The Hobbit

I have started reading The Hobbit for the 5th (or 6th) time recently. It is interesting to think about the trolls in this book. In The Hobbit, they talk, but in the LOTR series, they don't. That's always puzzled me a little. I just assume that they are a different kind.

This book is the easiest read from the series, and if you haven't read it, you're missing out. Not only on a great story, but LOTR wouldn't make very much sense. Just writing to say if you haven't read it, you need to!

Smeagol's Story

Firstly, I'm sorry I haven't been posting.
Secondly, I'm writing Smeagol's story.

Smeagol's story begins on his birthday while he is fishing with his friend Deagol. Deagol falls out of the boat, and happens to find a shiny ring. Smeagol sees the ring and wants it. After Deagol refuses to give it up, Smeagol kills him and takes the ring. The ring drives him mad, he finds out it turns him invisible and he starts stealing from shops in town. The townspeople kick him out of town, and he flees to the mountains. He lived in the mountain for hundreds of years. Gandalf, Bilbo, and Thoren's dwarfs eventually come to that mountain he is in. Bilbo falls down a tunnel, sees the ring on the ground and takes it, and meets Smeagol there too. They have a riddling game, and Bilbo wins. So Smeagol has to show him the way out. Bilbo asked 'What have I got in my pocket?' and Smeagol believed this to be unfair, so refused to lead him out. He suspected that Bilbo already knew how to get out. Bilbo had the ring on and couldn't be seen. Smeagol goes to the exit and Bilbo follows. Bilbo escapes, and that started Smeagol's journey to get back at the Baggins family. He tracked them down, and found The Fellowship in Moria, kept chasing them and was seen on the Anduin. He is eventually caught after the Fellowship splits. Frodo and Sam make him be there guide. Smeagol leads them to Mordor, but Frodo and Sam can't make it past the Black Gate. He tells them there's another way, and leads them to it. While leading them there, they meet Faramir, and spend time with him. Faramir threatens to kill Smeagol if danger comes to Frodo and Sam. Smeagol leads them to Shelob's tunnel. He intends to get them killed, but Frodo gets poisoned and Sam stabs Shelob. Frodo gets carried off to Cirith Ungol, and Sam follows. Frodo and Sam escape the tower and eventually make it to Mount Doom. Smeagol again comes and tries to kill them. They fight in the Crack of Doom, and he bites off Frodo's finger and steals the ring, but he dances with joy and falls in the volcano. Although he ment to do bad, without him, Middle Earth would have been governed by Sauron.

Gollum's Riddle and Answer

Riddle:
The cold hard lands,
they bites our hands,
they gnaws our feet.
The rocks and stones
are like old bones
all bare of meat.
But stream and pool
is wet and cool:
so nice for feet!
And now we wish

Answer:
To catch a fish
So juicy sweet!

Sam Describes Gandalf's Fireworks

The finest rockets ever seen:
they burst in stars of blue and green,
or after thunder golden showers
came falling like a rain of flowers.

Sam's Rhyme of the Troll

Troll sat alone on his seat of stone,
And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;
For many a year he had gnawed it near,
For meat was hard to come by.
Done by! Gum by!

In a cave in the hills he dwelt alone,
And meat was hard to come by.
Up came Tom with his big boots on.
Said he to Troll: 'Pray, what is yon?
For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Tim,
As should be a-lyin' in graveyard.
Caveyard! Paveyard!

This many a year has Tim been gone,
And I thought he were lyin' in graveyard.'
'My lad,' said Troll, 'this bone I stole.
But what be bones that lie in a hole?
Thy nuncle was dead as a lump o' lead,
Afore I found his shinbone.
Tinbone! Thinbone!

He can spare a share for a poor old troll,
For he don't need his shinbone.'
Said Tom: 'I don't see why the likes o' thee
Without axin' leave should go makin' free
With the shank or the shin o' my father's kin;
So hand the old bone over!
Rover! Trover!

Though dead he be, it belongs to he;
So hand the old bone over!'
'For a couple o' pins,' says Troll, and grins,
'I'll eat thee too, and gnaw thy shins.
A bit o' fresh meat will go down sweet!
I'll try my teeth on thee now.
Hee now! See now!

I'm tired o' gnawing old bones and skins;
I've a mind to dine on thee now.'
But just as he thought his dinner was caught,
He found his hands had hold of naught.
Before he could mind, Tom slipped behind
And gave him the boot to larn him.
Warn him! Darn him!

A bump o' the boot on the seat, Tom thought,
Would be the way to larn him.
But harder than stone is the flesh and bone
Of a troll that sits in the hills alone.
As well set your boot to the mountain's root,
For the seat of a troll don't feel it.
Peel it! Heal it!

Old Troll laughed, when he heard Tom groan,
And he knew his toes could feel it.
Tom's leg is game, since home he came,
And his bootless foot is lasting lame;
But Troll don't care, and he's still there
With the bone he boned from its owner.
Doner! Boner!

Troll's old seat is still the same,
And the bone he boned from its owner!

Riddle of Strider

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

The Bath Song

Sing hey! For the bath at close of day
That washes the weary mud away!
A loon is he that will not sing:
O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,
And the brook that leaps from hill to plain;
But better than rain or rippling streams
Is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need
Down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;
But better is Beer, if drink we lack,
And Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high
In a fountain white beneath the sky;
But never did fountain sound so sweet
As splashing Hot Water with my feet!

Quote2

'I didn't think it would end this way.' (Pippin)
'End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it.' (Gandalf)
'What? Gandalf?... See what?' (Pippin) 'White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.' (Gandalf)
[smiling] 'Well, that isn't so bad.' (Pippin)
[softly] 'No... no it isn't' (Gandalf)

Quote1

'So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.' - Gandalf

I will be writing some quotes on my blog.

Dark Lords and Wizards

The original Dark Lord was Melchor (aka. Morgoth). He was basically the ultimate bad guy, thousands upon thousands of creatures, and a lot of strength. His plan was to destroy all peoples, (or at least enslave them all) but his plans went sour when The Valar sent their army to destroy him. Then came his apprentice, Sauron. Sauron was much the same, with a couple exceptions. When he was destroyed, he came back do to Isildaur's mistake. He also was destroyed without the Valar interfering. Also, Sauruman, the White Wizard, helped Sauron. After a while, he bgan to want everything for himself. Gandalph led the Rohirram to a victory against and banished him. Sauruman went to The Shire and took over the Hobbits. But when Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin returned, the Hobbits got strength and defeated him.

LOTR Conquest

I have played LOTR Conquest, and I have to say, Battlefront 2 was better. I have to say though, they did a great job on the game overall. Anyway, I highly suggest playing it.

Original "A Long Expected Party"

In the original version of "A Long Expected Party," Bilbo announces he is leaving and getting married. Tolkien messed around with the idea, and came up with him getting married and having a son, Bingo, and it's his party not Bilbo's. He then makes Bingo Bilbo's nephew that he adopted. It is still Bingo's party. Evidently he stuck to this idea, but liked the name Frodo, so he changed it.

Faramir

Faramir is the younger brother of Gondorian Fellowship member, Boromir. He is also the Captain of the Gondorian Rangers. Frodo and Sam run across him and his men in Ithillien. They then "witness" a battle between the Rangers and the Haradrim. That is, they are in a lightly wooded area and hear the battle. Anyhow, Faramir then takes them to a cave. Before they leave, he orders Frodo and Sam to be blindfolded and have their hands tied behind their backs. They then set off. After a few days at the cave, Faramir lets them go and heads off to Osgiliath. He comes into the story later, and tells Gandalf and Pippin what happened. He is then ordered by his father, Denethor, to go and fight the oncoming army. He leads a troop of cavalry towards them, and fights for quite sometime. But when he returns, he is dying, pierced by a poisonous dart. Denethor despares and thinks him dead. He then attempts to burn Faramir and himself before Minis Tirith is overrun. Pippin, who by this time was in the Gondorian army, heard of this and got Gandalf. After a while, Gandalf arrives and clears things up, but Denethor burns himself and dies with a palantir in his hands. So Denethor dies, and Farimir is brought to the Houses of Healing. Eowyn, who snuck in posing as a Rohanian soldier, got wounded in battle by the Witch King. She also is brought to the Houses of Healing. Both seem to be getting worse, but Aaragorn, the new king of Gondor, heals them both, because the hand of the healer is the hand of the king. So says an ancient poem. While gradually recovering, they are also gradually falling in love. After the war is over and evil is wiped away, they get married, and he is named the Prince of Ithillien. That is where his story ends, and his is a story both of happiness, and sadness alike.

Oath of Feanor

The Oath of Feanor is when the Silmarils get stolen, Feanor swears that he will get them back. He leads his people through a lot of dangers, including an icy pass. A lot if his people die. He ends fighting a battle, and gets mortally wounded. He then passes the oath onto his sons' heads. They spend the rest of the book in a long war, recover the Silmarils, and then the Silmarils drive them mad. Maedhros kills himself and his brother throws one in the sea.

Shelob

In The Return of the King movie, Sam and Frodo part before Shelob's Lair.

In the book, The Two Towers (not in The Return of the King), Sam and Frodo stick together the entire time. They only get split up in Shelob's Lair when Gollum jumps on Sam. That is how Frodo gets wounded by Shelob. Sam fights Gollum off, and then goes and wounds Shelob, then runs when he hears the orcs.

Smaug

Thank you for posting.
I wouldn't mind a link on my blog at all.

In The Hobbit, Smaug, the dragon in the Lonely Mountain, Has a conversation with Bilbo. He has a couple of conversations, and doesn't even care if Bilbo takes his gold. But after talking for a while, Smaug finds out information from Bilbo. He actually gets mad and tries to kill him. Bilbo gets away, back to the dwarves, and they hide. Smaug, in his rage, attacks the lakemen. Their leader is told by a thresh, that Smaug has a weakspot. And he kills Smaug.

Conquest

Felegund (My cousin) allowed me to come on board with this blog. First off here is my personal blog, and for those who fallow my blog, I'll try to make a link on the side for this blog. Anyways back to Lord of the Rings. As was poster earlier The Hobbit movie is being worked on. There are two films coming out. As far as I know the first one is the story of the Hobbit, and the second one bridges the gap between the Hobbit and Fellowship. If that is the case we hope it is quite good to justify this diversion from Tolkien’s cannon. Here are the IMDB links for The Hobbit and the second film as well. We will wait and see. Enjoy.

--Amras Nenharma

PS Lord of the Rings Conquest video game is coming out on Jan 14th and is a LotR based FPS game, made using the engine from Star Wars Battlefront II

Gil-Galad

Gil-Galad is an elven king (Gondolin) who is briefly in the first movie. He is an elven king and warrior who is sung about, but only remembered in the songs. Like a lot of Elven kings, his is a sad story. After his death, the important elves are Galadriel and Elrond.

Rumors

The Hobbit (movie) is scheduled to come out in 2012. They only have a couple of rumored actors. Andy Serkus (Gollum) and Ian McKellen (Gandalf).

Of Gondolin

Gondolin is a hidden city in the mountains, near the Pass of Anach and Dorthonion. It is just above Beleriand (the main country in The Silmarillion). Towards the end of Morgoth's reign, it is discovered, and Morgoth attacks and destroys the city. Tuor, a man, goes to Gondolin during the fall and saves as many of the people as he can. So Gondolin, though a magnificent city, the story ends in a sad way, which is the end of one of the most magnificent cities in the history of Middle Earth.

The Sons of Feanor

The sons of Feanor are as follows:
Maedhros
Maglor
Celegorm
Caranthir
Curufin
Amrod
Amras

These are the elves this entire book is about. The Silmarillion covers more stories, but it is really about the Oath of Feanor, which was an oath saying he would recover the Silmarils.

Middle Earth Names

Just a couple of interesting names and pronunciations.
Maedhros = M-i-thros
Eomer = A-omer
Eowyn = A-o-win
I just wrote this to show how different Tolkien names are pronounced.

Maedhras vs Beren

One major similarity between Maedhros (Feanor's son) and Beren. Maedhros is ignorant and goes out on a parlay, which is actually and ambush. Morgoth captures him, attaches a chain to his wrist, and leaves him hanging over a cliff. A friend hears him singing, and risks his life to rescue him. He can only free him by cutting off his hand. Beren is on a quest to steal a Silmaril from Morgoth. He gets in and takes one, but he meets the largest wolf (who killed Huan). He shows the wolf the Silmaril out of pride, as if saying, "I won, you failed." The wolf bites off Beren's hand, swallowing the Silmaril. Even though their tales are quite different, they both end up with one hand.

Valar

The creators of Middle Earth are the Valar. They are the gods of Middle Earth. They hold council and they judge the people; but when Morgoth takes over Middle Earth, they send in a massive army out of nowhere, and wipe out Morgoth's men. So they saved Middle Earth, but never appear in the Lord of the Rings.

Family Trees

Okay, this is kinda crazy, Galadriel is Celebrian's mother, and Elrond is Celebrian's husband, which makes Elrond Galadriel's son in law. In other words, Galadriel is Arwen's Grandma.

From Ungoliant to Shelob (A History of Giant Spiders)

Ungoliant is the first spider you meet in the entire Middle Earth series. She is working under Melchor, but after destroying town and devouring anything she sees. She finishes her job for him, and wants a reward, but Melchor is afraid of her, but he reluctantly holds takes a Silmaril in his hand, but she eats it, and it drives her mad (I don't remember how he gets it back :/). Then there are the smaller spiders in The Hobbit. They are not as terrifying to read about, but to a hobbit and 13 dwarves, several of those spiders are quite frightening. They capture the heroes, but they miss Bilbo. He frees his companions and holds off the spiders with Sting. The last spider is Shelob, the terror at Cirith Ungol (the pass). She is not quite as big as Ungoliant, but almost as scary (definatly for Sam and Frodo). She guards the pass into Mordor and kills all who try to enter Mordor. Frodo gets captured, so Sam comes in to save him. He uses Sting to stab her belly. What happens after that, no one knows. We know Shelob was wounded, and we know she lived, but there is no other history about her.

The Real World

An interesting connection between Middle Earth and Earth is the fact that J.R.R Tolkien gave only the bad peoples of Middle Earth machines because he hated tanks when he was in World War One. He loosely based (in my opinion) Sauron and Morgoth on Hitler, I say this because of the worldview that these two have.

Huan

Huan is a dog from the Silmarillion, who can only be killed by the biggest wolf to ever live. He also gets to talk three times in his life. So he understands what people say, and he has amazing senses (i.e. smell, sight, etc.). He is Beren and Luthien's companion. He goes with them on their adventures, and his life ends after fighting a wolf fed by Morgoth himself, not just fed with food, but he is fed with malace and the like. The two have a tremendous battle, but Huan ends up dying, because it was the biggest wolf who ever lived. He uses his last time talking while he is dying. His story may not be a happy story, but it is a story of love and loyalty.

Movie Mess Ups

In the Two Towers there are a couple of somewhat obvious mistakes.
1) Pippin and Merry get captured by Uruks, and the Uruks get attacked by Eomers men. During the battle, the hobbits escape, and during the escape, Pippin almost gets stepped on by a horse. He is laying on his back, and the horse rears up, and Pippin's tied hands, are magically untied, next time you see him, they are tied again.
2) When Aaragorn and company first meet Eomer, they have a long chat, and then Eomer leaves. But when Eomer gets on his horse, his sword falls out of the scabbard, he then ignores the missing sword and rides off.

Glamdring

Another mess up in the movies is Gandalf's sword, Glamdring, doesn't glow. In the book it is just like sting, it glows blue when orcs are near, but in the movies they didn't have it glow, and that was what made the sword so special.

Stuff

The sons of Feanor from the Silmarillion, are the ones who are after Melchor (aka. Morgoth) because he stole the Silmarils, the brightest jewels in Middle Earth, they were made by Feanor, and his sons want them back, so they can hold the worlds light, and so it will get back in the right hands. Beren, a man, steals one, and it ends up with a king, the other drives Maedhros to his death, and the death of the Silmaril, and the other, his brother throws another in the ocean, and so in time they all get lost, and their legend lived on, but never are the Silmarils found, or even seen by another man or elf or dwarf again.

Differences

A couple of differences in the book to movie transfer, in the movie the orcs blow up the wall at Helm's Deep through the culvert. In the book, the sneak in through the culvert and there are no explosives. Another thing is at Minis Tirith, Denethor sits back and doesn't want help, and nobody comes until the attack, but in the book, a couple of princess come to help him, and he orders the beacons lit, Pippin doesn't do it.

Fellowship

In the book, Fellowship of the Ring, They are going down the Anduin on the elven boats, when they (Legolas) spot a flying object, and decide it is to big for an eagle, Legolas shoots it, and it leaves. This was actually the Nazgul on his flying steed, but the fellowship didn't know that.

Finrod Felegund

My favorite character in the Silmarillion is Finrod Felegund, he is a powerful king, who ends up fighting Melchor hand to hand. He gets killed in doing so, but he also chops of Melchor's foot, and cripples him for life.

Haldir

In the Silmarillion, an elf named Haldir dies, as a rule the elves don't use the same name twice, but there is a Haldir in the Lord of the Rings books. It is just an interesting fact, and it may have been a mess up by J.R.R Tolkien, or Christopher Tolkien.