"One ring to rule them all, one ring to bind them...."

A pretty good read on the Lord of the Rings trilogy films can be had here:

http://www.boundless.org/features/a0000860.html

Be warned that non-Christians may feel "out of the loop" as this review has a definite Christian bias. But then again, J.R.R. Tolkien had the same bias! I'm not saying I agree with everything this author claims but it is interesting nevertheless!

BTW, I've read "The Hobbit" twice and the trilogy four times and enjoyed the films immensely!

 

"One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie."

 

The lord of the rings is extremely good escapist entertainment. I really enjoy reading them and watching.

 

Okay, we're both misquoting! Full text is:

"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."

We should know this by now, shouldn't we?

 

bigc, it's not only some of the best "escapist" literature around but it's also a very moral/ethical/spiritual read! Read a bit about Tolkien and his beliefs and from where he gathered inspiration for these tomes! Lots of great cultural and spiritual research went into what some folks easily dismiss as "fantasy"! OTOH, if people just want to enjoy it as escapist fantasy, more power to 'em! It's like all books, what you take into the book determines what you'll get out of it!

 

I haven't read The Lord of the Rings since I was in highschool. Let's see--Umm that was--Oh-Ahh-A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

 

I first read Tolkien at the urging of a friend nearly 25 years ago. I remember as I got deeper into the books, I felt as if I was in a place "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."

They are haunting books and full of meaning. I loved the films but, as with most films I see where I've read the books previously, it just wasn't the same. The films had awesome visuals and I loved them immensely but the books left me with the feeling that, yes, there are worlds and realities and truths that exceed what I currently know in the mundane and sometimes, just sometimes, I can visit those magical places in my heart, mind and imagination. That's when I know that even what I experience as "reality" is also a function of my heart, mind and imagination! In the long run, the ultimate truth of being, is that there is really not much difference between the two! YMMV!

 

I do know that if I am planning to see a movie that has gotten a lot of good reviews I will read the book first if there is one. I have found that you get a lot more out of the movie if you read it first.Case in point 2001 a space odyssey.

 

"2001."

That was one instance where I saw the film first and read the book later. As I recall, the film left a better impression than the book (but I never was really an avid A.C. Clarke fan!) Although, come to think of it, it may have been my foxy date I took to "2001" back in those halcyon days of high school that have made me remember that flick with such fond memories!

 

A soft sweet good smelling movie viewing partner can do that.

 

I've got Arthur C. Clarke 's 2061: Odyssey Three. We don't have many English books in my little town...I was always wondering if I should read the other books 1-2 before this one ?

 

Oh man, Uguel! I'm just getting into remembering that soft, sweet-smelling, good-looking date I took to see "2001" so long ago and you're asking me in which sequence to read the books Let an old guy revel in his memories without getting down to current facts! Hey, just kidding!

Edit: I've always found it best to read any series in order!

 

Aha, this is one more area where head injury gives me an advantage. Memory is shaky at best -- but it has the silver lining that I don't have to worry about books or movies growing stale on me. Each time I read a book or see a film it's totally new and fresh to me, even if I've read or seen it a zillion times before.

With the help of pointed hints from me, this past Christmas my daughter gave me a boxed paperback set of the Rings trilogy, and I loved it it all over again even though it wasn't even close to what I thought I'd remembered about parts of its story-sequencing from ages ago. Would have loved The Hobbit too, but alas out of stock just about everywhere here and I've been to old and lazy to go back and recheck.

 

I think that Richard Wagner also portrayed that cycle that depicts humanities up and downs through out evolution in his massive "ring cycle" operas . The tug of war between that which we call good and that which we call evil.
I was living in the mountains in the southern Alps near Mt cook / twizal and Ohau where some of the ring was filmed, . A truely beautiful region , stark and extremely
ly beautiful .

 

Bigc73542, I agree with you on 2001 Space Odyssey. It would've been a tricky movie if I hadn't read the book first.

I love Tolkien's works! I wish they'd make a movie on Terry Brook's Shannara series, or Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time series. My husband says they probably never will. It'd take way too many movies to do the whole story. He's probably right. But it would still be nice to see on the big screen!

 

...the title of this catagory sparked a memory. There is a skin in Spybots Search and Destroy called "Elven". It is sort of Lord of the Ringish. On the bottom part it shows an engraved golden ring and the quote that you mention above. I know those of you who use spybots and are reading this will surely want to install this!

-HandsOff

 

HandsOff
Once I saw it, had to have it. Haven't changed it since!

 

More wish-they'd-make movies ...

All of the Arthur Clarke "Rama" ones;

Just about anything by Larry Niven, especially the Ringworld ones and the Motie books;

And just about anything by Spider Robinson, although the uninitiated would probably see those as plain old sitcoms.

Getting totally away from sci-fi, how about just about anything by James Patterson?

 

Never read James Patterson, but I now alot of people like his books. Any suggestions in particular?

 

Good grief, no -- I just grab new paperback releases of his as I spot them in the stores. Any of the ones about Alex Cross are slight favorites of mine, but I love 'em all.

And then there's Stuart Woods, who has such a similar style and "feel" to his books as Patterson that I'd swear they're close buddies. I was pleasantly surprised to get a reply (and not a form-letter, at that) to an email to Patterson, and he said they'd met once at a convention or the like.

Just remembered one more for movies -- how about stuff by Robert McCammon? He's very similar to Stephen King in style, to the point where I sometimes forget whose book I'm reading, but he never became the "name" that King did.

 

MikeBCda

Oh, my! Swan Song all the way, buddy! The better equivelent to King's The Stand. Now Swan Song is a movie they need to make! Read that one? If you like Patterson & Woods, you should check out Barnes & Noble. They have alot of their books in their Bargain Dept. They're mostly hardcovers, but they're cheaper than the paperbacks.

 

I'm a decent James Patterson fan myself - just finished "Season of the Machete" now I know there must be a sequel out there - hafta look for it.

 

Amen, brother! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who saw a strong parallel between that and The Stand -- for my money, those two were the best-ever for each author. I think I first discovered McCammon via "Stinger".

Up this side of the border, Coles is a good source for over-the-counter, at least for new titles and reprints/re-releases. Technically they can special-order, but in practice their system doesn't work right so I go to Wordsworth's for anything special.

 

2dazed, I remember the "Shannara" stuff from a long, long time ago. Jeez, 15 or 20 years ago or so? It seemed at the time, sort of in the genre of fluffed, watered-down Tolkien! But then again, at the age of 52, memories get clouded!

But I used to love that stuff! As we age, our tastes in reading materials change (got into real-life climbing, hiking and skiing stories 'cuz that is what I was doing for a lot of years!) but I still have a penchant for sf/fantasy. I don't know the other authors you guys are talking 'bout. They sound interesting. BTW, I love King and "The Stand" is my favorite King book! Any suggestions for a good read? TIA!

And HandsOff, thanks for the S&D skin reference. I'll have to check it out!

Edit: After reading these posts I started thinking about all my favorite sf/fantasy reads from the past and pulled a bunch of those old books from the closet (I'm a packrat, I keep things like that!) So what has happened with the Marion Zimmer Bradley series about Darkover and the Anne McCaffrey Dragonworld books? Remember, I haven't been reading this genre in quite a few years! Have these series continued? New and good books around now? Thanks, you guys!