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Rings of Power is glorified fan fiction with a multi-million dollar budget.The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is commercialism in all its glory—and gore. It is a billion-dollar visual feast built from the breadcrumbs left behind by J.R.R. Tolkien. Amazon Prime Video’s new offering—described as Jeff Bezos’ vanity project—promises to slake our thirst for high fantasy. But it takes creative liberties that make purists cringe. In 2017, Amazon bought the television rights to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy, The Hobbit and the appendices for $250 million, and then poured another $465 million into the first...

A Tolkien Virgin: Summary Of The Silmarillion, Akallabeth and Epilogueby Mark-Edmond Summary Of The Silmarillion As for the Silmarillion on a whole it's been a heck of a ride. It was a lot less enjoyable than I expected based on what I'd read in the Ainulindale and Valaquenta, and all the good stuff about Tolkien that I'd heard. Like I pointed out toward the beginning, the story doesn't really start till things go wrong. And they never do get much better, do they? I can't be too hard on this, since of course every story starts with some kind...

A Tolkien Virgin: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldorby Mark-Edmond The Journey ContinuesAt long last! The Silmarils! Tolkien titled this volume "The Silmarillion," so something tells me these little fellas are going to be even more important than Feanor. But, at the same time, since he created them, whatever happens, he will have a hand in it. For without Feanor there would be no Silmarils...and therefore no Silmarillion. Perhaps this great deed, the creating of the Silmarils, is his supernatural act. Perhaps, this is why he sapped so much strength and energy from his mother at...

A Tolkien Virgin: Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalieby Mark-Edmond The Journey ContinuesAt this point, I'm hooked. The story of the Elves up to this point has been sweet and sad, but Tolkien has me, and I like it. He's addicted to complexity, and I like that too. He couldn't have had all the Elves pick up and go to Valanor/Aman, that wouldn't be Tolkien, and that wouldn't be interesting. All along the way some are lost. Some flee Orome at the very beginning and were lost. And as the Teleri finally arrive on the shores of...

A Tolkien Virgin: Of Thingol and Melianby Mark-Edmond The Journey ContinuesHere we have Tolkien's first take on love in the Silmarillion. Thingol is drawn by the beauty of her singing, but it isn't love till he sees her. Love at first sight. She's indescribably beautiful, sings wonderfully, and has the light of Aman in her face, but what does she see in him? Tolkien doesn't really say. She's a type of goddess, a Maia, existing before Ea, while he's an elf, born in Middle Earth. It seemed strange to me that she would "stoop" to the level of a Quendi....

A Tolkien Virgin: Pre-amble and The Ainulindalë   The first in a seriesI haven’t read Tolkien. Well, okay, I think I started the Hobbit at one point, but didn’t get very far. And then I saw some animated TV or movie version of the Hobbit. But, that was all at least 10 years ago, I’m thinking, and a vague picture of an animated Bilbo taking a ring (that turns the bearer invisible) from the hideous Golem whose pet-name for the ring is "Precious," is all that I can remember.At any rate, some friends of mine-avid Tolkien fans-have created Tolkien Online...