From the Sketchbook - Ink Drawing of A Hobbit (after Dixon)

A little study I drew with colored pens the other day (after Dixon):

The best Tolkien artist?

Well, according to most he is at least one of the masters. John Howe, the renown illustrator is currently working on making The Hobbit look as good as it possibly can. Do yourself a favour and visit his inspiring website.

Have a nice weekend.

Heard the Latest News About The Hobbit?

Would you like to read an update on how the work with the film version of "The Hobbit" is proceeding?Then I recommend a visit at this page on the great Tolkien site The One Ring.net. There you'll find answers to almost anything you want to know about the production.

Just can't get enough of Star Wars and Lord of The Rings?

I was recommended these "Character interaction" charts from xkcd.com. I think they are just brilliant! I wonder how long it took to draw these. What do you think?

Link to large chart: http://xkcd.com/657/large/

Recently Read: The Children of Húrin by J. R. R. Tolkien

Unable to leave the ancient Library just yet as there are so many remarkable books to keep you fascinated, the librarian seizes the opportunity and starts talking about yet another book...

(Today it is Trustdale in the 5th inquart, 0 S.D. and the sun still rules the sky this late afternoon)

ast night I finished reading the latest novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Children of Húrin. This novel - the result of his son Christopher Tolkien successfully putting together different fragments written by his father into one complete narrative - takes place in The First Age, long before the Third Age events of The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings.

I read in a review of the book before I decided to buy it, that this novel stylistically could be seen as a novel somewhere "between" the archaic prose of The Silmarillion and the more accessible books about the ring. That is actually a very good description of this book. If you don't like Tolkien's two most famous books (The ring trilogy is actually one single work), you will probably not be intrigued by this one. If you want to know more about the history of Middle-earth and experience an epic - albeit dark - story in one of the most detailed fantasy settings that will ever be created, then this is definitely something for you.

The story is not as elaborate - or exciting - as those about Bilbo's and Frodo's quests. But it's a dark high fantasy saga with captivating characters and marvellous settings. The beautiful illustrations by Alan Lee (smaller ones in black-and-white as well as some colored full-page ones) makes it an even richer experience.

Highly recommended for Tolkien fans but probably not for a more "mainstream fantasy" reader, looking for an easy-to-digest novel of a more casual style.

Fantasytree tip #5: If you have never read Tolkien before - and still haven't experienced some of the best fantasy ever written - my advice is that you to start with the two "ring-books", The Hobbit and Lord of the rings.

As a comparison I would rate these three works by Tolkien as follows:

Children of Húrin: 8 out of 10 Leaves

The Hobbit: 9 out of 10 Leaves

Lord of The Rings: 10 out of 10 Leaves (FANTASY MASTERPIECE!)

Each one of these three novels offers a fantastic experience of Tolkien's Middle-Earth though. Enjoy your travels.

Related links:

The Tolkien Society (includes a HUGE link-collection about practically everything related to Tolkien)

TheOneRing.net

The Hobbit Movie will probably be Released December 2011

Returning to the courtyard of the Citadel you once more find yourself waiting for the herald. A fanfare and again the latest news are proclaimed. They will surely cause an excited mumble among the people who have gathered below the glistening towers...

ou have probably heard that the classic work by J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit" will be adapted as a film just as the famous work that followed it, "Lord of the rings" has been. But have you also heard which of the actors from the LOTR that will also return in The Hobbit? Or that there are plans for a second movie, taking place somewhere between LOTR and The Hobbit?

These and many other questions are answered in this splendid the Hobbit Movie FAQ on the nice Tolkien fan community site TheOneRing.net. I can really recommend a visit there.

10 Most Popular Fantasy Movies

oday I'm going to take a look at fantasy as a genre when it comes to movies. I will do this by presenting the 10 most popular fantasy movies at IMDB (Internet Movie Database) right now. Hope you can find a movie that you've missed. Better start warming that popcorn...

(The number in brackets after placement shows the rating the movie received from the users - out of a possible 10)

1. (8.8) Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

2. (8.8) Star Wars (1977)

3. (8.8) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

4. (8.7) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

5. (8.6) It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

6. (8.6) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

7. (8.4) Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)

8. (8.4) Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)

9. (8.4) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

10. (8.4) Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)

I'm happy to see that my two favorite film triplets almost have 6 out of 6 movies represented in the top 10 ("Return of the Jedi" - Star Wars VI - is on an honorable 12th place). Other than that there are three movies I still haven't seen - number 5, 8 and 9. Shame on me. Will surely be interesting to see how far up the upcoming version of "The Hobbit" can get.