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Understanding Middle-earth: Essays on Tolkien's Middle-earth
Michael Martinez begins a comprehesive study of Tolkien's imaginery history by "Browsing the Compleat Middle-Earth Library". His trademark conversational tone and style introduce Tolkien's readers to new persepctives on Elves, Hobbits, Numenorians, and other fantastic inhabitants of Middle-Earth.
Advising that "...if you really want to see where it all came from...you first need to see what it all is", Martinez explores Tolkien's pseudo-history in detail, analyzing the motivations and values of Middle-Earth's civilizations as described by Tolkien himself. Extensive research on Tolkien's Second Age, a mysterious era spanning thousands of years, illuminates the second "fall" of Tolkien's Elves, who made the dreadful Rings of Power, withheld vital knowledge from their allies, and exposed all of Middle-Earth to Sauron's evil.
Finally, Martinez provides a wealth of insightful commentary, quoting Tolkien's letters and his son Christopher's extensive documentation, on those of Tolkien's sources which are often missed by other researchers.
You will never look at Middle-Earth the same way again after reading Understanding Middle-Earth.
Advising that "...if you really want to see where it all came from...you first need to see what it all is", Martinez explores Tolkien's pseudo-history in detail, analyzing the motivations and values of Middle-Earth's civilizations as described by Tolkien himself. Extensive research on Tolkien's Second Age, a mysterious era spanning thousands of years, illuminates the second "fall" of Tolkien's Elves, who made the dreadful Rings of Power, withheld vital knowledge from their allies, and exposed all of Middle-Earth to Sauron's evil.
Finally, Martinez provides a wealth of insightful commentary, quoting Tolkien's letters and his son Christopher's extensive documentation, on those of Tolkien's sources which are often missed by other researchers.
You will never look at Middle-Earth the same way again after reading Understanding Middle-Earth.
520 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2003
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January 19, 2016
For once, a collection of essays that don't make me want to stave in my skull with the blunt end of Narsíl.
The hilarious essay titles tell you all you need to know about Martinez's prose - fun, lighthearted, readable, and endlessly engaging. But the levity of tone (and mercifully large print!) should not at all belie the detail and thought that has clearly gone into each of this collection's many essays, dealing with everything from elvish anxiety over death and the falsehood of direct comparison to Old English mythic figures in the portrayal of the Rohirrim through to the menus of Middle Earth and what would happen if the conflict with the Witch King were written in the style of a Peanuts comic.
While the essay titles can make it a little bit difficult to guess exactly the content of each, necessitating a few trips to the index, even if one is not directly linked to your momentary interest or research, all are well worth a read for the enjoyment factor if nothing else. None are skull-crushingly long, but the level of detail implicit in each, the sheer amount of research beneath a simple throwaway line, is worthy of as many accolades as I can throw at it.
Thoroughly recommended for academic purposes and casual perusal both.
The hilarious essay titles tell you all you need to know about Martinez's prose - fun, lighthearted, readable, and endlessly engaging. But the levity of tone (and mercifully large print!) should not at all belie the detail and thought that has clearly gone into each of this collection's many essays, dealing with everything from elvish anxiety over death and the falsehood of direct comparison to Old English mythic figures in the portrayal of the Rohirrim through to the menus of Middle Earth and what would happen if the conflict with the Witch King were written in the style of a Peanuts comic.
While the essay titles can make it a little bit difficult to guess exactly the content of each, necessitating a few trips to the index, even if one is not directly linked to your momentary interest or research, all are well worth a read for the enjoyment factor if nothing else. None are skull-crushingly long, but the level of detail implicit in each, the sheer amount of research beneath a simple throwaway line, is worthy of as many accolades as I can throw at it.
Thoroughly recommended for academic purposes and casual perusal both.
Displaying 1 of 1 review