The Heretic Loremaster » Tolkien

Good, Evil, and Arda

Before I begin, I really should explain what posts categorized in “The Crackpot” are, since they’re different than the posts that I usually write. As is, I hope, fairly evident, most of my posts here are researched somewhat (some are researched extensively, like the current in-progress series on the depiction of Maglor’s character by the [...]

If I Could Scratch Five Words from the Fannish Lexicon …

Hey, we all have those words and terms for which we bear an illogical (or maybe not-so-illogical …) loathing. Here are my fannish five.
(I should add that this list is relevant to the Silmarillion fandom, perhaps the broader Tolkien fandom in places, but they are hardly representative of Fandom as a Whole, if there is [...]

On the “New” Book by J.R.R. Tolkien

So, as many have doubtlessly heard by now, the Tolkien Estate is yet again publishing some of the Great Dead Professors’ writings. This time, it is The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, a Norse epic in verse.
You know, I may be committing a mortal sin as a Tolkien fan in acknowledging this publicly, but when [...]

When Questions of Canon Should Be Questions of Writing

On one of the Tolkien discussion lists I’m on, the perennial question about Maedhros and Thangorodrim was posed: What does JRRT tell us about how Maedhros survived up there for so long?
The answer to that question is simple: JRRT doesn’t. At least, not in any of the books published during his lifetime or posthumously to [...]

Rethinking Mary Sue

Maeglin the iPod died on my way to work today, so I was left alone with my thoughts for the whole of the hour-plus-long drive home. Amid the maelstrom of my thoughts on mythology and women and Tolkien and feminist revision (related to an end-of-term research paper due this weekend), I got to thinking about [...]

From Canon to AU: Defining Canon on a Continuum

My last post on whether or not Maedhros threatening to kill Elrond and Elros was canonical has generated a lot of wonderfully thought-provoking comments. Not surprisingly, many of these have been about canon: what it is, how it is defined, and at what point to we pass from “canon” to “AU.” This is a matter [...]

Take Pity upon Him: Did Maedhros Really Threaten to Kill Elrond and Elros at the Third Kinslaying?

The other day, I was reading a story about Maedhros and Maglor during the attack on the settlement at Sirion. Maedhros and Maglor search for the Silmaril. Together, they burst into a room and find not the jewel but the twin sons of Eärendil, Elrond and Elros. The twins try to defend themselves but they [...]

“Oop! A Metaphor!” … or Accidental Allegories That Aren’t

This is the second part of a continuing series on Tolkien and allegory. Part 1 can be found here.

A lot of times, when people talk about allegory and Tolkien, I suspect they are talking about something different from how I see allegory and probably how Tolkien saw it too. To be fair, even the experts [...]

Tolkien, Allegory, and the Maddening Perseverance of Denial

I am currently taking a course on modern epic fantasy literature and, of course, the core of it is a study of Tolkien. This week’s topic is allegory in Tolkien’s works: Is there or isn’t there?
The course has been pretty tame so far, mostly looking at the literary influences on Tolkien’s work, his biography, and [...]