Garrett Calcaterra is author of the epic fantasy novel, Dreamwielder, released earlier this month by Diversion Books, and touted by steampunk legend James P. Blaylock as “fast-paced, colorful, and richly detailed.” His previous titles include The Roads to Baldairn Motte and Umbral Visions. In addition to writing, Calcaterra teaches literature and composition at various academic institutions. When not writing or teaching, he enjoys hiking with his two dogs and quaffing good beer.
Epic Fantasy: A Civilization in Peril and the Heroes to Save it
by Garrett Calcaterra
With Disney’s recent purchase of the Star Wars franchise and a new movie looming, everyone seems to be talking about Star Wars. I’ve been no exception. In a guest post at the very cool Inkpunks blog I confessed how the ending of Return of the Jedi inspired me as a young lad to go off and write sprawling stories with multiple viewpoints and climatic endings. More recently, I was a guest on the Defective Geeks podcast where I talked with the delightfully nerdy Gizzy B and Space Pirate Queen about why the original Star Wars trilogy is so much better than the prequels. The consensus among the three of us was that Episodes 1-3 are little more than Star Wars porn-sure we get our fix of exotic planets, light saber duels, and space battles, but the plot premise and characters are about as plausible as a buxom babe inviting a plumber inside to “check her plumbing.”
To me, the most disconcerting aspect of Episodes 1-3 is the fact that in the back of our minds we all know Anakin Skywalker is going to turn into Darth Vader. We all know the Republic will fall and Palpatine will create the Empire. This makes every one of the protagonists-even the most powerful ones like Obi-Wan and Yoda-utterly impotent. They can do nothing to change the fate of their civilization, and therein lies the weakness of the prequels. George Lucas had it right the first time when he started the story with Luke, Leia, and Han: the heroes who actually save the galaxy. But Lucas is hardly the first person to make this mistake. In fact, the grand-daddy of epic fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien himself, made a similar miscalculation a good 80 years before Lucas. Read the rest of this entry
When Tolkien visited a friend in August of 1952 to retrieve a manuscript of The Lord of the Rings, he was shown a “tape recorder”. Having never seen one before, he asked how it worked and was then delighted to have his voice recorded and hear himself played back for the first time. His friend then asked him to read from The Hobbit, and Tolkien did so in this one incredible take.
“DECONSTRUCTING TOLKIEN has something to offer just about everyone, no matter where your particular passions may lie. In this collection of essays, stories, discourses, and tributes, Ed McFadden has gathered together a wide range of topics, perspectives, and outlooks on some of the most intriguing factors concerning THE LORD OF THE RINGS. LORD OF THE RINGS is a masterpiece that can be examined and re-examined through the course of one’s life. The complex narrative, written with nonlinear gambits, plot-twists, stratagems, and a fusion of secondary stories, offer themselves up to continual review and analysis.” -from the introduction by Tom Piccirilli, author of Mean Sheep, The Night Class and Grave Men
This special e-book edition contains new analysis of The Hobbit not available in the print edition.
Praise for Deconstructing Tolkien: A Fundamental Analysis of The Lord of the Rings-
Nth Degree Magazine – “[DT] is one of the most approachable analyses of Tolkien that I’ve read. McFadden alternates between his own opinions on Tolkien and fiction from authors that he feels had some influence on The Lord of the Rings. I found myself disagreeing with McFadden’s points almost as often as I agreed with them but, most importantly, McFadden’s analysis always made me look deeper at a story that I thought I knew pretty well already. And isn’t that what all good analyses should do?”
YBFREE.com by Jennifer Walford. “Mcfadden’s choice of layout for this book using essays and short fiction is innovative and works quite well for the purposes of providing a rich understanding of the Tolkien phenomena. Blending essay with notable fiction, Mcfadden provides thought provoking evidence on Tolkien’s inspirations, especially from his contemporaries and friend C.S. Lewis, and the influence of writers like H.G. Wells. Even more impressive was the inclusion of a story by self-proclaimed protégé of the Tolkien school of style, Jane Yolen. This inclusion solidified McFadden’s arguments on how pervasive LOTR has been, and in light of the films, will continue to be for many generations.”
J.R.R. Tolkien was a veteran of the 1st World War, something that I’d never examined all that closely, and for this week at the Kirkus Reviews blog, we’re examining the impact of his time on the front lines. I found the story of Tolkien and his three close friends to be the most emotional and heartbreaking episode of his life. Interestingly, this piece comes shortly after Veteran’s Day (Armistice Day elsewhere), commemorating the end of WWI.
This clever airline safety video looks like something out of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, right down to the maps and furry feet. Perhaps it’s not the greatest idea to show Gollum on a darkened plane, but still, kudos for an awesome video.
Funny how Serkis mentions how people have mimicked the voice back to him in the intervening years sine Lord of the Rings. There’s a certain someone I know (looks at Tim) who will do the Gollum voice on command. I think I will hand him my copy of The Hobbit and ask him to read the good parts.
I have oddly fond memories of this animated treatment of Tolkien’s classic. Ralph Bakshi’s presentation may be a truncation of the trilogy, but for its day, the animation was fantastic. Watch and see for yourself…
Sez Joe Abercrombie: “RPGs have nothing like the wide cultural purchase they used to…” as evidenced by his neighbor’s lack of knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons.
This clever airline safety video looks like something out of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, right down to the maps and furry feet. Perhaps it’s not the greatest idea to show Gollum on a darkened plane, but still, kudos for an awesome video. 
