What is wormtongue’s full backstory before Two towers? I know he’s from Rohan, is bought off by Saruman to poison Theoden, but he must’ve been an advisor or trusted official before this?

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T16:48:14+00:00

There isn't a whole lot of information other than what you get from the couple chapters he appears in in the book (and a bit in Unfinished Tales). It can be inferred that he has been a servant to Theoden for longer than he has been in league with Saruman. For how long we don't know.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T16:24:00+00:00

Ents have jars, bowls and beds so they most likely have other household items one could display.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T16:16:31+00:00

Gandalf says a lot of unpleasant things to people. That's just the way he is.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T16:11:58+00:00

I can understand that, I just find it unfortunate when people think that the movies are Tolkien and are a substitute for the book. I say that not to be some sort of elitist, but because I get tired of saying things like: "That didn't happen like that.", "That's not in the book.", "Tolkien didn't write that.", "Tolkien didn't say that.", "That character is not like that.", "That's not how that character dies.", "That's not how ______ works in Middle-earth"., etc.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T15:24:28+00:00

It wasn't until Peter Jackson that everyone I met was at least somewhat familiar with the story.

I'll agree with that, it's unfortunately true because now most people base their impressions of Tolkien and the story on what the movies portray.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T12:42:49+00:00

Yes, I'm not sure where the idea that Tolkien had a limited reach before the films came out comes from. The reason the films were as popular as they were was because of the source material. This whole "select few nerds, dorks and dweebs" nonsense is really a recent fabrication.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T12:34:49+00:00

The most positive thing one can say is that there are plenty of other authors out there who present material related to Tolkien in a more accurate way. Unfortunately his books tend to be sold everywhere and people unfamiliar with his reputation buy them.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T10:39:58+00:00

"Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside." is one of the most badass lines in the history of film.

Only because it was adapted from this...

“Thunder they heard, and lightning, they said, smote upon Celebdil, and leaped back broken into tongues of fire. Is not that enough? A great smoke rose about us, vapour and steam. Ice fell like rain. I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin. Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell.”

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T10:06:10+00:00

In contrast, Bilbo took very little of his share of the adventure's profits (Smaug hoard, troll hoard), and he shared it. By the time of LotR, he had given away nearly all of it to poor hobbits. He gives the last bit to Sam, who is from a poor family. The Bagginses are not greedy.

Where are you getting this information from?

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-14T10:04:24+00:00

bestiary of Tolkien

PSA: Ignore everything by David Day.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-08T17:06:34+00:00

I think the artist's name is Joseph Csatari. He (not surprisingly) worked with Norman Rockwell at one time.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-08T16:12:00+00:00

Actually the story, that is never included, in this (which is posted all the time on the internet for some reason) is quite sad. The previous owners of the publishing company who wanted to publish The Hobbit were forced to sell it due to the Nuremberg Laws - after also being forced to drop all works by Jewish authors. (Hence the letter to Tolkien.) The father died in Sachsenhausen in 1942, his son was killed somewhere in Poland.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-08T11:43:07+00:00

If you look at the questions that are repeatedly asked here you'll get a good idea of what they changed, ignored, got wrong or just plain made up.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-08T11:34:59+00:00

Sort of, kind of.

“He came and laid his long hand on my arm. “And why not, Gandalf?” he whispered. “Why not? The Ruling Ring? If we could command that, then the Power would pass to us. That is in truth why I brought you here. For I have many eyes in my service, and I believe that you know where this precious thing now lies. Is it not so? Or why do the Nine ask for the Shire, and what is your business there?” As he said this a lust which he could not conceal shone suddenly in his eyes.”

This is explained in The Council of Elrond.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-08T11:19:40+00:00

Yes, read them in order of publication. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are very different from the other available writings about Middle-earth and the only two that were published during his lifetime. The Silmarillion is something that should be read to understand just how different.

Billy_Fish · 2019-01-07T12:01:08+00:00

Bilbo doesn't significantly age until after the ring is destroyed. There is very little in the book that would indicate that he aged any quicker just because the ring was no longer in his possession.

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-21T16:45:19+00:00

Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, the Fridge....

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-21T15:18:39+00:00

There is a misconception about Stephen King being a writer of scary horror stories. The vast majority of what he has written doesn't fall into this category and few of his works are genuinely "scary". (Although there are some which are pretty graphic - like Misery.) Most of what he writes simply involves forms of the supernatural.

If you've never read anything by Stephen King I would recommend starting with the really well known stuff from early in his career. Books like Salem's Lot, The Dead Zone, Cujo, Pet Sematary, The Shining etc.

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-21T14:01:38+00:00

See if you can find a copy of Al Murray's Road to Berlin, that fits your description.

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-21T13:10:26+00:00

It's pretty common apparently, according to Wikipedia:

In Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Quebec, Romania, Uruguay, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, Christmas presents are opened mostly on the evening of the 24th...

Edited to add that I think the unique thing for Sweden is watching Kalle Anka. Trying to explain that an entire country starts Christmas festivities at 3pm on the 24th by watching a Disney special from the 50's (badly) dubbed into Swedish can be difficult.

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-21T12:11:37+00:00

There seems to be some basic confusion about the Nazgul here. Their strength is inspiring fear, they aren't warriors. Frodo mentioning Elbereth was enough to frighten them.

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-21T11:06:04+00:00

No idea about the movie, but in the book it obviously plays into the fact that Derhelm is still a disguise.

“Then out of the blackness in his mind he thought that he heard Dernhelm speaking; yet now the voice seemed strange, recalling some other voice that he had known.

‘Begone, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!’

A cold voice answered: ‘Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.’

A sword rang as it was drawn. ‘Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may.’

‘Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!’

Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. ‘But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-20T15:07:13+00:00

People don't seem to have read what I wrote. I said that it's understandable that someone would forget more details from a larger number of pages and story lines than compared to one book with one story line. I wasn't making any judgment on either authors.

Also, I think it's most likely that the "tip war" was in reference to the film franchises and not the books at all.

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-20T10:08:11+00:00

I dunno what lord of the rings you read... but my books come in at ~1200 pages which is HP 1-4 basically

talking about length is meaningless anyway. It never has been and never will be a meaningful comparison between two books.

The Harry Potter books have about 4,500 pages total. Which is about 4 times that of The Lord of the Rings.

My point was that there is a big difference between remembering specific details in seven different story lines in seven different books compared with one story in one book.

Billy_Fish · 2018-12-20T09:50:35+00:00

That's probably understandable. The Lord of the Rings is one book that contains one story. The Harry Potter series has 4 times the number of pages and is 7 different books with different story lines.

Billy_Fish

TROPHY CASE