Tags:science fiction
A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages
First ever critical study of Tolkien’s little-known essay, which reveals how language invention shaped the creation of Middle-earth and beyond, to George R R Martin’s Game of Thrones. J.R.R. Tolkien’s linguistic invention was a fundamental part of his artistic output, to the extent that later on in life he attributed the existence of his mythology to the desire to give his languages a home and peoples to speak them. As Tolkien puts it in ‘A Secret Vice’, ‘the making of language and mythology are related functions’. In the 1930s, Tolkien composed and delivered two lectures, in which he explored these two key elements of his sub-creative methodology. The second of these, the seminal Andrew Lang Lecture for 1938–9, ‘On Fairy-Stories’, which he delivered at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, is well known. But many years before, in 1931, Tolkien gave a talk to a literary society entitled ‘A Hobby for the Home’, where he unveiled for the first time to a listening public the art that he had both himself encountered and been involved with since his earliest childhood: ‘the construction of imaginary languages in full or outline for amusement’. This talk would be edited by Christopher Tolkien for inclusion as ‘A Secret Vice’ in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays and serves as the principal exposition of Tolkien’s art of inventing languages. This new critical edition, which includes previously unpublished notes and drafts by Tolkien connected with the essay, including his ‘Essay on Phonetic Symbolism’, goes some way towards re-opening the debate on the importance of linguistic invention in Tolkien’s mythology and the role of imaginary languages in fantasy literature.
The Children Of Húrin
One of the three 'Great Tales' of the Elder Days, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Children of Húrin takes place in Middle-earth thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.The Children of Húrin is the first complete book by Tolkien since the 1977 publication of The Silmarillion. Six thousand years before the One Ring is destroyed, Middle-earth lies under the shadow of the Dark Lord Morgoth. The greatest warriors among elves and men have perished, and all is in darkness and despair. But a deadly new leader rises, Túrin, son of Húrin, and with his grim band of outlaws begins to turn the tide in the war for Middle-earth—awaiting the day he confronts his destiny and the deadly curse laid upon him.
The Fall Of Arthur
New York Times bestseller “An incomplete but highly compelling retelling . . . An action-packed, doom-haunted saga, full of vivid natural description.”—New York Times Book ReviewThe Fall of Arthur recounts in verse the last campaign of King Arthur, who, even as he stands at the threshold of Mirkwood, is summoned back to Britain by news of the treachery of Mordred. Already weakened in spirit by Guinevere’s infidelity with the now-exiled Lancelot, Arthur must rouse his knights to battle one last time against Mordred’s rebels and foreign mercenaries. Powerful, passionate, and filled with vivid imagery, this unfinished poem reveals Tolkien’s gift for storytelling at its brilliant best. Christopher Tolkien, editor, contributes three illuminating essays that explore the literary world of King Arthur, reveal the deeper meaning of the verses and the painstaking work his father applied to bring the poem to a finished form, and investigate the intriguing links between The Fall of Arthur and Tolkien’s Middle-earth.“Compelling in pace, haunted by loss, it lives up to expectations.”—Daily Beast“Erudite and beautiful.” – NPR.org
The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Volume 3: Reader’s Guide PART 2
Volume 2 of the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien’s life and works ever published. This volume includes a superlative day-by-day chronology of Tolkien’s life, presenting the most detailed biographical record available.The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide is a comprehensive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the twentieth century.One of two volumes comprising this definitive work, the Reader's Guide is an indispensable introduction to J. R. R. Tolkien's life, writings, and art. It includes histories and discussions of his works; analyses of the components of his vast 'Silmarillion' mythology; brief biographies of persons important in his life; accounts of places he knew; essays on topics such as Tolkien's interests and attitudes towards contemporary issues, ideas found in his works, adaptations, and invented languages; and checklists of his published works, his poetry, his pictorial art, and translations of his writings.
The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Volume 1: Chronology
Volume 1 of the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien’s life and works ever published, including synopses of all his writings, and a Tolkien gazetteer and who’s who. The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide is a comprehensive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the twentieth century. One of two volumes comprising this definitive work, the Chronology traces J.R.R. Tolkien's progress from his birth in South Africa in 1892, to the battlefields of France and the lecture-halls of Leeds and Oxford, to his success as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, until his death in 1973. It is the most extensive biographical resource about Tolkien ever published. Thousands of details have been drawn from letters, contemporary documents in libraries and archives, and a wide variety of other published and unpublished sources. Assembled together, they form a revealing portrait of Tolkien in all his aspects: the distinguished scholar of Old and Middle English, the capable teacher and administrator, the devoted husband and father, the brilliant creator of Middle-earth.
The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Volume 2: Reader’s Guide PART 1
Volume 2 of the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien’s life and works ever published. This volume includes a superlative day-by-day chronology of Tolkien’s life, presenting the most detailed biographical record available.The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide is a comprehensive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the twentieth century.One of two volumes comprising this definitive work, the Reader's Guide is an indispensable introduction to J. R. R. Tolkien's life, writings, and art. It includes histories and discussions of his works; analyses of the components of his vast 'Silmarillion' mythology; brief biographies of persons important in his life; accounts of places he knew; essays on topics such as Tolkien's interests and attitudes towards contemporary issues, ideas found in his works, adaptations, and invented languages; and checklists of his published works, his poetry, his pictorial art, and translations of his writings.
Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! (Manga) Vol. 2
Reborn into a universe much like his favorite game, Stella Online, Hiro wants nothing more than to retire planetside. To turn that dream into reality, he's been working as a space mercenary and making some serious bank. With a fat wallet, a beautiful girl by his side, and a poor little space elf as first mate, it seems like smooth sailing ahead. That is, until he's caught in a conflict between the Grakkan Empire and the Belbellum Federation! Join Hiro and his crew as they push his beloved, overpowered, starship to its limits in an epic galactic war!
Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! (Manga) Vol. 1
When I woke up, I found myself in outer space—and in a universe like the one in my favorite game. "With my beloved, ultra-specced-out ship, I can make a ton of money as a mercenary and live out my days on some cozy planet!" At least that's what I thought, until this beautiful babe with mountains of debt stumbled into my arms! A space fantasy like you've never experienced before! Join Satou Takahiro and his crew of hotties on an overpowered starship as they speed through a strange new universe, seeking adventure!
I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! (Manga) Vol. 4
Lord Liam's time on the Razel Estate has been mostly busywork and manual labor. What a waste of time! Liam has found one good thing in the drudgery--his roommate Kurt is a fellow Evil Overlord. But Kurt isn't living up to his full potential. Some suggestions here and tutelage there will change that. Together the two can make an unbreakable bond of wickedness!
Rebuild World (Manga) Volume 7
After surviving a surprise attack, Akira has the man behind it dead to rights—but explaining the situation to his fellow hunters won’t be easy. When Reina and Shiori arrive on the scene, they only see the young hunter pointing his rifle at an injured man. Accusations fly, and in the confusion, his wily cyborg opponent takes Reina hostage. Caving to the thief’s demands means certain death—but if Akira refuses, he’ll be turning his back on the people he fought side-by-side with just yesterday. And since Shiori would never abandon her beloved “Miss Reina,” she’ll become his enemy too. Can the ghostly Alpha’s support see him through before her superhuman maneuvers wreck his body—or before the thief’s accomplices show up?
I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! (Light Novel) Vol. 8
Finished with his disappearing act, Liam goes back to training on the Capital Planet. But the Guide is planning his next move, and enemies are declaring war on the Empire! As that clash unfolds, Liam gets his marching orders: he'll serve as magistrate for a frontline planet. There, he needs to hold down the fort--while playing out all the "corrupt magistrate" fantasies he can dream up!
Rebuild World (Manga) Volume 6
It’s Akira’s first day on the job in an underground labyrinth crawling with giant scorpions, and his supervisors just ordered him to hold the line against a fresh incursion. Not even his newly upgraded arsenal will suffice to fend off this relentless assault from all sides. His survival rests on his ability to work with two of his fellow relic hunters, the temperamental Reina and her overprotective chaperone Shiori. But Akira doesn’t work well with others at the best of times, and his last encounter with both women nearly ended in a shoot-out. Can he learn to work as part of a team and overcome the unexpected perils of his biggest job yet?