FINALLY getting to writing this post! I recently read “The Silmarillion”! My sister bought me a copy of the book in paperback about a year ago, and I finally read it last month. I was expecting the dull history that had been described to me, but I found that the book was filled with all of the adventure, danger, romance, and action that I’ve come to expect from Tolkien’s other works.
Who knew there was a powerful treasure BEFORE the One Ring? “The Silmarillion”, if you haven’t read it, chronicles the history of Middle Earth LONG before the War of the Ring. It begins with the creation of Middle Earth itself, and the origin and rise of Morgoth (remember the Balrog of Morgoth in “The Fellowship of the Ring”?) and the creation of the Elves, right up to the forging of the Rings and the end of the Second Age.
A little bit of background on the book. Tolkien worked on it throughout his life, but he died before the story could be completed. Christopher Tolkien, his son, collected and edited “The Silmarillion” and published it posthumously. I was originally put off the book, partly at the recommendation of a teacher who told me that it was “boring”, and partly due to the fact that it’s not entirely J.R.R. Tolkien’s work; Christopher Tolkien had to fill in some gaps to complete the story. However, I give the man credit; he managed to keep to the spirit of Tolkien’s writing style. There are parts of the book that were also published separately as individual books (i.e., “The Children of Hurin”). Like much of Tolkien’s works, this is definitely not for those of us who are easily distracted. This book is LONG. And long-winded at points. I have to say, though; it’s quite a bit more complicated than “The Lord of the Rings”. (Granted, LOTR was divided into three books.) It won’t leave you bored.
For those of us who sat through “The Lord of the Rings” films and said, “Where did Sauron come from?”, ”What’s Numenor?”, ”Who are the Valar?” and “How old is Gandalf, anyway?”, those questions are answered in “The Silmarillion”. This is DEFINITELY a book I would recommend, and a book that NO die-hard Tolkien fan should ignore.
Thanks to Erin for “The Silmarillion”, and Hai for the illustrated copy of “The Children of Húrin”!
Yes, it’s true. I admit it. I read the Twilight series. And yes, to a point, I did enjoy it. The read was very engaging; I had trouble putting it down. But now that Twilight, the first book in the four-part saga, has run the gauntlet of movie production and made it safely to DVD, I’m here to share my views on the film.
So let’s begin. I recently viewed the film for the first time. The film itself (i.e. the script, setting, so on) was great! Obviously, Stephenie Meyer had a foothold in the production of the film. (As a matter of fact, she even appears briefly in the film; you’ll know her when you see her.) This made me far more comfortable with the film itself. I was impressed with the overall look of the film, for the most part. I can even accept the greyish pall that the filmmakers decided to give to every scene, leaving the majority of the film looking dreary and rainy(which, for most of the film, seemed to work). But the fact is, as is usually the case with page-to-screen films, the film just wasn’t the same for me.
Robert Pattinson certainly portrayed Edward’s dark and dangerous persona very well, while his overall performance seemed, as a good friend of mine who viewed the film with me termed it, “twitchy”. This “twitchiness” seemed to work for the character, for some reason, though he didn’t have a lot of expression throughout the film. There were brief moments when “Book Edward” truly came through brilliantly. Kristen Stewart, playing Bella, had much more expression, and seemed to fit her character much better, minus only the “Great Stammering Scene”, as we have come to call it, that takes place in the hospital. Taylor Lautner’s Jacob Black was good; he seemed to fit the character. Ashley Greene was a terrific Alice; I loved her performance. The actors portraying the Cullen family had fabulous chemistry on the screen.
To be honest, this series, both on paper and on the screen, is one of those series that you can’t make up your mind whether to love or hate. I love that! I love that Meyer makes you alternately want to love her work or get sick over it. The film kept that trait. There were times when it got so romance novel-ish that I wanted to just shut it off, and then suddenly Edward and James were duking it out in (and badly damaging) a dance studio in the middle of the night. Overall, I give the film a B. While it was very good, there were parts that, I feel, could have been a bit better. I will say one thing, however. Stephenie wrote a good series, and in order to gain HER perspective on the film, you’ll have to check out her website.
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart star in the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight”
This is one of those stories that I have read again and again. My school holds a little event called a book swap every year, and last year, while digging through piles of relatively dull-looking books, I came across a (rather battered) copy of this book. I took it home, read it once, then read it again, and again, and I am reading it once more! This book is fabulous!
It tells the story of Karigan G’ladheon who, following a fight that will likely lead to her expulsion, runs away from her school, hoping to return home and explain things to her father. Her otherwise uneventful journey takes a shocking turn when a Green Rider, messenger to the King, appears crashing through the forest with two black shafted arrows protruding from his bloodied back. As he lies dying on the road, he charges Karigan with the task of seeing that the all-important message he carries reaches the King. Karigan, unaware of the dangers this mission will entail, promises to complete his journey, but she soon discovers that there are many who wish to waylay her message, and that they will destroy her if they can.
A rather vague and boring description compared to the actual book, I can tell you! Though the paperback version of the book (not sure if you can find it in hardcover) is a good 471 pages long, you will never be bored. The sequel to this is “First Rider’s Call”, which my sister has a copy of. (I am seething with envy.) The third in the series is ”High King’s Tomb”.
The thing that I most enjoyed about this book was its readability. Simply put, I was never once bored with it! (And I am someone who can get quite bored very easily.) Whereas some books I have read in the past have a great storyline, some writers simply drag it out for too long, if you know what I mean, and there are occasional lulls in the story. This isn’t something I encountered when I read “Green Rider”. It follows what seems to be the “tradition” of magic and danger, and the fair folk, of course (herein called “Eletians”) but Britain puts her own spin on things. She has her own voice, which comes through in the writing, and you get a good combination of humor mixed in with action.
This is something I would definitely recommend. It’s a lengthy book, but well worth reading! If you wish to read more about the story and the author, check out www.kristenbritain.com.
