i was just meaning tolkien lived in england and studied/work/wrote there....i havnt yet studied the history series to make much more than that out yet...but if i do ill let you know

 Hey rich,

I just wanted to let you know that I very much enjoy the things you write.  I don't usually comment, because I don't feel as though I have much of any substance to contribute - but I'm sure I speak for many of the 'silent readers' when I say that we really appreciate your work, even if we don't comment!

cheers radiskull! didnt even know you read.......silly really.... i never even thought about the silent readers out there

Hi, Rich!  Great job on another fantastic chapter!  You have my thanks, from across the pond.  Your chapters got me interested in reading the books; I am almost done with The Hobbit.  I am looking forward to following the book with a viewing of the animated movie.  Good stuff!

Your latest entry did spawn a question in my mind.  In the Two Towers movie, they show Uruk-hai being pulled out of birthing sacs from the ground.  Is this how all orcs/goblins are created?  Do the books go into detail what has to be planted to sow an orc?  Or are there female orcs?  (bow chica bow-wow)  Any insight you can provide would be appreciated.

Yours,

Pericles

hey man thanks

no the birth of the isengard uruks was a complete creation on pj's behalf, there's nowhere that states thats how it happened, and in the notes its stated that orcs bred akin to the children of illuvatar ie sexually therefore there must be orc women about somewhere either kept at home and used just for breeding(i dont think mordor had given them the voting rights in the 3rd age ) or they looked and acted the same as orc males

funny but probably untrue theory ive heard- gorbag and shagrat were lovers.....horrible thought but one that has very little (none in my opinion) basis

hope this helps

rich

 Well, I finally finished The Silmarillion so I am visiting this page again. It is very interesting that there is so much unknown. When I started delving more into Tolkien lore I thought (coming from a Star Wars background), "This is going to be great because there was only one author rather than a bunch of people with different ideas, so the history has got to be easier to handle." Boy was I wrong! But it's interesting to consider that, even in Greek/Roman mythology there are conflicting stories that are commonly accepted by different folks. In that sense, Tolkien really succeeded at creating a mythology, not just a story.

yes, very true, in fact it feels very much like you are part 3rd age of middle earth, and many of the tales out of the silmarillion are mere legends out of the past which you never know which is true and which isnt

Budgernaut said:

Ha! I thought exactly the same thing! How wrong we were. It does feel more cohesive though, don't you think, coming from one guy - even if he changed his mind a bit!

I've finished The Hobbit the other day, and it was a truly magnificent read. So much of this LCG makes sense to me now! I feel like I've only been getting a fraction of the story so far. The Silmarillion scares me a bit though, being so far removed from what I know of middle earth, so I think I'll work my way up to that. Got the Unfinished Tales on the horizon for me next. Some of them, maybe, at least...

yeah unfinished tales is part silmarillion which youll need to have read it to understand, and the other half (more interesting in my opinion) refers to the 2nd/3rd age

there''s some absolute gems of stuff in there

also if you are scared of the silmarillion- which i dont blame you, try reading the last part 1st, ie the rings of power and 2nd age as that isnt really part of the sil at all, and gives some great extras to the trilogy material

and also try before that-  akallabeth- which deals with numenor, if you get stuck the chapter i did on it should help, and also thers a chapter in unfinished tales that should add extras

------as a final note, expect a new chapter this coming monday!!!! working on it tonight!!!