Having finally found the time to read Arda Reconstructed in its entirety, I find that I must now update my list of the most Essential works in my Middle Earth reference library as follows:
The History of Middle Earth 1-12 ~ Christopher Tolkien
The Letters of JRR Tolkien ~ Humphrey Carpenter & Christopher Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide ~ Wayne Hammond & Christina Scull
Arda Reconstructed ~ Douglas Kane
The Annotated Hobbit ~ Douglas A. Anderson
The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ~ Wayne Hammond & Christina Scull
The Atlas of Middle-Earth ~ Karen Wynn Fonstad
The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth ~ Robert Foster
Essential Tolkien
- Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46456
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
- Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46456
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
They are very different books, so they complement each other rather than compete with each other. I found both of them to be top-notch for what they did. I'll be interested to hear your opinion of Doug's efforts.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Well I finished reading it and I'd have to disagree. I think there's absolutely no reason to read The Annotated Hobbit if you have History of the Hobbit. Apart from the format of notes sprinkled round the text of the novel, which I despise, its also inconsistent. Sometimes a note refers to a notation number from the previous page, or earlier, depending on how long the previous note was. Sometimes the explanations are in the margins, while other times they take up the space normally used for the text. Pictures seem to follow no rules at all in their placement. All in all it's a copy of the Hobbit, cluttered up with distracting trivia.
The History of the Hobbit suits me far better, with two separate books detailing the changes and influences, and then the final novel to see where they led. Its far more readable and immensely more satisfying.
The History of the Hobbit suits me far better, with two separate books detailing the changes and influences, and then the final novel to see where they led. Its far more readable and immensely more satisfying.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
- Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46456
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
- Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46456
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
That's a good point. I did read The Annotated Hobbit well before The History of the Hobbit came out, and so it is certainly possible that had that been reversed, my reaction would have been more similar to yours. And I do agree that the layout of the book is difficult to follow, at times. But I still found it chock full of fascinating information of a different sort that that contained in Rateliff's book (which by the way, is being re-released as a single volume), and so I still would recommend. On the other hand, if someone asked me which of the two I would recommend getting if they only wanted to get one, I would say The History of the Hobbit.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."