The Hobbit readalong, week 2, J R R Tolkien
26 August 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Bilbo Baggins, J R R Tolkien, The hobbit readalong
This week is week 2 of our Hobbit readalong being hosted by writers’ bloc. Week one’s discussions can be found here and if you haven’t already read The Hobbit, then either please go and find a copy, catch up and join in or don’t read this post any further because it will spoil for you any future reading of this book. This week myself and Matt provided the questions which start below.
1. If you’ve already read the LoTR (or for that matter seen the film) what do you make of The Hobbit so far as a prequel to that book?
I’ve been surprised on a few fronts with this book. Last week revealed to me how very little I actually remember of this story! This week I’ve been surprised at the similarities or parallels of The Hobbit with the Lord of the Rings. If you consider the story so far there have been quite a few. We started the adventure in Bilbo’s home town of Hobbiton, along the way the band ended up at Rivendell, they were accosted by goblins underground. There are the scenes in the creepy forest – large spiders, talking eagles, wargs, another elven society. They then come to the land of men. Lots of similarities. I suppose it makes sense that Tolkien used The Hobbit to cut his teeth on prior to LoTR. The writing is much more simple but we also have the beginnings of the epic adventure in that the one ring has finally been discovered.
2. I haven’t found the writing in The Hobbit overly descriptive, it’s written almost in a way that takes it for granted that the reader will bring a certain element of knowledge to the reading. Have you enjoyed Tolkien’s style of writing? Does it make it easy for you to imagine the world that he’s come up with?
I do like Tolkien’s writing style although I can see why some people would not. The Hobbit is less descriptive than the LoTR for sure and a much simpler read. Tolkien doesn’t really go into any detail about the creatures – I think he just assumes you will know what a troll is or what an elf looks like. I quite like that but I can’t deny that the LoTR films have overtaken any images I had going on in my mind anyway. When I read this now my imagination is guided by that film – it’s impossible not to picture the world created by Peter Jackson.
3. Well, it’s been far from an easy journey. The stretch through Mirkwood was particularly hazardous – although I’m a bit puzzled about the names – Flies and Spiders. Spiders yes, but flies?? Anyway, given the situations that they’ve faced so far, which one would be your worst nightmare?
The most obvious answer is the spiders. I’m not overly fond of spiders at the best of time and that’s when they’re just simple housespiders. The notion of these huge spiders with their scary sounding voices is really quite terrifying – I mean, they’ve got eight legs after all – the little tiny ones can get about pretty quick so I hate to thing how quickly these would come at you. Why was the chapter called flies and spiders – I can only think that it refers to the dwarves being caught like flies in a trap?
Matt’s Questions
4. In Chapter VIII, “Flies and Spiders”, there is a moment when Bilbo kills his first giant spider, and something in him changes – he seems to make this dramatic and instant transformation from whiny, annoying hobbit to heroic slayer of beasts of burden. Do you think this transformation is too quick or forced, or too unrealistic (as far as realism goes in a forest with giant spiders)?
It was certainly a very quick transformation and I couldn’t help thinking he’d come on a fair bit when he was killing spiders left and right. I quite like the way that Bilbo has developed but to be fair I think he finds that the ring lends him a lot of his new found courage. He would never have escaped the Goblins or tempted the spiders away from their lair or got the dwarves out of their captivity with the elves. I hope that the ring doesn’t make him over confident! He’s not met Smaug yet after all.
5. On the topic of heroism, it seems a major idea in this book is that anybody can be a hero – Bilbo is a very ordinary person, living and longing for an ordinary life, yet he does have heroic traits in him which appear when they are finally needed. Do you agree with this idea? Can anybody be a hero? Could you rise up if you were put into this situation, or is there even a way of knowing without putting yourself into such a situation?
I suppose you don’t really know your own strength until it’s put to the test but it would be nice to think that we would all rise to the occasion if it became necessary. That said, with the situations they’ve so far faced it’s quite simply been a choice of do or die. I suppose if Bilbo had been more cowardly he could simply have snuck off and left the dwarves to their fate but would you really be able to live with that. The good thing about Bilbo’s actions so far is that he takes his time and considers the best course of action. I like that. I think the temptation would be to rush in like a maniac but this more considered approach seems to be working better for them all.
6. For me personally, I have found chapters VI to XII much more interesting than the first part of the book. Have you found them more interesting, and if so, why exactly do you think so?
I have enjoyed these chapters. There’s a lot going on after all. Personally I think that this story follows a typical story format. It feels like we had a very decided introduction. We’re made familiar with the hobbit and his home and there’s a lot of shuffling backwards and forwards down corridors, making tea and cake. Then the adventure begins and at first it feels like a nice little jaunt, until the party start to get into a few scrapes which gradually pick up in tempo as we reach the middle. For example, the situation with the trolls was all resolved fairly quickly whereas the situation later with the elves took a bit more consideration. It was as though the earlier trials were a rehearsal for what was really to come. And now we just have to read the grand finale.
The Sandman, Vol 3, Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
25 August 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Dream Country, Neil Gaiman, The Sandman Vol 3
The Sandman – Wikipedia definition:
The Sandman, Dream Country (Vol 3)
King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
23 August 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Ancrath, King of Thorns, Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
Just finished reading King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence and before I place one more word to blog I will just say ‘wow’. Last year Mark Lawrence brought to us Jorg, the Prince of Thorns, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in fact it was in my top 10 for the year (thank you again Little Red Reviewer). For me personally it brought a new sort of perspective to fantasy. The anti-hero who, in spite of himself, you couldn’t help eventually shouting in support of. I mean, it’s a pretty nasty world that Lawrence has created here but Jorg, who, in fairness, is plagued by his own demons, is not necessarily the worst of the bunch.
I picked this book up with a certain sort of trepidation. Part of me wanted to rush head long and part of me was afraid of the ‘second book syndrome’ that I’ve experienced in the past and which usually succeeds in my losing interest in the rest of the series. As usual impetuousness won the day and I rushed in ….. but fear not on this account. No longer a Prince, the King of Thorns rises above it’s first instalment to truly become the successor to the throne. I loved this book. Where the hell Mark Lawrence has been hiding for the past few years I have no idea but I hope he has no immediate plans to return. This book is just pure genius. I don’t know how he did it but he’s written this wonderful and complex plot where all the strands come together, like magic, and where very little is left unanswered.
Okay, enough gushing.
The plot starts with Jorg aged 18. We’ve moved on and he’s now King of the Highlands. However, his domain is threatened, a mammoth army sits on his doorstep, he’s outnumbered 20:1 and the battle of wits is about to commence.
The story is told in two time frames so that even though we’ve jumped forward in years we still get to see how Jorg has reached his current whereabouts. This is such a brilliant device and works really well here. We move to one time frame and get to take part in the current battle whilst moving back in time to read about seemingly random and meaningless events – albeit interesting. This also helps to keep the momentum going rather than reading the plot in a straight line and watching the story unfold we seem to jump from one action scene to the next barely catching breath inbetween. This story is woven like the most complex tapestry and really is a thing of beauty, I was practically clapping my hands in appreciation at certain points. I started the read and almost had a headache in the first few chapters (okay, maybe I’m not as smart as some and sometimes had to stop and think ‘what?’) but then without any discernible effort on the part of the author I was totally immersed. He had me. I was on a tractor beam and couldn’t get off. I just sat and read and it wasn’t until I realised that I was completely alone and the house was deathly quiet that I noticed that it was about 2.00 am in the morning and everybody else, without my even noticing or acknowledging it, had gone to bed. Talk about casting a spell!
In the Prince of Thorns we were introduced to this strange new, I don’t know, post apocalyptic world that has almost returned to mediaeval times, war rages and Kings plot against each other and yet we have strange remnants from the past that lend the read a certain sort of grim fascination. But, in this new world things have moved forward apace and we also have a strange thinning of the veil that separates the real from the unreal. Ghosts, strange misshapen monsters and cruel mistresses of death. The King of Thorns builds upon that world further bringing all sorts of creepiness in its wake. The imagination is just amazing and the situations that Jorg finds himself in seem almost desperate or without hope and yet ML manages to find sneaky ways to manoeuvre around impossible odds in a plausible way. (Okay, methinks maybe I have returned to the realm of gushing).
Jorg is a different character in this book. He appears to have developed an odd new sense of humanity. I mean, I don’t think he’s going to ever be accused of being ‘soft and fluffy’ but he suddenly seems to have acquired a conscience – probably helped by the fact that he seems to have his own personal ghosts lurking in shadows to remind him of his past (although, and I won’t go into it further – memory can be a funny thing, particularly in this world). He’s still pretty unsavoury but he and his crew – who are developed much further in this novel as the pages speed by – seem to be on a different type of mission. The first instalment saw Jorg consumed by revenge. This sees him stubborn and unwilling to bend the knee. He’s ambitious and he has a plan. I quite liked this ‘new’ Jorg – he’s still quite capable of lopping off the odd head here and there if he’s displeased but it feels a little bit more judicious – in that you generally don’t feel any immediate sympathy for the person who has just found themselves bleeding on the floor without aforementioned noggin! Jorg’s wit, however, remains the same, he’s clever, dry and just frankly made me laugh. In this novel his band of motley men are also developed – which isn’t to stay they all remain intact, as in No.1, ML takes no prisoners, but we get to know them a little better. Makin has become something of a favourite as has Gog.
In the first book, we ended on a strange sort of note – did we really know Jorg. Had we met the true man. At the conclusion of No. 2 I experienced a similar feeling. I don’t think we have met the real Jorg yet (you’ll know why once you’ve read the book). I’m waiting for the third book to see who he really is. Oddly enough, although a different character in both I’ve enjoyed reading about Jorg very much. This is dark and gritty. It’s pretty uncompromising and there are a few scenes that frankly made me squirm – the dog! That’s all I’m going to say! I had to cover my eyes for that scene until I realised that I couldn’t read any longer – then I just covered my ears and held my breath (until I fainted). Not really, but you get the impression. Dark. Gritty. However, if you like fantasy I just simply cannot see how you could fail to like this. It’s different but it has something about it that’s familiar. If you took a look at all the other fantasy books you’ve read, took all the ideas and melted them into plasticine, then remoulded it into a different shape, you might capture a little bit of the essence of this book. But only a little bit. It’s fantasy Jim, but not as we know it!
For the avoidance of doubt and in case of a lack of clarity above I very much liked Prince of Thorns, I loved King of Thorns and I now wait with baited breath to see what ML will do next! Frankly, it can’t come quickly enough. It’s going to be a l o n g wait!
King of Thorns
The Hobbit readalong
I’m taking part in the Hobbit read along being hosted by Writers’ Bloc. This is the first week reading up to Chapter 6. Questions this week are provided by Writers’ Bloc (numbers 4 – 6) and Inkeri (numbers 1 – 3).
I wanted to read this again before the film comes out and I’m actually really pleased I decided to join in this read-along (it’s been a long time!) Not surprisingly I have forgotten more than I ever remembered but I’m enjoying the experience and having reread Lord of the Rings not too long ago it makes it an interesting experience comparing the two. Be aware that if you haven’t read The Hobbit then the following post will undoubtedly contain spoilers so you might want to stop reading from here onwards – you could instead go and pick up a copy and join in!
The questions this week are as follows:
1. In the book Bilbo gets visited by 13 strange dwarves, and just lets them in to eat his cakes and drink tea. In the modern world it would be really weird if people just started barging in your home. Why didn’t Bilbo just tell them to go?
I guess this boils down to two things really. Firstly, etiquette. There seem to be a number of conventions which simply must be followed and it would be rude not to – that’s the way I’m reading it anyway. Secondly, obviously many years ago, and probably due to a number of things, such as the fact that your nearest neighbour could be a long walk or ride away, I think people had to be more hospitable. Exactly what sort of reaction you would get if you turned up at my door would depend on the mood and time of day/week that you showed up. I’m sure I would be polite (well sometimes I would!) but the fact is that, like Old Mother Hubbard, sometimes my shelves can be pretty bare – particularly if I’m about to go and shop for the week. You’d be lucky if you found a few cake crumbs!
2. Where would the dwarves and Bilbo be if Gandalf wasn’t with them? It’s seems to me that it’s him who saves them from the scary situations.
I must admit I was thinking exactly the same thing. Gandalf just disappears and then seems to turn up at exactly the right moment. Funnily enough I was thinking he seems to be using much more of his ‘wizardly’ ability in this story than he did in Lord of the Rings and it’s just as well for Bilbo and the dwarves that he is doing so because they seem to be bungling and bumbling along so far! In fact, without Gandalf this would be a much shorter book as they’d have all been stewing in a pot by now!
3. Bilbo plays a game of riddles with Gollum. He ends up winning by asking “What have I got in my pockets?”, which Gollum is unable to answer. Do you think it was fair, as it wasn’t actually a riddle?
Well, I don’t really think it was a fair question but I suppose you could argue that appearing in front of somebody and threatening to eat them if they don’t win your little game is hardly fair either! I think my mind would go blank under those circumstances.
4. For those of you who haven’t read The Hobbit before, is the tone of writing one you’d expect from a book that has been loudly proclaimed as a classic? And for those of you who have read it before, how did it feel – like coming home to a much loved book, or were you surprised by how much you’d forgotten?
Well, I’m enjoying comparing this to Lord of the Rings. Obviously The Hobbit doesn’t have the scope of LOTR and for me it does feel somehow not quite as ‘grown up’. I read that Tolkien wrote this for his children and reading it you can imagine that he wrote this so he could read it to them at night. I am surprised how little I remember (although it was a while ago). I remembered the trolls – for some reason that particular scene just stands out for me. I’m also surprised at how quickly we seemed to jump into the action and for that matter how many mishaps have so far been experienced by this little band of merry men.
5. We’ve seen quite a few songs so far. Do you pay attention to them, or do you skip them altogether? Do you like how silly they are, or do you think them an interruption?
I distinctly remember disliking the songs in both The Hobbit and LOTR the first time round and actually skipping them entirely. I seem to have much more patience on the rereads. Whether that’s linked to the fact that I’m not in such a desperate rush to get to the end of a book when I’m rereading I can’t say. All I know is that I read them now and just simply find them quite amusing, not to mention they sometimes tell a bit of a story.
6. What has been your favourite scene, so far?
I’m a bit torn with this one – between the scene with the trolls and the scene where Bilbo meets Gollum – although I think it’s because I’m picturing and hearing in my head Andy Serkis – he really did make this character great to watch. To be honest though I think I’m going to stick with the trolls (this scene was over much quicker than I actually remembered though!). I love the bit when Bilbo tries to pickpocket one of them only to have the purse itself blow the whistle on him. Plus all the picking him up by his toes and shaking him about – I don’t know whether that shows a flaw in my character – but it just made me laugh. Even as he was going to pick the troll’s pocket I was thinking ‘what, no!’ What a maniac. It all turned out okay in the end but only due to the timely intervention of Gandalf!
Back next Sunday for the second instalment. See you then.
The Hobbit
A short Gaiman interlude
Just finished reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman. This is a lovely, short creepy story that tells the story of Coraline who having recently moved to a new house finds a strange door that leads nowhere. Or does it?
This is another wonderfully creepy story brought to us again by NG. Coraline, in exploring her new house comes across a secret passageway that once travelled along seems to bring her out into the same house she’s just come from. An alternative/parallel habitat where the occupants are in fact her ‘other’ mother and father.
This is a great read. Very quick and quirky and as usual awash with imagination. The cat character is just excellent and made me laugh with it’s arrogance and superior attitude. I also liked the upstairs and downstairs neighbours who added a sort of grand theatrical feel to everything.
The alternate house starts off almost looking too good to be true – and it is. Just goes to show that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence. Another mother who has all the time in the world to devote to Coraline, cooking her favourite meals, playing games, a lovely bedroom with a very strange toy box, but, things aren’t to be that simple. The other mother has a fairly exacting price to pay for all this devotion.
I guess you can see a strange sort of resemblance to Alice in Wonderland here. We certainly have a bunch of quirky characters and a strange setting where anything seems possible – even an ally that turns out to be a talking cat but Gaiman always has his own strange take on everything and manages to inject a certain feeling of foreboding in the early chapters that gradually increases to a quite creepy and tense finale.
Now, all that being said, I do have a few minor criticisms – although probably more to do with me than the book. Firstly, I think I ruined this book for myself by watching the film first. I just couldn’t help but picture the characters when reading – I don’t suppose that’s necessarily a bad thing but I think I would have liked to have used my own imagination a bit more. Secondly, the film Coraline is such a visual treat with a riot of colour that reading the book afterwards almost pales a little by comparison – which is weird really because, apart from a few diversions, the film pretty much sticks to the book. Lastly, I think this book does come across more for a younger audience than say The Graveyard Book, although it’s simplicity does lend it a very quick read – one sitting, literally.
On the whole a weird and wonderful little indulgence and a great read to pick up in between your more chunky, time consuming novels.
Coraline
