Monday, July 22, 2013

3-Minute Follow-Up

So I’ve finished reading Gary Raymond’s 3-Minute JRR Tolkien.

It didn’t get any better. In fact, it got worse.

The segments on the Peter Jackson films and on LOTR-related games, both in the physical and digital world, seemed utterly useless, dry repetitions of fact adding nothing to the story of Tolkien. Yes, he spawned a lot of imitators and hangers-on and slightly odd people dressing up in costumes and working along in basements trying to come up with new ways to make elves disappear. How is any of that information going to make me an “instant expert” on Tolkien?
Forget this book. The best of it could be summed up in a tweet, penned by Raymond himself:
You’ll have to read Tolkien’s own works to fully appreciate and enjoy his genius.
None of anything else in this book is necessary, interesting, or particularly enlightening. So I’ll step out of the way. Enjoy.

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