All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be the blade that was broken,
The crownless shall again be king.

​

Pictured: Everyone posting in the LotR bookclub threads, having a great time. Not pictured: the people who said they would post, but didn't, hiding from the Black Riders outside.

The Prancing Pony dominated the first half of these three chapters; I'd forgotten how cosmopolitan it was. We see Men of all stripes, Dwarves, and Hobbits all under one roof. The inn even has hobbit specific rooms. Lots of description spent on Bree itself, given how little time was spent there relatively.

Of note is the differences between the book and the movies with regard to mistakes - Pippin doesn't have the chance to properly put Frodo in it, even if his tale about Bilbo drew eyes, and there was no impromptu cookout on Weathertop.

Strider's introduction was great. He actually had Narsil chilling at his hip, even in Bree. With Aragorn's appearance, it feels like the story proper has taken off - we're fleeing from the Riders, getting all sorts of lore, including Beren and Luthien. It really drives in how completely Tolkien created this world. I'm struck again by the thought that there's no way that The Lord of the Rings would be published by a modern publishing house; for all his talent in creating an enduring work, I don't think an editor today would look at it and see dollar signs.

I'd forgotten about that rat Bill Ferny, and the pony by the same name that turned out to be of immensely greater character. I don't think Bill the pony received his name in these chapters though.

Gandalf apparently left a note on Weathertop, and perhaps even dueled some foe while Frodo and company were making their way through the back country. I'd completely forgotten this. This would have to be post his escape from Isengard, right? Was he fighting the Black Riders? Was it even him? I can't remember.

Frodo straight up running at the wraiths when they were upon them. I'm pretty sure the Sindarin he spoke with his attack was the name of one of the Valar. Did he hear that from Bilbo, or was this knowledge he shouldn't have had?

Last sprint to Rivendell up next, and then the marathon that is the Council scene.

 

So my thoughts can be breifly summarized-
finally, some actual action. The pace feels like it spotted a black rider and is moving so thankfully fast now.
I was quite surprised during the talk of the habitation of Bree- there is no intermarriage, no inter-relationships. Only elves and humans get to cross the species divide, but hobbits, dwarves (is it true he said it should be dwarrows?), and humans are strict in their species purity. Which carried over into D&D with the only race blend being half-elf initially.

I really like that its taken this long, but we finally get some characterization on the nazgul- "Open in the name of Mordor!" it says so much about them- arrogant and yet still polite enough not to just kick down a door.
And our first deaths- The guards of the North Gate of the shire- they will be missed.

i really find it amazing what he did here with the ponies. he just stops the story and explains what happens to the ponies. It almost feels like he just slams on the brakes and says "I need to explain that these poor ponies are perfectly safe and happy, and nothing bad happened to them." Considering all the death that is coming, I'm rather touched by this.

druing the battle: i'm reminded again of "beware of hobits throwing things."
Also, the whole fight takes 5 paragraphs, in comparison to the pages and pages we have on Bree.

 

I think those names had come up in the Elves telling their stories back in the Shire. What did you think of how he did the Weathertop fight? It seemed a lot of buildup for something that was over so fast, I wish he had lingered a little longer.

 

I think it was right to be done so quickly - it’s not the kind of thing that is going to last long. A Strider POV could have let him show more, but that would have taken away from what Frodo saw and how it impacted the reader.

 

I've caught up to you!

As a chronic lurker, I'll chime in very rarely, but I thought I'd just add some thoughts I have of the book up to now.

For context: I have read the books once, over a decade ago. Reading them was unusually slow-going for me and in parts more of a core than an enjoyment. Since them, I've forgotten almost everything that happens in them. Same for The Hobbit. Movie-wise, I have only seen one of the Hobbit parts.
With this re-read, I'm trying to see whether I like the books more now that I'm older and have read more fantasy books in-between.

General thoughts:

• I enjoy the worldbuilding, but it's a bit much for me in places. All these names and places mentioned, especially in songs. Since I have no context, I just forget them on the next page. Might be more fun on a re-read when the complete books are still fresh in mind.
• I don't get the songs, period. Are they important for the plot? For me, reading them is definitely still a chore.
  
• Some of my problem with the songs might be due to translation. I'm reading the German version since that is what I had at home.
• I'd love to have a map. My book only comes with a small one of the Shire. Do newer editions have more maps?
  
• I remember being thoroughly confused by Tom Bombadil on my first read. Now that I was prepared for him, I had more fun reading that part.
  
• The whole writing style still isn't my jam. I feel we are less in the characters' heads than in more modern books, and my immersion suffers from it.
• I cannot always follow the (for me) quick changes between relaxing and tense parts
  
• Now that the story picked up some pace, I actually want to read on.
• Oh, and I like Strider and Gandalf.

All in all, still the mixed feelings of the first read. I'll continue to read along for the story and because of the huge influence the books have on the fantasy genre overall.

Looking forward to watching the movies for the first time, though. I expect that those might be one of the rare cases where I like the movies more than the books. We'll see.

 

There are supplementary books that come with a lot of art and info, and I think one of them focuses on maps. The actual LotR books I have also only feature a map of the Shire, but they're a republish of a 1966 edition I think.

I'll throw the next thread up soon; holidays have been very busy.

 

Turns out my edition actually includes a super-nice, large, foldable map at the end of the book. Just discovered it by accident and will definitely use it going forward (still in the mines of Moria, here).

 

Another set down! I promise I'll actually catch up lol.

Chapter 9:

• Merry is the only smart one, stays away from the party entirely
• "There were several Underhills from Staddle, and as they could not imagine sharing a name without being related, they took Frodo to their hearts as a long-lost cousin." This is my kind of energy I love it.
• I thought the description of the ring seizing hold of him and making him want to put it on was interesting: "It seemed to him, somehow, as if the suggestion come to him from outside, from someone or something in the room." I always thought of it as a lot more subtle than that, but maybe it's trying shit out
• And there it is lol it managed to slip on his hand when he fell

Chapter 10:

• Strider is great, but I get the distrust. They have little reason to trust him beyond him saying "totes trust me, u f'd brah"
• I'd forgotten Gandalf left a letter, really sucks that didn't get sent lol. Butterbur redeems himself in my eyes in being willing to help "more than ever" upon finding out the Black Riders he was already terrified of are from Morder.
  
• The letter naming Strider a friend is a good reason for them to trust him, and it makes perfect sense he kept that to himself.
  
• The way he threatens them hints a bit of magic in him, reminiscent of when Gandalf confronts Bilbo about the ring
• Huh, I'd totally forgotten he carries the broken sword with him in the books

Chapter 11:

• Poor Fatty Bolger, but he delayed the Nazgul for a while so he did his job and lived. That's all he can ask for really. Hmm I guess that's the first hint that unlike the movies, the Shire won't remain untouched
  
• Sam proclaiming he can carry enough for two is amazing, I'm loving him more and more with each page
• Nailing Ferny with the apple and the deploring the waste of a good apple, Sam is the gift that keeps on giving for me
• The traveling through the wilderness was fun, and I keep loving all the songs
• The ring going all out to get Frodo to put it on was intense, it definitely saw victory in reach and went "fuck it"

 

Aragorn fangirl incoming.

"I am Aragorn son of arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will." SQUEEEEE
"But the time is near when it shall be forged anew" SQUEEEEEEEEE
Take that Sam, you buffoon!!! (I do love Sam but he's 2nd to aragorn I'm sorry.)
"But strider seemed to be held in awe by most of the bree-landers, and those that he stared at shut their mouths and drew away." Me too, buddy, me too.
"My cuts, short or long, don't go wrong" THE CONFIDENCE
Also the story of beren and luthien was one of the 3 great human-elven couple in middle earth. I can't help but think about what Aragorn was thinking when he was telling the story, was he wondering if they would end up the same way for him and arwen should he fail? <3 Aragorn/Arwen for lyfe

 

Been listening to the audiobook recently. The thing that strikes me about these early chapters, up to and including Bree, is how populated the Shire is:

- It is clear as they travel from Hobbiton to Buckland that there are Hobbit towns and villages in every direction in quite a dense formation.

- Once they reach Bree, the description here also indicates a moderate density of population, with Staddle right next door.

- The description of the road network of which Bree is the crossroads, and the men and dwarves travelling upon it with fair frequency (enough to keep the Prancing Pony busy with travellers on any given day), indicates further settlements of men in relative close proximity.

- There is also clearly sufficient civilisation to ensure plentiful supply of wine and beer, cheese and bread, candles, soap, paper, books, clothing, kitchenware including metalwork and ceramics, packs, feather beds. There is some sort of postal system and adequate stabling for travellers' horses. And fireworks are known of, with Gandalf's being the best - meaning not the only fireworks out there. So gunpowder exists. Brick built houses are common in the settlements of men, including with multiple floors, individual bedrooms which are separate from living areas. All in all, it is a pretty high level of civilisation, far above medieval times.

This all stands in stark contrast to the wilderness we appear to enter thereafter. Other than Rivendell, there doesn't appear to be any form of extant civilisation between Bree and Rohan, and certainly when you look at maps of Middle-Earth, there doesn't appear to be anything there.

But I wonder if perhaps there are quite a few settlements of men in the rest of Eriador, in a similar manner to that which we have seen in the Shire and Breeland. In many ways I feel like there has to be, to provide the supply chain for all those comforts of advanced civilisation, and all those travellers stopping in Bree need to be coming from somewhere. The relative emptiness which we see in subsequent chapters can be explained by the fact that our party keeps away from populated areas, as they travel in secrecy, in combination with the idea that the maps we see are Hobbit maps and naturally lack in detail outside their own borders, with only the most famous of places listed.

 

So my poor research skills have turned up that Minhiriath , which makes up much of the south of Eriador, should be full of people, but got shat on over and over and over (sided with sauron, who burned it to the ground, Angmar ravaged it, and then it was devasted by the great plague). So my thinking is that there is an east-west strip of civilization from bree to the Gulf of Lune, and a dwarven exclusion zone east of Bree to the mountains.