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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Has anyone read the Complete History of Middle Earth ? I'm looking for opinions on how enjoyable it is. I've read The Simarillion, Hobbit and LOTR ( obviously ! ) and enjoyed them thoroughly. In fact over the years ... I've re-read them many a time.
There is a nice special hardback edition of The Complete History of Middle Earth available online. I'm tempted .... but it's expensive.
Comments appreciated. |
Sun Jan 25, 2004 6:50 pm |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Ah ...damn it !
I ordered it anyway. I know I'll like it. There isn't any literature out there that compares ( well ... G.R.R Martin is very close ) |
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Sun Jan 25, 2004 7:09 pm |
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RPG Frog
Blade Runner
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 748
Location: the Matrix |
History of Middle Earth is a worthwhile hobby similar to reading the bible. You can read it for years and many times. Since you enjoyed the Simarillion there is a chance that you will like History of Middle Earth. This a collection of different types of writing. If you are going to read the History of Middle Earth I suggest getting Christopher Tolkien's "Index to the History of Middle Earth". You can get this and a 3 volume hardback collection containing all 12 volumes from Amazon UK. What is cool about the index is that you can cross-reference all 12 books rather than using 12 separate indexes. You might want to try "Unfinished Tales" by Tolkien before tackling the History of Middle Earth. If you don't enjoy Simarillion & Unfinished Tales you should probably stay away from the History of Middle Earth.
Basically the canon of Middle Earth is…
Hobbit
LOTR (3 volumes)
Simarillion
Unfinished Tales
History of Middle Earth (12 volumes)
Another good book that Christopher Tolkien sites is Robert Fosters “Complete Guide to Middle Earth”. This is a good reference/index for LOTR, Hobbit, and Simarillion. Stay away from books by JE Taylor & David Day as they have lots of un-verifiable information and lame reference notes and are obvious hack-work made to cash-in on Professor Tolkien's name.
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Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities…there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars…Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand…to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. - Robert E. Howard |
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Wed Jan 28, 2004 3:02 am |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Thanks for the reply. I've read the Unfinished Tales ...and found them to be absorbing as they provided additional details on events in The Simarillion.
I'm fairly confident I'll enjoy the History of Middle Earth the more I hear and read about it.
Ideally, I'd like "collector's" or "deluxe" editions of the complete canon, as I read thse books a lot and value them. I wonder if HarperCollins or some other publisher is planning on a reprint ? Previous deluxe editions are of course limited print , and very hard to find a complete set of nowadays ..without costing the earth. |
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Wed Jan 28, 2004 8:50 am |
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RPG Frog
Blade Runner
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 748
Location: the Matrix |
quote:
Originally posted by Ican
Ideally, I'd like "collector's" or "deluxe" editions of the complete canon, as I read thse books a lot and value them. I wonder if HarperCollins or some other publisher is planning on a reprint ? Previous deluxe editions are of course limited print , and very hard to find a complete set of nowadays ..without costing the earth.
Yea, I ended up replacing my paperbacks with the 3 Volume Hardback reprints of the Delux edition you are talking about. Those would have cost me about $600.00 US to get shipped to me. I waited 2 years and in 2003 they reprinted them as hardbacks(not delux slip-case editions) and it only cost me $180.00 US to have all 3 and the Index by Christopher Tolkien shipped from the UK to the US. To me that was a good deal as each book averaged...about $14.00. Here in the US it would have cost me at least $300.00 to get them in hardback. I doubt they will ever reprint them in the US as hardbacks. 80% of the originals are still laying on bookstore shelves in the US as first editions which would mean that they did not sell that well over here. They are really good though...it's like going on an archaeological dig when you read them.
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Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities…there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars…Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand…to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. - Robert E. Howard |
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Wed Jan 28, 2004 5:06 pm |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
I might have a trawl around some bookshops then. Amazon.co.uk still has a few copies of the limited edition of LOTR and The Simarillion. Those 2003 editions of the History of Middle Earth are also available. Don't see a box set with the index being advertised though. |
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Wed Jan 28, 2004 6:53 pm |
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