Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyah
I am a massive Tolkien fan, I read The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings when I was young, and have re-read them multiple times since. I have two different collectors editions of the LOTR book sets. I've tried reading The Silmarillion a few times but I've come the the conclusion that I don't have the brain capacity for that one.
The LOTR movies are amazing to me. As such a huge fan of the books I was beyond excited (and a little nervous) when I found out movies were being made, but they completely nailed it for me. I for one didn't care in the least that Tom Bombadil was removed from the story. There is so much to cover after the Hobbits get to Bree that I feel the pace would have been bogged down by the Hobbits staying at his & his wife's house.
As for the Hobbit movies, what a complete & utter disappointment. The fight scenes were way too much and IMO took away from the story. As soon as they announced that 3 movies were being made, I realized this one was going to be all for profit. That being said, aside from Ian McKellen being cast as Gandalf, I thought Martin Freeman was the perfect choice for Bilbo Baggins, and one of my favourite casting choices of both LOTR & the Hobbit.
|
A common theme I find. The Silmarillion is difficult to read and follow, there is no debate about that. I think that very fact though demonstrates how intricate and elaborate Tolkiens ideas were. Truly a genius. In the grand scheme of things, LOTR isn't even the main storyline in his universe.
I find that doing some background reading to "warmup" for the Silmarillion is a good idea. There is this great book call "Tolkien Bestiary" by a Canadian author I believe, and it's essentially an encyclopedia of people & races. There are many other books out there that are like an index or complete encyclopedia, but they themselves can be a tough read. I would recommend reading the Bestiary first, then jumping into Silmarillion.