Reblog: iamcharlesbakerharris, Tolkien

Of Crowns and Kings and Elves and Things: Buckle up, lads . . . it’s time to talk about Tolkien!!! What brought on this PARTICULAR bout of Tolkien musing, you might ask?  Well, it’s pretty simple.  People be out here tellin’ me you need to read Tolkien if you want to write good fantasy.

And I, er, am not on board with that?

Imma just say that, as a Tolkien lover, I agree with everything this lovely lady has to say. Tolkien, while amazing (I LOVE extensive worldbuilding), has cast a huge shadow over Fantasy, to the extent that most of it seems to be a messy regurgitation of his imagination. Elves used to be creepy midgets before he came along, y’all. Just...something to keep in mind.

Regal elves are well and good, but they’re not the only kind of elf around. Take the LotR predecessors in the Silmarillion. *snicker* (I will link to a two-panel comic illustrating this as soon as I am able.)

I would also like to say that this post gave me a few random components that may or may not become a story:

-A medieval village/hamlette/fief/whatev.

-A mountain, and a shadow you can never leave (well, you can but it’s frowned upon to the extent that guards will attempt to slay you if you try)

-A heck of a lot of rule-breaking outside of said shadow

Crud. Looking at it written out makes me realize that I could totally fit this into a partially-formulated story featuring a spoiled rich-kid who wants to be an adventurer (and actually has the skills to do that), a jaded bard, and a swordsman who would just as gladly feed an orphan as behead a king. Or maybe it was a bard who would behead a king, and a jaded swordsman...

I’ll have to check my notes, but I think one of them is a Scot/Scot equivalent (I’m pretty sure it’s the sword guy).

Anyways. Read the article.

"Would You Rather..." Tolkien Edition

I'm a bit late for the blog party, but these questions are too good to pass up! So onward...

Click to head to Hamlette's blog!

Would You Rather...

1.  ...join Thorin's Company or the Fellowship?Thorin's company, if only because the awesomeness of the Fellowship would overwhelm me to the point of being a star-struck idiot. XD
Once the initial excitement wears off, I think being with the dwarfs would be more like being around my family. Plus, if I were with the Company, I'd stand a chance at meeting Beorn. Do I need to specify why it would be awesome to hang out with a were-bear hermit who tends giant honey bees?

2.  ...ride Shadowfax or an eagle?
Can I volunteer someone else who would enjoy this to ride one or the other? Because I hate heights, and speed in general. :P
But, if I absolutely have to choose...an eagle. If I have to be that high up in the air, I want it to be on a sentient being who is more or less invested in my survival. Methinks something crazy would have to happen for an eagle to even consider being friends with me, though. I'm not exactly "epic" material. XD

3.  ...travel through Moria or Mirkwood?
It would totally depend on who's with me, because by Melian's Girdle, there's NO WAY would I go into either alone. It would also depend on the time period. I'd love to see both in their heyday.
Ooh, wait; the Mines of Moria (Khazad-dûm), or the Mountains of Moria? If we could stay on the mountain range, and had plenty of supplies, definitely the Mountains. Though, partying with elves sounds like fun, too...can we do both? Mountains first, then on to Mirkwood as a celebration (assuming it hasn't been overrun by dark ilk and is still populated by elves)? X-)

4.  ...learn to make elvish rope or mithril chainmail?
MITHRIL. SCINTILLATING. USEFUL. FABULOUS. EPIC.
If I knew how to lasso, I'd say elvish rope.

5.  ...try to outwit Smaug or Saruman?
Ahahahaha. Ahaha. Oh you're serious. Smaug, then. I wouldn't mind my epitaph being "Slain by Smaug, Last of the Great Dragons." Just so long as whatever fumble I made that led to my demise isn't included. Unless it was a slip of the tongue that would be hilarious in hindsight. In which case by all means, laugh atop my grave. I'll be laughing with you.

6.  ...spend an hour with Grima Wormtongue or Denethor?
Grima. I wouldn't be able to resist trying to defenestrate Denethor, or smack him upside the head with a spear shaft, both of which would likely land me in prison or warrant an immediate execution. But if I did it to Grima, he would have been asking for it, and I wouldn't feel guilty for doing something to him before the event of nastiness that made him infamous (assuming that time travel of some sort is necessary for this meet-up). Plus, I would be able to turn to Eomer for sanctuary.

7.  ...attend Faramir's wedding or Samwise's wedding?
Probably Sam's, since it would be more informal than Faramir's wedding. I'd be able to learn to dance, try out Hobbit food, and generally not have to worry about dropping things or getting stains on my outfit.
(*cough* I'd also be able to feel tall. *cough*)

8.  ...have to care for the One Ring or the Arkenstone for a day?
Is it weird that I'd want the One Ring? Just to see how long I'd be able to resist its call?
It probably wouldn't be that long, as I'd totally use it to avoid unwanted conversations or make mischief at work.

9.  ...have tea with Bilbo or Frodo?
FRODO! Bilbo's awesome, but my poetry skills are horrendous (c'mon, talking to Bilbo, poetry's going to come up at some point), and I'd embarrass myself sooner rather than later. I think Frodo would be more chill, and we could swap legends and other stories without having to worry about the input of an actual legend (assuming that this is before Frodo's adventures. Hmm, I'm assuming a lot of things today...).

10.  ...fight alongside Boromir or Eomer?
Ooh. Uh. The most likely scenario with either of these: me sticking so close, that I become a tripping hazard. XDI would like to fight with Eomer, if only so after the fight we could brainstorm ideas to kidnap/otherwise aid Eowyn (and possibly enact revenge/concoct capers that would distract and keep Grima away from her.)

Reblog: The Silmaril Awards

This Year's Awards: The fourth annual Silmaril Awards are live. Below you’ll find the links to all of the pages where you can go to nominate your favorite fantasy characters. All you have to do is leave a comment with the name of your character and what book he or she is from.

About: The Silmaril Awards are all about celebrating fantasy fiction. But whereas most awards go to authors or books, these awards go to the characters themselves! Sound like fun? Read on.

This year's Silmaril Awards have begun! I'm stoked to finally be present in the blogosphere in time to participate in this event! So just giving the event a bump (and also putting the links someplace I hopefully won't lose track of :P), and encouraging you to nominate and second your favorite fantasy characters!
So far I've only seconded other's nominations. I'm going to nominate some lovelies as soon as I can take a few hours and comb through my books to make sure I'm remembering and spelling characters' names correctly. :P