OT - The Lord of the Rings, revisited.
Well, I just finished the 3rd book, again. I'm not going to put any major spoilers in, just a minor one to whet your appetite with lots of warning (and space) if you don't want to read it, it really doesn't give anything away.
I'm going to try not to ramble, I'm only active in one or two forums but I feel like making a recommendation:
Read the books. If you read them over 10 years ago, especially if you, like me, were a teenager, do yourself a huge favor and read the books.
As an adult, with a bit more patience, it is AMAZING how much I missed. Banter, scenery, emotion. I read the books 3 times all the way through as a teenager but now, in my mid thirtys, there is so much more that I just didn't pick up on.
If you never read them but liked the movie, start with the second book, I wouldn't want you to get distracted reading what you already saw and stop before the second book.
If you saw the "cartoon"... for GOD'S sake don't bring it up to me, it makes my left eye twitch when people talk about it and say things like: "The Lord of the Rings? Oh yea, I saw that cartoon." *must control fist of death*
You will like the books better than the next two movies. If you see the movies without reading the books, you may never and you will be missing the best fantasy books ever written.
The second book will be hard to start because he uses "old english" heavily. But before the middle of the second book you understand it well and don't notice any more.
The character development is incredible. the converstations are... for lack of a better word, uplifting. There are scenes where I forgot to breathe for paragraphs at a time, and I had to put the third book down on the plane (the seige of Minas Tirith), because I was going to start crying like a baby...
If you want to escape, there is no better book to escape too. Read it slowly, don't rush.
The first movie was AWESOME but they had to leave out so much. The third book especially, will be missing SO much in the movie, the only way they could get it all is make it 6 hours long. Don't rob yourself, take it all, read the books, be uplifted.
Minor spoiler regarding the Lord of the Nazgul, I'll stop just before I reveal anything, the part that this is the beginning of, is the BEST 4 pages in all 3 books. When you get to these paragraphs in the book, take a deep breath..... you might need it.
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Upon it sat a shape, black-mantled, huge and threatening. A crown of steel he bore, but between rim and robe naught was there to see, save only a deadly gleam of eyes: the Lord of the Nazul. To the air he had returned, summoning his steed ere the darkness failed, and now he was come again, bringing ruin, turning hope to despair, and victory to death. A great black mace he weilded.
But Theoden was not utterly forsaken. The knights of his house lay slain about him, or else mastered by the madness of their steeds were borne far away. The one stood there still: Dernhelm the young, faithful beyond fear; and he wept, for he had loved his lord as a father. Right through the charge Merry had been borne unharmed behind him, until the Shadow came; and then Windfola had thrown them in his terror, and now ran wild upon the plain. Merry crawled on all fours like a dazed beast, and such a horror was on him that he was blind and sick.
'King's man! King's man!' his heart cried within him. 'You must stay by him. As a father you shall be to me, you said'. But his will made no answer, and his body shook. He dared not open his eyes or look up.
Then out of the blackness in his mind he thought that he heard Dernhelm speaking; yet now the voice seemed strange, recalling some other voice that he had known.
'Begon, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!'
A cold voice answered: 'Come not between the Nazgul and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of Lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.'
A sword rang as it was drawn. 'Do what you will; but I will hinder it if I may.'
'Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!'
[ 23 April 2002: Message edited by: Iron Giant ]
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