns in the Second Hall.

Lothlorien – Tale of a Dwarf and an Elf:  One of the pieces of Tolien’s work I found infinitely more enjoyable was the relevance of Galadriel’s presence on Gimli.  She profoundly impacts Gimli, and he her.  Although a generally sheltered time for the party, it allowed a much needed convalescence after suffering the loss of Gandalf, their guide and defacto leader.  The connection these two formed is relevant in further portions of the trilogy and helps form one of the key points that build on Gimli and Legolas’ friendship.

Death of Boromir:  The end faced by Boromir was tragic and wrenching.  A proud man looks to find a solution to the impending doom his people face, the raging bull behind the Iron Curtain, so to speak.  So greatly portrayed by Sean Bean, the cinematic version was true to the emotional impact of Boromir’s sacrifice.  A flawed Man who saw a means to an end that was too much for him to handle, he redeemed himself in as glorious a fashion a man like him could have.  I was ecstatic to hear Sean Bean would play Boromir and could not have been happier with the acting. Along with Gandalf’s fall, I think Bormir’s sacrifice is one of the two most poignant and moving parts of the film.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the Fellowship of the Ring.  After a slow start and a bit of a slog through to the village of Bree, the flow really picked up after the council of Elrond.  I actually breezed through the last part of the book and headed straight into The Two Towers right after.  I’m finding that the experience of reconnecting with one of the quintessential books of the genre as really invigorating.  I will never attempt to meet the level of complexity Tolkien achieved in his world building and use of language, whether it is English of something entirely made up; it would be a disingenuous and, no doubt, a truly disastrous affair.  

As I write this, I’m actually already halfway through The Two Towers.  I can’t wait to get back to it.

An interesting link to the NYT review of the book’s American release in 1954.

Commitment to Reading LOTR

Every once in a while I have few to no books in my reading pile.  During these times I sometimes take a dive into my library and re-read a particular book or series.  Recently this took me back to the land of Fianovar and Guy Gavriel Kay’s masterpiece Arthurian triology, as well as the Warhammer 40k universe, in particular the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies by Dan Abnett.  Looking through my current library, a series stood out as having been read the one time, but never re-read.

J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I only vaguely remember the details of my first time through the realms of Middle Earth.  The one thing that stood out was a sense of accomplishment.  That was a hard, slog of a read at times, more so because the language is so incredibly dense and complex compared the normal fare of fantasy literature at the time. 

 With that in mind, I’ve decided to revisit Middle Earth and the heroic deeds of the Fellowship, from reading on the history of Hobbits through to the final destruction of Sauron and the raising of the King of Gondor.  

After reading the first dozen or so pages, something stood out amongst all that fine print: the races are all capitalized.  What would today be an elf is Elf to Tolkein, hobbit is Hobbit, et cetera.  This made me wonder when and where the current conventions against capitalization occurred, if at all.  One simply doesn’t repeat another author’s style simply for convention.  I distinctly remember some initial critiques on my fantasy ms that pointed out the fact that Elves were elves, despite the reasoning behind it.  I’m still tempted to return and re-edit the capitals back into the Elf, and the surprise to find it in Tolkein’s work just may be the nudge required to do so.

In any case, let the Tom Bombadil tangents begin!