Lord of the Rings

I have to admit, I don't really know much about the LOTR aspect of Dagorhir. I have always been interested in historical periods. All I really remember of LOTR is from the recent movies and the animated movies from the 70/80's. I drive for a living and have learned to really appreciate Audiobooks. I've read/listened to some very good historical fiction recently. To Kurn I would mention "the archer's tale" by Bernard Cornwell. A story about an English longbowman at the beginning of the hundred years war. The book ends at the battle of Crecy but the story is the first in a trilogy about a grail quest. (I haven't gotten to the second and third installments but I will). Bernard Cornwell is a noted writer of Historical fiction and is more famous for his series of "sharpes" books about the Napoleonic war. Another of his books that I recently read/listenend to is "sword song" which is set in england during the period of Alfred the great and the survival of Wessex against the Norse. A very good read and also first in a trilogy that I would like to finish.

I get my audiobooks from the library and they are in CD format. I finally decided to start my knowledge of LOTR and got the first book "the fellowship of the ring". There's alot of poetry and song in this book. I wanted to start with the Hobbit but couldn't find it. I had picked up the "scimarillion" I think its called, about the mythical creation of middle earth and its beings and gods, etc, but it was kind of confusing so I put it back and and now in the middle of the fellowship.

Now I know who 'strider' is. I think in the movie he started out as Aragorn only. I don't know, I'll have to finish the book and watch the movie again.

Konradr

i love the lord of the rings series. i've read them all plus the silmarillion. i have the book of lost tales 1 ad 2 but have not read them yet. right no i'm reading children of hurin. tolkien loved to write songs and poems so ya theres gonna be a lot in there.

Ok you may know of the strider of LOTR but i am not that strider. My strider is Strider Hiryu which originates from the old game series "Strider" about a futuristic society of ninja-like assassins who protect the world from terrorists. Click Me!

Its a good read though, well, a good listen since I'm using audiobooks. I've seen other tolkien books such as the lost tales, etc, offered on Ebay but they are usually to expensive for me to buy. I really like audiobooks though so I'll be on the look out for them on sale. I do have the two towers in cassette audiobook. I never seem to have time to sit and read except magazines or graphic intensive non fiction books. I've recently read two graphic novels from the library too. One was a dragonlance book but I didn't really get into it. The other is redwall. Its about medieval mice versus rats, etc. I like it. Go figure.

I used to read redwall all the time in like 6th grade. Those are old books.

I've never read them before, and I'm old!

I do have a small collection of Asterix books. Ever read them? They're comics or graphic novels made in france about a Gaul who keeps his village free of the Romans by use of a magic potion that gives him super human strength. They are old. I read my first one in jr. high in spanish class. Phew, memories filtering through the vortex of time....

i read Salamandastrom. which was a a redwall book. i liked it.

Salamandastrom, that sounds interesting. I'll keep an eye out for it. I saw a graphic novel version of the Hobbit, but it had so much dialogue and narration that the pictures were crowded and basic. I'll finish the trilogy of the ring then hunt down the hobbit and if I can some of the lost tales.

I never played D & D when I was a teen, but I played a game, I believe by steve jackson, called Melee or melee trip. It had simple rules and a preprogrammed dungeon adventure. It was cool. My friend and I, both historical wargamers, loved playing that game and both being barbarians. The first time we played, we had no clue. We went in with big swords and no armor, ala conan, and a chestful of giant spiders bit us to death. What a shock! First time up to bat and a strike out. Damn spiders.

I recently bought a game called Heroquest off ebay and played some with my kids. It was fun too. My son kept taking it to his cousins houses to play. I still have it but I don't know what shape they left it in. Kurt-erik, my 5 year old is always wanting the pieces. He likes much the same hobbies as me, so I hope I'm not too old to play with him when he's old enough to command miniature armies on the tabletop and foam on the field.

Speaking of Conan, that's a series I loved when I was a kid. Never read them all. I bought several old paperbacks on Ebay and some of his other works, such as Bran mak morn. I love his stories. I downloaded his complete collection in PDF. formats. I hate reading electronically though. And now I love listening to them. You can set the computer to 'read' the text to you, but its not the same as a professional narrator.

Speaking of digital collections, I have the entire Asterix collection somewhere.

I saw a gorgeous conan graphic novel series, not the comics from the 70's, but a newer work that does the original conan stories in graphic novel form and they are really nice. Would love to get those, digitally or otherwise.

Konradr

Surt, do you recommend "Children of Hurin"? I just saw an unabridged audiobook on Ebay of it narrated by christopher lee (He played Saruman in the movies, (Dracula in the 60's and 70's for Hammer films for you older folk) Its a bit pricey though for me. $19.99 but with free shipping. Tempting though.

I like when they get the actors with the cool voices to do audio books lol

especially those excellent English actors. I have another audio book narrated by christopher lee. It is a fictional WWII story by Jack Higgins. A game for heroes.

I'm almost finished with the book "fellowship of the rings" Two more discs to go. In the book Legolas, the elven archer who joined the fellowship to see the ring bearer to mordor was a messenger from the elven realm where Gollom had been held prisoner. He was bringing news of Gollom's escape to the council at Rivendale. In the movie, which I just watched again, Frodo spotted Gollom following them in the mines of Moria, and Gandalf said he had escaped from Barad'dun. Damn, a black mark on us that we will have to right in some way.

i'm really liking children of hurin so far.

I finished the "fellowship of the ring". I liked it, but I expected a fight at the island at the end like in the movie, but it didn't happen. Does it happen at the beginning of the two towers or was it only part of the movie???

When I turned in the fellowship I looked to see if they had the two towers, but they didn't. Instead they had "The hobbit" so I grabbed that and am really liking it. I am on disc 3, bilbo has escaped gollum and found his comrades outside. I liked that song the goblins sang when they captured the group and dragged them down to goblintown.

I picked up another graphic novel at the library too. Its not too bad. Its called "Tellos, reluctant heroes".

I like when he meets the dragon

The goblin's song:

Clap! Snap! the black crack!
Grip, grab! Pinch, nab!
And down down to Goblin-town
You go, my lad!

Clash, crash! Crush, smash!
Hammer and tongs! Knocker and gongs!
Pound, pound, far underground!
Ho, ho! my lad!

Swish, smack! Whip crack!
Batter and beat! Yammer and bleat!
Work, work! Nor dare to shirk,
While Goblins quaff, and Goblins laugh,
Round and round far underground
Below, my lad!

I picked up another graphic novel too 'Fafhrd and the Gray mouser'.

Konradr

Lol, sweet song.