Tales from the Perilous Realm

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Derek Jacobi (Reader)

The definitive collection of Tolkien's four acclaimed modern classic fairy tales. The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are finally together in a volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for readers young and old. / Roverandom is a toy dog who, enchanted by a sand sorcerer, gets to explore the world and encounter strange and fabulous creatures. / Farmer Giles of Ham is fat and unheroic, but - having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant - is called upon to do battle when a dragon comes to town; / The Adventures of Tom Bombadil tells in verse of Tom's many adventures with hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls; / Leaf by Niggle recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle who sets out to paint the perfect tree; / Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the Land of Faery thanks to the magical ingredients of the Great Cake of the Feast of Good Children. This new collection is fully illustrated throughout by Oscar-winning artist, Alan Lee, who provides a wealth of pencil drawings to bring the stories to life as he did so memorably for The Hobbit and The Children of Hurin. Alan also provides an Afterword, in which he opens the door into illustrating Tolkien's world. World-renowned Tolkien author and expert, Tom Shippey, takes the reader through the hidden links in the tales to Tolkien's Middle-earth in his Introduction, and recounts their history and themes. Lastly, included as an appendix is Tolkien's most famous essay, "On Fairy-stories", in which he brilliantly discusses fairy-stories and their relationship to fantasy. Taken together, this rich collection of new and unknown work from the author of The Children of Hurin will provide the reader with a fascinating journey into lands as wild and strange as Middle-earth.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Poetry, High Fantasy, Adventure

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.

Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.

Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.

Reviews

[Sean Barrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tolkien is often remembered for his vast fantasy worlds but he also wrote simple things, shorter works more in touch with the humorous themes of The Hobbit rather than the sense of darkness that permeates The Lord of the Rings. I’ve been reading through them again lately and they can all be found in this edition that collects the main ones together.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil is such an enigma. I mean who exactly is he? Some Tolkien fans would argue that he is Eru, the creator of all life within Tolkien’s Middle Earth, though I think somewhat differently. He breaks any sense of definition with his odd existence: he simply is. We can’t say for a certainty either way, but we do know that Tolkien wanted him to remain somewhat mysterious and beyond the realms of categorisation. I don’t think Tolkien quite knew what he wanted him to be. So that’s how I treat him.

He appears briefly in The Lord of the Rings, saving Frodo from the barrow wight, and spends most of the time singing in odd verses about himself. In this book the Hobbit poet captures his image:

Old Tom Bombadil was a merry fellow;
Bright blue his jacket was and his boots were yellow
Green were his girdle and his breeches all of leather,
He wore in his hat a swan-wing feather.
He lived up under Hill, where the Withyywindle
Ran from a grassy well down into the dingle.

Bombadil leads an odd, somewhat quaint, existence. His behaviour is equated with the natural world; he wonders in fields and exists among the trees. Perhaps his character, at least on the surface, is a simple version of man: a man who remains untroubled by the problems of the world and is just happy to spend his days singing, frolicking and remaining a complete mystery.

However, I don’t feel like the title of this is overly appropriate. If anything, it is very misleading. Only two of the poems actually focus on Bombadil, the rest talk about all manner of random things Middle Earth related. So we have two Bombadil adventures, followed by twelve other poems that address things from Cats to Oliphaunts. Then there’s one that’s rumoured to have been written by Frodo himself, describing a vague dream he had about his experience with the ring.

I find it truly hilarious that Tolkien effectively has a counter for any criticisms of weak poems within this book. In the preface, he says that this book was written by Hobbits. Their rhyming structures and metre are a watered down version of Elvish poetry; thus, any remarks about the weakness of such writing can be aimed at the limitations of Hobbit verse. He side-steps the negative reactions with such a statement, and it’s incredibly ironic and self-preserving. It made me laugh. So this book is a construct of Hobbit writing, and, once again, Tolkien gives his world more foundation.

It's a fun collection of verses, but by no means anything remarkable in Tolkien’s world. The scholarship that has gone into my edition is of a very good standard, it tells the history of this book’s publication. And if you are interested in reading this book, I do recommend this edition edited by Scull and Hammond. Other than that, I’d say that this one is likely to appeal more to the serious Tolkien enthusiast rather than the casual fan.

Farmer Giles of Ham

This is a great little tale full of bravery, heroism and Tolkien’s ever so subtle humour.

Farmer Giles saves his farm and, as a consequence, the local village from a rampaging giant. This earns him a fierce reputation for heroism; thus, he is rewarded by the King with a rather glamourous sword. The King, believing this to be a mere ceremonial weapon, parts with the blade gladly. It turns out that the sword is actually Tailbiter, an ancient weapon that carries a powerful enchantment. Indeed, it cannot physically be sheathed when in close proximity to a dragon.

Can you guess what happens next?

A dragon appears! Bet you didn’t see that coming. He attacks the surrounding villages and there is little anyone can do to stop him. Naturally Farmer Giles is called upon for help, though he is very reluctant. He is old and who actually wants to fight dragons? His only act of heroism was defence of his own land, this is a different situation. He fears he may not be up to the task. But nonetheless due to the constant pestering of the villages, he resolves himself and hunts down the dragon. He opts to take a more tactical approach that the strutting knights of the realm:

“Well,” said Giles,” if it is you notion to go dragon hunting jingling and dinging like Canterbury Bells it ain’t mine. It don’t seem sense to me to let a dragon to let a dragon know that you are coming along the road sooner than need be.”



Giles has an interesting way of dealing with his problems. Instead of taking the predicted direction, the hack and slash route, he chooses a more careful approach. This in its self is a much more logical solution and leaves the tale going into unexpected directions. Instead of slaying the dragon he makes a deal with him and after forcing the dragon to complete his end of the bargain, they become unlikely friends. The dragon is bound to his service out of a respect for Giles and a fear of his sword. Trouble strikes when the King of the realm hears of the treasure Giles has taken for himself. He wants it for the crown, but why should Giles give his hard earned treasure away? He’s now friends with a dragon. Not much the King can do.

So this was a fun tale; it’s definitely aimed at a younger audience, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The ending was great, I do wish Tolkien has picked a more orginal name though for his hero.

Smith of Wooten Major

This tale is magical and enchanting but for me it seemed incomplete. Well, a little unresolved. A young boy gets to enter the wonderful world of Fay; he is chosen especially for it, but when he gets there he doesn’t do a great deal. I mean, talk about a wasted opportunity! I would have done so much more over there.

Every twenty-four years Wootton Major has a massive celebration feast. As per tradition, a giant cake is baked. In it is placed a star by an anonymous trickster. The star allows the person to enter the realm of Fay, a boon by all accounts. On entering the realm, and experiencing the power of it, the lucky person must then return home with the star for another child to be given the gift in another twenty-four years. To me it sounds like a fantastic opportunity. Imagine living in a dull boring world, not that hard to imagine really, and then you are given a little ticket to somewhere much better.

It’s a very simple story, one that avoids all dark themes. There are no cunning dragons or evil dark lords; instead we have the world of Fay. Sure there are some dangers involved in crossing the border, but I think all those that have the opportunity to cross it would overlook such peril in the face of such a chance. The story is written in Tolkien’s usual mastery of tone, but for me it needed something else. It needed a stronger sense of purpose and perhaps a greater point to it. This is far from Tolkien at his best. It's still worth a read though for enthusiasts of his writing.

For that he was grateful, for he soon became wise and understood that the marvels of Faery cannot be approached without danger, and that many of the Evils cannot be challenged without weapons of power too great for any mortal to wield. He remained a learner and explorer, not a warrior; and though in time he could have forged weapons that in his own world would have had power enough to become the matter of great tales and be worth a king's ransom, he knew that in Faery they would have been of small account. So among all the things that he made it is not remembered that he ever forged a sword or a spear or an arrow-head."



Roverandom

This is a fantastically childish book that is thoroughly charming; it really captures the essence of Tolkien’s softer themes and humour. Not everything has to be constantly dark and foreboding for his writing to be successful. This is simple, imaginative and a good little bit of fun.

The tale is quaint and fairly short in which a dog, initially named Rover, is turned into a toy as an act of revenge because he bit a mean old sand sorcerer. Some people really are that petty. This leads to a series of events in which the toy is washed up on a beach, learns to fly and finally ends up in the company of the Man in the Moon.

However, the Man in the Moon already has a dog named Rover; thus, he dubs the toy Roverandom. He temporarily grants him wings resulting in him and the other Rover being chased by a Dragon during one of their flights. A friendship blossoms between the two Rovers, though eventually Rover seeks to be a normal dog once more. He wants to go back to his normal life. And the only person who can reverse the magic is the one who cast it in the first place, but wizards are always tricky: he won’t simply do it for nothing.

The thing I enjoyed most about this story is learning about where it came from. Tolkien’s son lost his precious toy, so Tolkien wrote this story about what could have happened to it and where it might of gone after he lost it. Doesn’t he sound like a wonderful farther?

“I did nothing but run away from the time I was a puppy, and I kept on running and roving until one fine morning - a very fine morning, with the sun in my eyes - I fell over the world's edge chasing a butterfly.”

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely collection of short stories by J.R.R. Tolkien. Great audio by Derek Jacobi. #theliterarylifepodcast #20for2020reads #shortstories

5 Stars for Farmer Giles and Leaf by Niggle

5 stars for the audio

[Magrat Ajostiernos · Rating 4 out of 5]

No sé porqué he tardado tanto en leer estos relatos, quizás porque no esperaba gran cosa de ellos pero me he llevado una buena sorpresa. Me ha gustado MUCHÍSIMO 'El Herrero de Wootton Mayor', 'Hoja de Niggle' también es una preciosidad, y 'Las aventuras de Tom Bombadil' (aunque en verso) son un complemento perfecto para leer tras 'El señor de los anillos'.
Los otros dos relatos me parecieron simplemente entretenidos pero todos tienen algo de original y único que solo Tolkien podía crear

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Но веднъж остана Том и сломен, и поразен,
Златоронка щом видя, мила, прелестна мома.
Русокоса, в плащ зелен, на брега приседна
и запя със меден глас песен сладка, древна.“


Откакто се помня, обожавам да чета приказни истории! Страстта ми към детските приказки съвсем естествено и неусетно се пренесе с времето към жанровете фентъзи и научна фантастика... Тези крепости на въображението не само, че не са „несериозни глупости за деца“, а напротив - хора от всякаква възраст имат възможност да (пре)откриват в тях морални ценности и поуки, както и събудят в себе си интерес към науките, търсейки вътрешна логика в алтернативни книжни светове.

Професор Джон Толкин задълбочено разсъждава върху темата за въображението в своето прекрасно есе (лекция), наречено „За вълшебните приказки“! Той брилянтно защитава нуждата от фантазия, представяйки академично, но и на разбираем език нейните произход, същност и смисъл... Въпросното есе е излязло на български за пръв път в сборника „Пет фентъзи разказа“. Освен в него, читателите могат да се потопят и в петте приказни истории, които са изключително приятни и интересни! Една от тях е в стихотворна форма и разказва приключенията на много любим за мен персонаж - старият и славен Том Бомбадил...




„Фантазията се стреми към елфическото умение, към Очарованието, и когато постига успех, се приближава по-плътно до него, отколкото всяко друго човешко изкуство. В центъра на много чо��ешки истории за елфите лежи открит или прикрит, чист или разреден копнежът за живо, осъществено изкуство на вторичното творчество, което (колкото и да му прилича по външни черти) вътрешно се различава изцяло от алчността за егоцентрична власт, която е белег на обикновения Магьосник. До голяма степен точно от този копнеж са създадени най-добрите (и все пак опасни) елфи; и от тях можем да научим какво е главното желание и упование на човешката Фантазия — дори ако (или тъкмо защото) елфите са само плод на самата Фантазия. Този творчески копнеж може само да бъде унищожен от имитациите — независимо дали става дума за невинните, но недодялани измислици на човека драматург, или за злонамерените измами на магьосниците. В нашия свят този човешки копнеж е неутолим и поради това безсмъртен. В чистия си вид той не се стреми нито към измама, нито към чародейство и подчинение; той не търси роби, а споделено обогатяване, партньорство в творчеството и радостта.“

[Marcos GM · Rating 3 out of 5]

[ESP/ENG]

Esta reseña va a ser diferente, puesto que comentaré un poco de cada historia por separado, después de poner un poco en situación. Este libro recoge 5 historias breves de Tolkien, algunas publicadas anteriormente, otras inéditas para el libro. Pero todas tratan sobre lo mismo: El mundo de las hadas y la magia feérica. Estos relatos son bastante más sencillos en su elaboración que el archiconocido universo de Eä, Arda o la Tiera media, aunque no por ello menos elaborados. La capacidad de Tolkien para inventar mundos e historias es fascinante. Y no puedo olvidar el increible arte de Alan Lee, una pequeña muestra de cada historia debajo de estas.

Roverandom: Un perrito está jugando cuando se enfada con un señor que pasaba por allí, y le rompe el pantalón. Este señor, a la sazón un mago de gran poder y un pelín rencoroso, le convierte en un perrito de juguete, que por avatares de la vida acaba en el bolsillo de un niño. El niño pierde al perrito en una playa, y la historia nos cuenta los viajes del perrito Rover en busca de volver a su hogar.
Aquí tendremos un viaje de lo más surrealista yendo a sitios como la cara luminosa de la luna, donde vive El hombre de la luna, o el fondo del mar. Un relato con un marcado toque infantil, con elementos interesantes (El hombre de la luna, o los magos, e incluso La serpiente de mar), que parten de un hecho real y cómo un padre intenta animar a su hijo (en efecto, Michael Tolkien perdió un juguete de un perrito y esta es la forma de su padre de ayudarle a animarse)



Egidio, el granjero de Ham: Nos vamos ahora a una aventura caballeresca de las clásicas, pero con una vuelta de humor, no humor de reírse, sino más bien satírico, con mucha retranca. Ægidius Ahenobarbi Julii Agricole de Hammo, más conocido como Egidio el grangero de Ham se encuentra un día con un gigante en sus tierras. Armado de su trabuco (y un tanto de suerte) lo espanta, por lo que se convierte en una celebridad, e incluso el rey le manda una espada de regalo. Cuando un dragón llega a Ham le instan de nuevo a salir a su encuentro, y armado con la espada (mágica) y un tanto de suerte lo espanta también. Así el rey le envía a una aventura con su caballeros...y como acaba todo. Un relato divertido, en el que podemos encontrar elementos que nos suenan de otras historias del género, pero muy bien escrito.



Las aventuras de Tom Bobadil

Aquí encontramos una serie de poemas que tratan sobre Tom Bombadil (solo dos de ellos) y otros que tienen que ver en su mayoría con La Comarca o historias de la Tierra media. La parte menos buena del libro sin duda, es una mezcla poco atractiva.



El herrero de Wootton Mayor

Este me deja un poco descolocado, no ha sido mala lectura pero durante gran parte del relato no sabía muy bien qué quería contar. En el pueblecito de Wooton mayor, más grande que Wooton menor pero sin ser nada grande, hay un puesto muy relevante, el de cocinero Mayor. Éste prepara comidas para las fiestas, entre ellas La tarta de los veinticuatro, una celebración especial con una tarta espectacular. Cuando el cocinero se retira, deja su puesto a un ayudante, Alf, pero el pueblo elige a otro. En esa tarta acaba una estrella aparentemente mágica, que le cae en suerte al hijo del herrero, que posteriormente será El herrero de Wooton mayor. Esta historia tiene un giro muy bueno, pero en su mayoría no sucede mucho.



Hoja de Niggle

El pintor Niggle vive volcado en su obra, que empezó siendo una hoja de árbol (preciosa, eso sí) y que creció y creció incorporando elementos adicionales: a la hoja una rama, a la rama un árbol, al árbol un prado, un lago y unas montañas de fondo...
Un día debe emprender un viaje, que ha ido posponiendo, y...spoilers.
Esta obra parece ser en algunos elementos autobiográfica del propio Tolkien, que empezó un relato al que fue añadiendo cosas e historias adicionales que acabaría desembocando en su famosa saga de Beleriand y la Tierra media, y que cómo Niggle, nunca dejó de cambiar y añadir.



Al final viene un ensayo que Tolkien escribió llamado "Sobre el mundo de las hadas", en el que elucubra sobre el trato dado a este género en general, que no está mal, pero que llegando al final se puede hacer un poquito pesado. Pero sirve para ver lo que el autor pensaba de las personas que calificaban esta literatura como obras para niños, entre otras cosas.

Unos relatos muy variados, que permiten ver a Tolkien en otro ámbito que no fuese la Tierra media, acompañados de unas ilustraciones fantásticas.


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This review is going to be different, since I will comment a little on each story separately. This book collects 5 Tolkien short stories, some previously published, others unpublished for the book. But they are all about the same thing: The world of fairies and fairy magic. These stories are much simpler in their elaboration than the well-known universe of Eä, Arda or the Middle Earth, although no less elaborate for that. Tolkien's ability to create worlds and stories is fascinating. And I can't forget the amazing art by Alan Lee, a small sample of each story below these.

Roverandom : A puppy is playing when he gets angry with a man who was passing by, and rips his pants. This gentleman, at the time a magician of great power and a bit spiteful, turns him into a toy puppy, which due to the vicissitudes of life ends up in the pocket of a child. The boy loses the puppy on a beach, and the story tells us about the travels of the puppy (Rover) trying to return to his home.
Here we will have a most surreal trip going to places like the luminous face of the moon, where The Man of the Moon lives, or the bottom of the sea. A story with a strong childish touch, with interesting elements (The Man of the Moon, or the magicians, and even The Sea Serpent), which is based on a real event and how a father tries to cheer up his son (that's right, Michael Tolkien lost a puppy toy and this is his father's way of helping him cheer up)



Giles, farmer of Ham: We are now going on a chivalric adventure with a classic taste, but with a humorous twist, not the humor of laughing, but rather satirical, with a lot of restraint. Ægidius Ahenobarbi Julii Agricole de Hammo, better known as Giles farmer of Ham one day meets a giant in his land. Armed with his firearm (and a bit of luck) he scares him away, so he becomes a celebrity, and even the king sends him a gift sword. When a dragon comes to Ham they urge him again to go out to meet it, and armed with the (magical) sword and a bit of luck he scares it away too. So the king sends him on an adventure with his knights... and more would be spoilers. A funny story, in which we can find elements that sound familiar to us from other stories of the genre, but very well written.



The Adventures of Tom Bobadil

Here we find a series of poems that deal with Tom Bombadil (only two of them) and others that have to do mostly with The Shire or Middle Earth stories. The least good part of the book, without a doubt, is an unappealing mix.



Smith of Wootton major

This leaves me a little confused, it has not been a bad read but for much of the story I did not know very well what it was telling. In the small town of Wooton Major, bigger than Wooton Minor but not big at all, there is a very important position, that of Master Cook. He prepares food for the holidays, including the Feast of Good Children, a special celebration with a spectacular cake. When the cook retires, he leaves his place to an apprentice, Alf, but the town chooses another instead. In that cake ends up an apparently magical star, which falls in luck to the blacksmith's son, who will later be The Smith of Wooton major. This story has a very cool twist, but mostly nothing much happens.



Leaf by Niggle

The painter Niggle lives devoted to his work, which began as a tree leaf (beautiful, yes) and which grew and grew incorporating additional elements: a branch to the leaf, a tree to the branch, a meadow to the tree, a lake and some mountains in the background...
One day he must go on a journey, which he has been postponing, and... spoilers.
This work seems to be some sort of autobiographical about Tolkien himself, who began a story to which he was adding additional things and stories that would end up leading to his famous saga of Beleriand and Middle Earth, and like Niggle, he never stopped changing and adding.



At the end comes an essay that Tolkien wrote called "On Fairy-stories", in which he wonders about the treatment given to this genre in general, which is not bad, but when it comes to the end it can get a little heavy. But it serves to see what the author thought of the people who qualified this literature as works for children, among other things.

Some very varied stories, which allow us to see Tolkien in another area that was not Middle-earth, accompanied by some fantastic illustrations.

[Coco · Rating 4 out of 5]

4✨


La verdad es que este autor me llama especialmente la atención, de tal manera que me gustaría leer todo lo ha escrito.

Este libro no está totalmente basado en suimaginarium del Señor de los Anillos, pero sí que tiene algunos escritos con algo de conexión. Hoy voy a hablar individualmente de los relatos/cuentos que os encontraréis en este ejemplar:

-Roverandom:
Cuenta la historia de un perro de juguete que se convierte en uno de verdad y vive maravillas por la Luna, bajo el mar, conoce a magos poderosos y a otros dos perros llamados como él. No me maravilló especialmente y la verdad es fue el que menos me gustó. Es cierto que fue escrito para niños (está basado en una vivencia real con su hijo) y tal vez eso tenga que ver.

-Egidio, el granjero de Ham:
Este me pareció más curioso. Está ambientado en otra realidad, que podría ser fácilmente algún paraje de Númenor. El granjero se convierte sin quererlo en el salvador de su aldea, y verá las implicaciones de que su renombre crezca. Sin embargo, no me convenció mucho la parte del dragón.

-Las aventuras de Tom Bombadil:
En esta sección nos encontramos distintas poesías que escribió Tolkien. Algunas fueron sacadas/inspiradas en el mundo de LOTR.

-El Herrero de Wotton Mayor:
Trata sobre un herrero que consigue un pase para el País de la Fantasía y cómo vive y madura con todas sus aventuras. Para mí, está a la altura del de Egidio: curioso, con transfondo y entretenido.

-Hoja de Niggle:
Este fue mi favorito, pero más por lo que representa y la alegoría con Tolkien: cómo a través de una hoja va ampliando el cuadro (a través de un relato/cuento va ampliando su mundo).

Por último, nos encontramos con un ensayo sobe los cuentos de hadas. Ya sabéis que Tolkien era un erudito, profesor de universidad y experto en folklore y cuentos tradicionales. Este ensayo me pareció muy interesante y esclarecedor, aunque había puntos con los que no estaba de acuerdo.

🍁 ¡Y eso es todo por hoy! ¿Ya sabías que Tolkien tenía otros escritos? Te ha llamado la atención?

[Jason Koivu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of Tolkien's shorter works (Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf By Niggle, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Smith of Wootton Major) rely on England's "tales of yore" and its faery-filled past.

Though not what he is remembered for, they are intriguing reads. Their whimsical nature echos the more fanciful scenes in The Hobbit, but beyond that - and obviously the inclusion of Bombadil in Fellowship - there is little resemblance to these short works and his epics. (For something in the middle, one might try Tolkien's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.)

No, the depth, the thrill and (for better or worse) the gravitas of LotR and The Silmarillion is lacking here. And fans of his Middle Earth world will be disappointed, little if any of this has to anything to do with that fantasy land. If you're looking for more ME, try something like the Unfinished Tales collection.

Still and all, these stories are enjoyable and should be read by Tolkien enthusiasts.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The English version can be found below. ⬇️
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German version:

Der Band ‚Geschichten aus dem gefährlichen Königreich‘ enthält eine kleine Auswahl von Tolkiens Fantasy- und Abenteuererzählungen und einige Gedichte:
- Bauer Giles: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
- Roverandom: 🌟 🌟
- Die Abenteuer des Tom Bombadil: 🌟 🌟 🌟
- Schmied von Großholzingen: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
- Blatt von Tüftler: 🌟 🌟 🌟

Außerdem: mit vielen wunderschönen Illustrationen von Alan Lee und einem kurzen aber interessanten Nachwort von ihm! 🫶
---
Bauer Giles: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
‚Bauer Giles von Ham‘ war wirklich ein schönes mittelalterliches Märe, das die Definition der mittelalterlichen Komik (bes. mhd. ‚witz‘, d.h. nhd. List) wirklich gut getroffen hat und auch die Doppelungen erinnern mich an ‚Erec‘/‚Iwein‘ von Hartmann von Aue oder ‚Heinrich von Kempten‘ von Konrad von Würzburg. Und das Hineinstolpern in die Handlung sehr an Parzivals (,Parzival‘ von Wolfram von Eschenbach) Anfangsphase😅 Die Erzählung ist von glücklichen Zufall getragen und lässt einen oft schmunzeln.
---
Roverandom: 🌟 🌟
‚Roverandom‘ erzählt eine sehr niedliche abenteuerliche Reise eines kleinen Hundes😊🖤🌝 Genau wie in ‚Bauer Giles‘ kommen hier Drachen und Hunde vor. Diese Geschichte richtet sich aber im Gegensatz zur ersten eher an Kinder und ist für meinen Geschmack etwas zu übertrieben bei den Abenteuern, man könnte auch sagen zu abgespacet – wortwörtlich 😅 Das -‚random‘ des Titels zeigt sich auch in den Geschehnissen 😅
---
Die Abenteuer des Tom Bombadil: 🌟 🌟 🌟
‚Die Abenteuer des Tom Bombadil‘ war die Geschichte bzw. das Gedicht, weswegen ich das Buch lesen wollte! ☺️ Ich bin daher leider etwas enttäuscht, denn ‚Die Abenteuer des Tom Bombadil‘ beschränkte sich auf ein Gedicht, was etwas irreführend ist (bzw. zwei, wenn der Tom im 2ten Gedicht identisch mit Tom B. ist, was zwar im Vorwort steht, ich aber die Sache mit der Verwandtschaft seltsam finde, wenn sie ernst gemeint ist, da Tom Bombadil ja eig. einen unklaren Ursprung hat🤔). Die anderen Gedichte hatten nicht direkt einen Bezug zu Tom, sind aber sprachlich schön gestaltet und zeigen winzige Facetten von Mittelerde. Neben ‚Die Abenteuer des Tom Bombadil‘ hat mir besonders gefallen: ‚Prinzessin Ich-Mi‘, ‚Die Muhlipps‘ und ‚Der Hort‘.

Das Vorwort hierzu war wirklich schön zu lesen mit Tolkiens fiktiver Einordnung in die Zeitalter Mittelerdes und den vermeintlichen Autoren und den Bezügen zu den Hobbits:)

Alle Gedichte haben ihre ganz eigene Note (wie im Vorwort durch ihrem Ursprung erklärt) und in der deutschen Übersetzung konnte man auch spüren, dass sich viel Mühe gegeben wurde beim Übersetzen der Gedichte, v.a. bei den Reimen.
---
Schmied von Großholzingen: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Eine schöne Geschichte von der Beziehung von Großherzingen und dem Elbenland! Hierin scheint der Märchencharakter deutlich durch, v.a. mit dem Belohnen der Guten.🌟 🍰☺️ 🫶
---
Blatt von Tüftler: 🌟 🌟 🌟
Die Frage nach dem Nutzen von Kunst ist hier zentral. Mich hat dieser Text am Ende etwas verwirrt, da nie aufgelöst wurde, wer die Stimme ist und wo genau sich alles befindet 😅 Den philosophischen bzw. gesellschaftskritischen Aspekt fand ich aber gut gelungen.
---
Allgemeine Anmerkung: Aus der Sache mit dem Mann im Mond, der mehrmals vorkommt, werde ich leider nicht schlau und finde es irgendwie seltsam 😅🌝
---
Gesamt: 3,8 🌟

----------
English version:

The volume ‘Tales from the Perilous Realm’ contains a small selection of Tolkien's fantasy and adventure stories and some poems:
- Farmer Giles of Ham: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
- Roverandom: 🌟 🌟
- The Adventures of Tom Bombadil: 🌟 🌟 🌟
- Smith of Wootton Major: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
- Leaf by Niggle: 🌟 🌟 🌟

Also: with many beautiful illustrations by Alan Lee and a short but interesting epilogue by him! 🫶
---
Farmer Giles: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
‘Farmer Giles of Ham’ was a really nice medieval tale that really hit the definition of medieval comedy (especially mhd. ‘witz’, i.e. nhd. trick, sophistication) and the doublings also remind me of ‘Erec’/‘Iwein’ by Hartmann von Aue or ‘Heinrich von Kempten’ by Konrad von Würzburg. And the stumbling into the plot is very reminiscent of Parzival's (by Wolfram von Eschenbach) initial phase😅 The narrative is based on happy coincidence and often makes you smile.
---
Roverandom: 🌟 🌟
‘Roverandom’ tells a very cute adventurous journey of a little dog😊🖤🌝 Just like in ‘Farmer Giles’, there are dragons and dogs here. However, unlike the first one, this story is aimed more towards children and is a little too exaggerated in its adventures for my taste, you could also say too spaced out - literally 😅The ‘random’ of the title is also reflected in the events 😅
---
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil: 🌟 🌟 🌟
‘The Adventures of Tom Bombadil’ was the story/poem that made me want to read the book! ☺️ So unfortunately I'm a bit disappointed, because ‘The Adventures of Tom Bombadil’ was limited to one poem, which is a bit misleading (or two, if the Tom in the 2nd poem is identical to Tom B., which is stated in the preface, but I find the relatedness thing strange if it's meant seriously, as Tom Bombadil actually has an unclear origin🤔). The other poems were not directly related to Tom, but are beautifully written and show tiny facets of Middle-earth. In addition to ‘The Adventures of Tom Bombadil’, I particularly liked: ‘Princess Me-Mi’, ‘The Muhlipps’ and ‘The Hoard’.

The foreword to these was really nice to read with Tolkien's fictional placing in the ages of Middle-earth and the supposed authors and references to the hobbits :)

All the poems have their very own character (as explained in the preface by their origin) and in the German translation you could also feel that a lot of effort was put into translating the poems, especially the rhymes.
---
Smith of Wootton Major: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
A beautiful story about the relationship between Großherzingen and the Elvenland! The fairytale character clearly shines through here, especially through the rewarding of the good people.🌟 🍰☺️ 🫶
---
Leaf by Niggle: 🌟 🌟 🌟
The question of the utility of art is central here. I was a bit confused by this text at the end, as it was never resolved who the voice is and where exactly everything is located 😅 But I thought the philosophical or socio-critical aspect was well done.
---
General comment: Unfortunately, I can't figure out the thing with the man in the moon, who appears several times, and I find it kind of strange 😅🌝
---
Total: 3.8 🌟

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't overawed by this, unfortunately. Or awed, as the case may be.

There was nothing wrong with any of the five stories here, but they all felt a bit average if I'm going to be perfectly honest.

Farmer Giles of Ham was a light romp with nothing but standard fantasy tropes, and I mean, super standard. The hero with the magical sword doesn't quite defeat the dragon, however. He just tames it. *shrug* Not related to LotR.

Smith of Wootton Major was a lightly magical, almost magical realism tale of the Fae with the passing on of gifts from one generation to another. Also not related to LotR.

The Tom Bombadil tale was almost exactly out of LotR. Rather disappointing.

The only one I actually rather liked was Niggle and the Leaf. No LotR, either, but at least I loved the story. :) It's almost too dark for words if you're an artist. :)

I don't know if I would really recommend this for anyone. Not unless you're a completionist for Tolkien in general.

[Alissa J. Zavalianos · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

What a delightful collection of short stories and poems! I had no idea what to except upon reading this book, but it was a lot of fun!

I enjoyed them all, Roverandom and Farmer Giles of Ham being my favorites! I enjoyed a lot of the poetry from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (though some were harder to interpret than others), and I found Leaf by Niggle quite sad—though that’s not a bad thing.

And lastly, Tolkien’s essay On Fairy-Stories was at the end, and I was surprised by how palatable it was; yes, some of his verbiage was dense and went over my head, but the majority of it was super interesting! What a profound commentary on the world of Faerie and how it pertains to our lives, even as Christians. There was also a lot of encouraging moments for fellow writers who seek to produce fantasy stories, too.

Overall, this was a great collection, and I’m so glad I read it!

Content:
In Leaf by Niggle - one use of the word d*mn.
Minor violence in Farmer Giles of Ham

[SJARR ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perry-the-winkle is a nice troll that literally just wants a friend.
Are you joking?

I should live in this world. Cause yall literally better be his friend, or ELSE! ☹️

Also if you like the Rings of Power- this has Tom Bombadil’s original, full poem! (Like the song, but extended).
Which is the entire reason I bought this book, because he is Tolkien’s best weirdo.

[Carmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devia ser lido a todos os piquenos.😊
Esta criança gostou!😍

[Haley Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished the last book of 2023.
Review to come when I’m not so sleepy 😴

If I was into faerie stories, I might have liked this book. Unfortunately, since this is a compilation of Tolkien's faerie stories, and I can't stand that genre, this book was a bit of a chore to get through. Of course Tolkien shows his intelligence and skill, as always.

Roverandom: a dog gets turned into a toy and goes to the moon and the sea. Far-fetched and weird to me. But would make a good children's illustrated book.

Farmer Giles of Ham: this was probably my favorite story in here. It had a good lesson: sometimes the poor unassuming people are the most heroic. This is a good ole dragon slaying tale.

Tom Bombadil and other poems: Enjoyable, some were pretty good.

Smith of Wootton Major: Interesting classic faerie story. Well written.

Leaf by Niggle: not as great as I expected based on all the talk I've heard about it. There were some really neat parts but the whole purgatory thing was very odd.

On Fairy-stories: Reading this was like running through molasses with briars in it. I was so bored and I was the very person that Tolkien considered "stupid" because I don't appreciate fairy stories.

[Nikola Pavlovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prelepo <3

[J.J. Garza · Rating 4 out of 5]

La colección de obras menores de Tolkien es un poco desperdigada, unida por un tema no muy bien hilado de parte de su 'estate', que viene a ser más bien su hijo Christopher. La idea de mantenerlas todas reunidas en un solo volumen no hace mucho sentido salvo el que significó en su momento para sacar la obra 'refundida' de rigor que a veces milagrosamente nos llega cada cierto tiempo. Por eso, y más allá de la hermosa edición (mucho mejor la de Minotauro), se me hace más correcta la presentación que hizo Harper en Inglaterra consistente en un pequeño boxset con todas estas obras (minus el ensayo - pero sin el ensayo no vale mucho).

Entonces, lo que hace más sentido como en toda colección es ver la valía individual de cada uno de los cuentos y ponderar al final.

Roverandom es una novela corta infantil. Si bien es whimsy y por momentos encantadora, se habría beneficiado mucho de un formato aparte, con muchas más ilustraciones de parte del infaltable Sr Lee. Es como para leérselo a los niños en voz alta y quizá el relato que menos tiene que ver con la colección. Haría mucho más sentido en un gran Ómnibus con el Hobbit. Lo que más me gustó fue el acercamiento al resto del legendarium con la mención de Valinor.

Egidio, el Granjero de Ham, donde Tolkien escribe un relato fantástico y anacrónico sobre esa idea de Merry England'; es moderadamente chusco y con un dragón que, como dicen, está a medio camino entre Smaug y el Reluctant Dragon de Kenneth Grahame. Dado que está muy fuera del estilo de Tolkien al que estamos acostumbrados, no sé muy bien qué hacer de él.

Las Aventuras de Tom Bombadil es la parte del libro más ilustrada, un poemario completo de folklore de la TM. Por lo general no se le considera a Tolkien buen poeta, y la inclusión de verso en LOTR tiende a ser muy criticada. Sin embargo, el maestro sí supo innovar gracias a su formación de filólogo con nuevas formas de métrica y rima e incluso uno de los poemas fue alabado por Auden.

El Herrero de Wooton Mayor es un cuento pre-tolkieniano de Tolkien y para mí el mejor del libro. Un auténtico cuento de hadas con la correspondiente visita a Fata y un regreso. Lástima que vengo de leer al monumental McDonald con Famtastes: de no haberlo hecho el cuento me habría llegado más.

Hoja de Niggle es distinto a todo lo demás que solemos asociar con nuestro amigo JRRT. Aunque éste solía decir que odiaba las metáforas, el relato resulta altamente simbólico al describir el proceso creativo del padre de la Creación Secundaria. Es muy necesario complementar este cuento con el ensayo final.

Y finalmente, el córtex del libro que viene a ser el epílogo. El famosísimo ensayo 'Sobre los cuentos de hadas' debería ser core curriculum de cualquier lector de fantasía para entender, entre otras cosas:

A) El porqué del camino Inkling de la fantasía y su portentosa carga teológica.
B) La falta de respeto y la torpeza monumental de los imitadores de Tolkien (quienes no le entendieron nada).
C) Ídem para sus críticos.

En ensayo es muy denso, largo (60 páginas) y las digresiones del maestro hacen mucho por confirmar su reputación de profesor vetusto y tendiente a divagar. Pero vale toda la pena hacer el esfuerzo y echarse todo el ensayo para entender cómo pensaba nuestro querido autor (además de darse cuenta de lo falsos que son muchos debates que sigo leyendo en Reddit Fantasy sobre los cuales ya hubo quien dio su veredicto. Pero vayamos con puntos importantes.

-Hada = Elfo. Por si alguien tenía una duda. Oberon y Titania son tan elfos como Campanita, Legolas, Drizzt, Bast, Dobby y compañía.
-Narraciones extraordinarias que NO son cuentos de hadas y por lo tanto NO son fantasía: los travelogues del S XVII a países fantásticos (porque son sátira), las obras oníricas y simbólicas como Alicia y todo tipo de ciencia ficción. Así salimos de esa idea absurda de que Star Wars es fantasía.
-La idea de que la fantasía no debe ser creíble, sino internamente coherente. Debate zanjado.
-Por un momento parece que Tolkien afirma que la 'magia dura' no es posible en fantasía. Pero luego deja la cuestión abierta al cambiar su definición de magia.
-Una oposición a que la fantasía sea representada. Me imagino qué pensaría entonces de Peter Jackson.
-Los cuentos de hadas no deben ser (sólo) para niños. Y la inocencia de éstos no es causal del asombro elemental del género.
-La crítica a denostar la idea del escapismo. Tolkien antepone la noción de que el escapismo es para huir de una prisión (aquí sale a relucir el clásico ludismo del profesor), no para desertar de un combate.
-Y finalmente de la idea de la eucatástrofe como necesaria (y por ende, resultante en un perenne final feliz). La justificación a la eucatástrofe es de corte teológico al 100%, porque aquí Tolkien hace la gran revelación de que la Creación Secundaria (AKA 'Worldbuilding') ha de reflejar atisbos del devenir de la Creación Primaria. El Evangelio. Y por lo tanto, para alejarse e ir en contra de la fantasía de Tolkien se debe apuntar a la línea de flotación del Cristianismo perfecto de su obra. Y pocos de sus críticos han entendido esto bien.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just a bunch of short stories, so I'll just rank them from best to worst with a few of my thoughts.

1. Farmer Giles of Ham.

I don't know why I liked this one so much, but it was so good. The plot was interesting, the dialogue was funny, and the whole story in general was so cool. Honestly I have nothing else to say about this except it was a lot of fun. Farmer vs Dragon? What more do you want!

2. Leaf by Niggle.

This story, although not exactly fun to read, was a very good story and afer life allegory. At least, that's what I think it is. No spoiles, but it was definitely a unique story that gets you thinking, and one I will more than likely come back to in the future.

3. Smith of Wooton Major.

I really liked the story with this one, very creative and fun. The whole diamond thing was so cool. In terms of my enjoyment I probably liked this more than Niggle, but Niggle was so unique it had to top this one, but only by a little bit.

4. Roverandom.

I liked this story, and again was super unique, but boring at times. I found myself uninterested at times. But I still liked it none the less.

5. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

Though an amazing story, couldn't get past the Poetry prose. I just don't really like Poetry. I find it boring and hard to keep my attention.

Overall, I loved this book. Tolkien always has the right words to make me smile.

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

No, Tom Bombadil, we just can't get along, no matter what you say. It's not you, it's me. And I do understand it's not your fault you've been written in verse. But it's just all working against you. Life's tough.

Buy anyway. This is a funny book (I mean... a strange one). It's hard to sum it up - to be honest, each of the fairytales deserves its own rating. But like I said, life can be tough, so we'll just have to do with a single one.

I liked most of these fairytales (and hey, you already know which one I didn't like). The book is also illustrated very nicely. The stories are all so different - ranging from a truly children's story (about an enchanted puppy, turned into a toy) to a nearly metaphysical story about death and afterlife, the completion of one's life's work. I guess I could sum it up that this is Tolkien Lite - Tolkien for the non-Tolkien reader. I don't plan to read anything else by him, as The Hobbit and this is pretty much as far as I can go - so if you're like me, you could enjoy this.

[Mitticus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya había leido antes, mucho antes, los cuentos Egidio el Granjero de Ham, El Herrero de Wootom Mayor, y Hoja de Niggle (lejos, mi favorito <3 ) que son fabulosos.

Roveradom, lo vi por ahi en este sitio, y es más bien para niños, como dice una de esas historias inventadas para uno de sus hijos. Muy fantasioso, valga la redudancia, sencillo y hermoso.


Arte de Alan Lee

(el Hombre de la Luna)
—¿Qué hace él solo todo el día? —dijo Roverandom a Rover.
—¿Hacer? —dijo el perro de la luna—. Oh, durante todo el día está bastante ocupado; aunque desde que llegaste parece aún más ocupado de lo que yo le había visto durante mucho tiempo. Inventando sueños, creo yo.
—¿Y para quién los inventa?
—¡Oh, para los del otro lado de la luna! En este lado nadie sueña; todos los que sueñan van a la parte de atrás.

Después estan poemas de Tom Bombadil, y de otras cosas,
(Arte de Alan Lee)

algunos más interesantes que otros.

Los Maulladores viven en sus sombras
como tinta, húmedas y negras,
y lenta y suave su campana toca
cuando te devora la ciénaga.

La ciénaga te traga, si te atreves
a golpear, llamando a su puerta,
mientras miran las gárgolas, sonrientes,
y derraman aguas infectas.

Y, finalmente, un ensayo sobre Tolkien sobre los Cuentos de Hadas, y que sale en The Monsters and the Critics and other essays, que salen varias cosas inesperadas, y que me encantaron.

En el mundo de los cuentos de hadas (o de la fantasía) hay una gracia súbita y milagrosa con la que ya nunca se puede volver a contar. No niegan la existencia de la discatástrofe, de la tristeza y el fracaso, pues la posibilidad de ambos se hace necesaria para el gozo de la liberación; rechazan (tras numerosas pruebas, si así lo deseáis) la completa derrota final, y son por tanto evangelium, ya que proporcionan una fugaz visión del Gozo, Gozo que los límites de este mundo no encierran y que es penetrante como el sufrimiento mismo.

En fin, aparte de los 3 primeras historias a que me refiero, como dije, el resto es para fans.

[leynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will say it time and time again but you can never go wrong with Tolkien. I know that his writing style and the structure and complexity of his narratives isn't for everyone, but this man and the worlds he has created have slowly but surely stolen their way into my heart.

Tales from the Perilous Realm is a collection of three short stories set outside of the realm of Middle Earth and one poetry collection featuring legends and jests of the Shire at the end of the Third Age. I was prepared for many things but not for the level of wit and charm which Tolkien displayed in these tales. I had no idea that the man could be so funny. I'm shook!

Overall, it's just an amazing feeling to get familiar with an author on such a level and just so comfortable with his work as a whole. Whenever I read something by Tolkien nowadays, it feels like returning home. Blesseth!

Farmer Giles of Ham | 4/5 stars
The first short story Farmer Giles of Ham is a comic Medieval fable written by Tolkien in 1937. The story describes the encounters between Farmer Giles and the dragon Chrysophylax, and how Giles manages to rise from humble beginnings to rival the king of the land.

Similar to The Lord of the Rings it is set in Britain in an imaginary period of the Dark Ages featuring mythological creatures, and thus providing an alternative prehistory to the world we live in today. And I have to say that the villagers in this tale really reminded me of the hobbits, and even Chrysophylax can be seen as a parody of Tolkien's smaug. It was just a delightful read.

'I hope you are taking some stout rope with you?' he said.
'What for?' said Giles. 'To hang myself?'

I was living for the comic relief this tale provided – Farmer Giles can be read as a satire on the typical dragon-slaying hero. He is fat and red-bearded and enjoys a slow, comfortable life. Just by pure coincidince does he manage to ward away a rather deaf and short-sighted giant. Same goes for the useless knights sent by the King to pursue the dragon.

Tolkien, himself a philologist, sprinkled several philological jokes into the tale, including a variety of ingeniously fake etymologies. Almost all the place-names are supposed to occur relatively close to Oxford, along the Thames, or along the route to London.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil | 2.5/5 stars
Surprisingly, this selection of poems from the Shire was my least favorite part of Tales from the Perilous Realm. Philologically, I definitely appreciate that Tolkien varied his tone depending on the origin of the poems, e.g. the first two poems from Buckland vary in their rhyme scheme and choice of words from Bilbo's poems.

However, all in all the poems didn't woe me. I was hoping for an insight into the culture of the hobbits and maybe even some fun facts about Tom Bombadil, but most of the poems were pretty useless in that regard.

The only poem that I really enjoyed was Princess Mee, a nonsense poem that was among those written in the margins of the Red Book. It is about a princess who sees her reflection in a bottomless well for the first time.

Her gleaming eyes
In great surprise
Looked up to the eyes of Mee:
A marvellous thing,
Head-down to swing,
Above a starry sea!

As fun as it can be to read Sam's poems about stone trolls and hear about Frodo's dark and despairing dreams, this selection of poetry left me rather underwhelmed.

Leaf by Niggle | 5/5 stars
Gosh, you don't know how much I loved this short story. Definitely my favorite in this collection, and also one that I will re-read as long as I live. It combined lighthearted moments and a serious message in a brilliant manner, and also left room for interesting academic interpretations. What can ya want more? It is often seen as an allegory of Tolkien's own creative process, and, to an extent, of his own life.

In this story, an artist, named Niggle, lives in a society that does not much value art. Working only to please himself, he paints a canvas of a great Tree with a forest in the distance. He invests each and every leaf of his tree with obsessive attention to detail, making every leaf uniquely beautiful. Niggle ends up discarding all his other artworks, or tacks them onto the main canvas, which becomes a single vast embodiment of his vision.

Things might have been different, but they could not have been better.

An autobiographical interpretation places Tolkien himself as Niggle — in mundane matters as well as spiritual ones. Tolkien was compulsive in his writing, his revision, his desire for perfection in form and in the "reality" of his invented world, its languages, its chronologies, its existence. Like Niggle, Tolkien came to abandon other projects or graft them onto his "Tree," Middle-earth. Like Niggle, Tolkien faced many chores and duties that kept him from the work he loved.

Smith of Wootton Major | 4.5/5 stars
This novella began as an attempt to explain the meaning of Faery by means of a story about a cook and his cake. Every 24 years the village of Wootton Major celebrates the Feast of Good Children. The story takes off when the cook's apprentice, Alf, hides a Faery star in the traditional cake for the feast, and one of the children swallows it. On the morning of the boy's 10th birthday the star fixes itself on his forehead, and becomes his passport to Faery.

Renunciation is certainly a major theme, but so is an appreciation of imaginative vision, as against the philistine outlook represented by the old cook Nokes, a shallow, sly and lazy man. Nokes is foremost among the non-believers, and dismisses all things magical as mere dreams and fancies.

A good case can be made that Nokes represents the literary, critical approach to studying English, belittling the contributions of the philological approach represented by the previous Master Cook. On this reading, the little star trinket added by Alf, the old Master's apprentice, turns into the talisman that cuts through Nokes's sweet, sticky nonsense and raises the smith's life from the ordinary to something deeply meaningful.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads librarians really need to work on Tales from the Perilous Realm. Some editions contain four stories, others five, and some also contain Tolkien's 'On Fairy-Stories'. I'm not sure they should all be combined.

Anyway, today this arrived -- since my first copy, most irritatingly, did not include 'Roverandom', which is a fun story aimed at younger readers than the others, involving the adventures of a puppy who gets turned into a toy, and his marvellous journeys. It's the longest story in the collection -- the only one to be chaptered -- and has, I think, more illustrations than the others. The illustrator is Alan Lee, about whom I probably have to say very little -- I think his drawings capture the things and mood described pretty well, for this volume. This edition also has an introduction, which helps contextualise each story and draw out a few things of interest. It includes 'On Fairy-Stories', as well.

I think one of the most charming things about Tolkien's fairy tales is the lack of moralising. Roverandom doesn't learn any big life lessons, except perhaps to mind his Ps (not so sure about his Qs) and not to bite a chunk out of a magician's trousers.

[bookstories_travels&#x1fa90; · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leer a J.R.R. Tolkien siempre es bien, o por lo menos a mí me hace mucho bien. Hacía ya un par de años que no tenía entre mis manos libro de uno de mis autores favoritos. Y la verdad es que tenía ganas de conocerle en otra vertiente que no fuera la de su célebre legendarium de “El Señor de los Anillos”. El tomo de “Cuentos Desde el Reino Peligroso” llevaba desde las Navidades pasadas, esperando pacientemente mis estanterías a que llegase su momento, sin apresurarse, ni quejarse; sabiendo que cuando llegara la hora en que lo cogería y me aventuraría entre sus páginas, iba a ser una lectura muy disfrutable. Y así lo ha sido. En esta mezcolanza de cuentos, poemas y ensayos, vemos a un Tolkien que se aleja de la Tierra Media… pero nunca la pierde de vista. Como ecos lejano nos llegan las voces de los elfos, los hobbit, los hombres y, en general, todos esos lugares y personajes que hemos conocido cualquiera que haya leído sus obras más icónicas. Y es que , como explico más abajo en la reseña de uno de los cuentos,, esa historia, constatada en la obra “El Silmarillion”, fue el trabajo de toda la vida del profesor. Una labor ambiciosa y de la que recreo miles de aspectos. Por lo que es imposible que su influencia no estuviera presente en otras obras que escribiese Tolkien.

A continuación, aquí tenéis mi opinión e impresiones sobre los diferentes textos que conforman esta recopilación.

“Roverandom”: siempre me he preguntado cómo debe ser eso de que tu padre sea uno de los mejores narradores de toda la historia de la literatura y la suerte que debe ser eso. No olvidemos que la novela “El Hobbit”surgió como un cuento de Tolkien para sus hijos, haciendo las veces de complemento para todas las historias que el escritor estaba ideando y recopilando para dar vida a ese mundo, que nosotros conocemos como la Tierra Media y que serían recopiladas a su muerte en “ El Silmarillion”.

“Roverandom” es otro ejemplo del Tolkien padre y escritor. Este cuento largo fue escrito por Tolkien para consolar a uno de sus hijos cuando perdió su apreciado perro de peluche en una excursión en la playa. Llamado Rover en un principio, el joven fue transformado en un juguete por haber tenido una pequeña trifulca con un malhumorado mago y haberle mordido en los pantalones. A partir de ese momento Rover vivirá un sinfín de aventuras que le llevarán a conocer a otros magos y personajes (incluyendo otros dos perros que también se llaman Rover, de ahí que para diferenciarle acabe siendo conocido como Roverandom) y a viajar a la luna y al fondo del mar. El relato está lleno de momentos, muy graciosos, y sus diferentes y originales. Ambientaciones resultan ser su punto fuerte. Es una historia tierna y encantadora, de ritmo, apacible y tono cálido; se nota que fue escrita pensando en el disfrute y entretenimiento de unos niños. No obstante, a mí se me ha hecho en ciertos momentos bastante pesada y lenta, por lo que no he terminado de conectar del todo con ella, aunque valore lo bonita que es.

“Egidio, el granjero de Ham”: todo lo que he leído de Tolkien siempre ha estado relacionado, hasta ahora, con la Tierra Media y su famoso lengendarium. Pero tengo mucha curiosidad por la vertiente del autor, como erudito de lenguas y literatura medievales; como amante del romance de “Sir Gawain y el Caballero Verde”, traductor del “Beowulf” y compositor de un poema sobre la muerte del rey Arturo. Tengo muchas ganas de leer sobre este aspecto. De momento, me conformo con esta breve historia, ambientada en el medievo medieval, y protagonizada por Agidius Ahenobarbi Julii Agricole de Hammo, o Egidio de Ham para abreviar, un granjero terco, relativamente astuto y bastante arrogante que, a modo de sastrecillo valiente, se ve enfrentado a varios peligros bajo la forma de gigantes y dragones, y sale victorioso de la empresa. Sinceramente, este relato ha tenido para mí más sabor a cuento de hadas que el anterior. Y quizás por eso ha sido mi favorito de la antología, ya que el cuento tiene elementos que pueden encontrarse en otras obras de Tolkien y de otros autores, pero manejaros con mucha gracia y buenas dosis de originalidad. Se trata de una historia sencilla, añeja y que más de un momento me ha despertado la sonrisa y la carcajada con sus situaciones satíricas, los comentarios e intenciones burlonas del autor y sus personajes humorísticos y coloridos. Y es que ninguno tiene desperdicio, desde el propio protagonista hasta sus vecinos del pueblo de Ham, pasando por su mascota, un perro tan presuntuoso como cobarde, y su montura, tan callada como armada de paciencia ante tanto sinsentido. Sin olvidarnos del dragón, un excelente hermano menor del inolvidable Smaug de “El Hobbit” pero sin resultar tan aterrador.

“Las aventuras de Tom Bombadil”: el Tolkien poeta también tiene cabida en esta antología ¿la excusa? Presentarnos unos poemas que aparecen en los márgenes del manuscrito de“El Libro Rojo” la obra que escribió el inolvidable Bilbo Bolsón contando sus aventuras y andanzas, y que fue completada y ampliada por las vivencias de su sobrino Frodo y Sam Gamyi. Y de la que se supone que salieron “El Hobbit” y “El Señor de los Anillos”. Dentro caben todo tipo de poemas, desde algunos relacionados con la Tierra Media y la Comarca, hasta otros que Tolkien preparó para revistas, antologías o para sus familiares, con la excusa de que forman parte de la cultura del imaginario y fantástico continente. De ahí que nos encontremos con muchos temas e historias diferentes que nos permiten conocer más sobre las canciones, historia y mitología de la Tierra Media, y sorpréndenos como hasta ese aspecto estaba bien controlado y trabajado por parte del profesor. Personalmente me han gustado la mayoría, pero el que hayan metido entre tanta prosa de pronto estos versos, para mí ha resultado, editorialmente, bastante anti climático. De todas formas, he disfrutado de su lectura. Aunque quizás me haya descolocado que presenten al personaje de Tom Bombadil como el centro de esta recopilación por el título, y en realidad solo hay dos poemas dedicados a él. Es una lástima. Especialmente por la historia de amor-odio que tengo por este enigmático hombrecillo. Y es que me he pasado la mayor parte de mi vida lectora teniéndole tirria a este personaje sin saber muy bien el motivo, desde que tengo 10-9 años y leí por primera vez “El Señor de los Anillos”. Sin embargo, cuando hice el año pasado la re lectura de la trilogía, me sorprendió encontrar que ahora tragaba bastante bien al bueno de Tom. Nunca será mi personaje favorito, pero le reconozco que es bastante entrañable a su manera.

¿Lo mejir de leer estos fragmentos? Que la inmensa mayoría de las páginas están decoradas con ilustraciones de Alan Lee, cuyos dibujos aparecen más ocasionalmente en el resto de relatos del volumen. Como este artista creo que ha sabido captar la belleza, humanidad y magnificiencia de la Tierra Media y la obra de Tolkien.

“El herrero de Wootton Mayor”: un pequeño pueblo cerca del bosque donde hay muchas fiestas y a cuyos habitantes les gusta comer, un cocinero fanfarrón y un aprendiz que guarda algún que otro secreto y sabe más de lo que cuenta, una estrella mágica y un viaje de toda una vida por sendas misteriosas y mágicas. Este relato empieza con un tono humorístico y ligero, que paulatinamente va mirando hacia los viajes que un niño hace , a medida que crece, por el onírico reino de Fantasía y que marcan su vida. Haciendo que el cuento tenga una carga melancólica y filosófica que lo hace más profundo de lo que sus primeras líneas pronosticaban. Un cuento que nos habla de los aprendizajes que hacemos a lo largo de toda nuestra existencka, y de la posibilidad de ser nuestras mejores versiones y aprender constantemente. De no conformarnos con lo sencillo, con lo cercano, con lo banal. De mirar siempre por encima de las apariencias y aceptar que nada en esta vida es definitivo, que a veces hay que dejar ir. Y todo esto se aprende mientras el lector, junto con el herrero, viaja por diferentes parajes del reino de las hadas, Fantasía. Muchas de sus ubicaciones recuerdan a las de la Tierra Media, y el lector no puede evitar preguntarse si Tolkien ha llevado a su protagonista hacia este mítico lugar, si Fantasía no es más que la Tierra Media.

De mis relatos favoritos de la antología. Me ha parecido un cuento de lo más conmovedor, del que se puede rasgar mucho. Deja un poso de dulce melancolía cuando lo finalizas.

“Hoja de Niggle”: Érase una vez un pintor que empezó pintando unas hojas, y la cosa acabo derivando en hacer un árbol y luego todo un bosque y un paisaje montañoso… Y eso hizo que dilatase un viaje que tenía que hacer obligatoriamente…
Probablemente el relato más especial e indefinible de toda la antología. Y también el más personal. Tolkien no compuso todo su legendarium a partir de una historia o una idea concreta. Su auténtico interés y pasión era de estudiar, lenguas antiguas, palabras extrañas y crear lenguajes propios. Fue por esto último, para darle un contexto y una estructura histórica a esos idiomas que le gustaba inventar, que inventó todas sus historias sobre hobbit, elfos y anillos de poder. “El Silmarillion” fue el contexto que creó para todos esos idiomas, que contó con dos spin-off de infarto como fueron “El Hobbit” y “El Señor de los Anillos”. De la misma forma que el desdichado Niggle de esta historia empieza por dibujar unas hojas y acaba por pintar todo un paisaje de bosque y montañas, su obra poco a poco va aumentando, sin que él se diera casi ni cuenta. Incluso, aunque los pequeños inconvenientes y obligaciones del día a días se interpusieran en su camino. Leyendo no es muy difícil darse cuenta de que Tolkien y Niggle son lo mismo, dos artistas encaminados a una obra que va haciéndose más potente y grande casi en contra de su voluntad, pero obligados a dejar de lado a su “yo “artístico en pos de su “yo” cotidiano, el que tiene que hacer caso a los pequeños inconvenientes del día a día y no sabe decir que no a cualquiera que le pida ayuda. La metáfora no puede ser más certera, y por ello no es imposible leer con cariño esta breve historia en la que Tolkien se describe a si mismo, y que no solo nos habla de uno (dos) hombres a los que les cuesta conciliar y racionar su tiempo para llegar a todo. También nos habla de la necesidad de aprender a dar a cada cosa su espacio, y nunca dejarse llevar por las opiniones y las imposiciones de otro, a seguir cada uno su camino. Al final cada uno debe recorrer su propio camino, y nunca se sabe que nos puede deparar. Puede que, incluso, acabes trabajando codo con codo con ese vecino antipático que tanto te molestaba.

”Sobre los cuentos de hadas”: encontrarme este texto en el libro me ha hecho mucha ilusión porque no me lo esperaba. Y porque uno de los libros que más ganas tengo de leer de Tolkien es una recopilación de ensayos y conferencias suyas, que el año pasado sacó la editorial Minotauro, donde entre otros muchos se encuentra esta ampliación de una conferencia que en 1939 nuestro autor pronunció en honor a el cuentista Andrew Lang.

Reconozco que esta parte del libro me ha costado, he tardado varios días en leerla. Ha habido partes que se me han hecho muy cuesta arriba por lo densas que me han resultado, que he tenido que leerlas y volver a leerlas varias veces para captar, tímidamente, su auténtico significado. Pero qué queréis que os diga, quería ver algo del Tolkien estudioso y filólogo, y me lo he encontrado con creces. Pese a todo he disfrutado de esta parte, porque el tema de los cuentos de hadas es algo que me fascina, y me ha gustado muchas de las cosas que dice el profesor, aunque con otras no haya podido evitar alzar la ceja (desde mi humilde conocimientos sobre el tema, que seguro que no llegan ni a la suela de los zapatos al erudito, autor, faltaría más). Por lo pronto, este ensayo me ha dejado muy buen sabor de boca, me ha parecido muy interesante la visión de Tolkien sobre los cuentos de hadas, como pueden ser una válvula de escape y de aprendizaje para el ser humano, que no deben estar solo dirigidos hacia niños, y si se dirige hacia ellos, se no se les debe endulzar, sino que sirvan de vehículo para que aprendan cosas que puedan serle útiles en la vida real. Que básicamente es la función primaria que tiene el cuento. Tolkien se muestra escéptico contra los típicos cuentos de hadas, prefiriendo las historias que beben más de la mitología. Entre otras cosas, me ha parecido interesante cuando habla de que seguramente estos cuentos surjan de algún hecho o personaje histórico, que en sí mismo contienen algunos pozos de realidad. Y también todas las cosas que dice sobre el género de la fantasía, aunque me haya costado entenderlas, me han parecido muy interesantes. Y es que, el profesor empieza hablando desde una visión filológica, sobre lo que es el cuento, intentando explicar qué es y cuál es su importancia dentro de la literatura. Pero como ya se ha visto en esta obra, al final, el hombre se va por las ramas y también nos hablasobre el poder de la imaginación y reivindica estas historias, como parte esencial de la literatura y del bagaje cultural. No le emocionan los cuentos que llegan tamizados a los lectores, pero eso no quita que a mí este género. Me ha sorprendido mucho que se considerarse un mero “explorador sin rumbo” en lo concerniente a este tema, ni mucho menos un experto… Si tú no eres un experto, amigo mío, no tengo ni idea de quién puede serlo…

Y un aplauso porque se haya atrevido a criticar el “Macbeth” de William Shakespeare. No es que hoy este autor, pero teniendo en cuenta como le ponen la mayor parte de la historiografía y literatura inglesa, cuando encuentro alguna crítica hacia su obra, no puedo dejar de aplaudir.

En general, pese a que me haya costado, creo que solo por leer este ensayo, merece mucho la pena la lectura de “Cuentos Desde el Reino Peligroso”. Su existencia dentro de la antología es lo que unifica todos estos diversos relatos, ya que al final el cuento y la visión que Tolkien tenía del mismo, la importancia de la fantasía, el mero amor hacia este género y el arte de escribir e inventar son las señas de identidad de esta lectura y de lo que Tolkien nos lego al mundo. No todo tiene porque ser sórdido y real, también la propia fantasía con su magia tiene algo que nos puede enseñar mucho, a la vez que sirve de consuelo y de inspiración. Y es bello una forma tan especial que tiene Tolkien de reivindicar esto.

[Nona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting the year with Tolkien has been a tradition of mine for a while, to celebrate his birthday on January 3rd. This year, instead of going back to his main works, I picked this collection of short stories, fairy tales really, that always make me giddy. These stories show Tolkien at his most playful and mischievous. If "The Lord of the Rings" is his scholarly voice, "Tales from the Perilous Realm" is where he lets himself (and us) laugh. It's a combination of mock-heroic comedy and fairy tales, with some funny verses thrown in the mix. It also features one of my favourite characters from his universe, Tom Bombadil, which I know many people hate, but I find extremely hilarious.

This collection features four stories:

Farmer Giles of Ham is an anti-heroic tale, where an ordinary farmer gets involved in extraordinary situations through accident and misunderstanding. We have giants, dragons, kings, treasure, and it's basically a parody of knight stories. This is medieval England filtered through satire. Tolkien invents a countryside where legends are born of exaggeration and rumour. The world feels absurdly bureaucratic, and the fantastic beasts are humanised (the dragon is absolutely hysterical!).

Farmer Giles (Aegidius de Hammo) is the most absurd "hero" you could think of; he's brave but only by accident, but clever when cornered. Garm, the talking dog, steals every scene. This is Tolkien at his driest and most ironic. He constantly winks at the reader, using mock-scholarly digressions and formal language to describe ridiculous situations. I laughed out loud, it's absolutely brilliant.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. This is a collection of poems framed as verses from the Red Book, ranging from whimsical adventures to folklore fragments. Some are light and musical, others are melancholic. These poems expand Middle-earth sideways, what you'd basically expect from a people who have folk stories that don't really tell you about the world, but about its legends. We have poems about rivers, trolls, the Moon, strange creatures, and, of course, Tom Bombadil, with his blue jacket and his yellow boots.

These poems are rhythmic, playful, and Tolkien switches styles and tones effortlessly, with nonsense verses sitting right next to poems that feel more epic. It gives the sensation that they were written by different authors coming from various backgrounds (and it's something the preface also mentions - some poems feel like being composed by men in Gondor, others have the air of simple hobbit verses).

Leaf by Niggle is the most absurd story you'll ever read. It's about a distracted painter who never quite finishes what he intends, constantly interrupted by neighbours, inspectors and chores. The story feels like a dream, really, an absurd one. The setting feels bureaucratic and surreal (think "The Trial", but Tolkien style, which means it has commissions, inspectors and institutions, but also magical forests). I loved Niggle, with his constant procrastination. I felt Niggle in my bones, in fact 😂.

The humour is dry, and Tolkien uses absurdity to ask serious questions about the usefulness of art and the role of duty in society. Behind the absurdity, it's a story about creativity and the criteria we use to measure one's worth in society.

Smith of Wootton Major. We have a village, a feast, a mysterious silver star hidden in a cake, and a boy whose life intersects with Faery. Faery here is whimsical chaos, but also something solemn and dangerous. It exists alongside village life, never fully merging with it, but always there, almost at the fingertips, if you could only see it.

Smith is not a hero in the traditional sense. His interactions with Faery are quiet and hidden, and nothing particularly noteworthy comes out of them. He's mostly an observer. There's humour here also, but it's more subdued. Instead, the tone of the story is more nostalgic, as if Tolkien reflected on youth and aging.

I love this collection, I love Tolkien's humour, but also his tenderness. But I mostly loved the talking dog and Chrysophylax Dives, the cowardly dragon.

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four short stories by JRR Tolkien; the most notable for me is Tom Bombadil. Bombadil meets Frodo, Sam, Merry & Pippin shortly after they leave the Shire. The scene was taken from the LOTR books and not included in the movie. Additionally, there are interviews from Tolkien and others who knew him.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanto tiempo sin leer a mi amado Tolkien.

"Fantasía es una tierra peligrosa, con trampas para los incautos y mazmorras para los temerarios"

Cuentos desde el Reino Peligroso es una compilación que nos presenta cinco historias escritas por Tolkien a lo largo de su vida, algunas narradas originalmente de forma oral a sus propios hijos antes de ser ampliadas para su publicación y otras tantas escritas por sobre pedido de sus editores. Ademas contiene una introducción de Tom Shippey y un apéndice en el que aparece un ensayo también de Tolkien.

Daré una opinión muy breve de cada relato en el volumen.

Introducción. Por Tom Shippey: NO LA LEAN. Así de sencillo. ¡Esto no es una introducción! es un mero resumen de las historias que aparecen posteriormente en el libro. Tom Shippey se dedicó a hacer spoiler una-por-una. En todo caso se puede leer al final para esclarecer algunas cosas.

Roverandom: Un cuento de hadas con toda la esencia épica del autor. Es una historia muy linda plagada de magia que amarán sobretodo los más pequeños. Es el tipo de cuento que yo le leería a mis hijos suponiendo que quisiera unos

Egidio, el granjero de Ham: Continuamos con otra historia igual de interesante que la anterior, con un protagonista que aunque se siente más como un anti-héroe logra ganarse al lector. Ah! Y tiene... ¡un dragón!

Las aventuras de Tom Bombadil: Completamente diferente a los anteriores esta tercera parte del libro está formada por poemas/canciones. Quienes hemos leído El señor de los anillos y El hobbit sabemos que Tolkien tenía un don para los poemas. Al contener 12 poemas es muy difícil que logren gustarte todos, es cuestión de gustos.
Mis favoritos: 1- Las aventuras de Tom Bombadil; 8- Perry Guiños; y 10- Olifante.

El herrero de Wootton Mayor: Tal vez mi menos favorito. Simplemente no pude adentrarme mucho en la historia. Es bello, sí, pero no me pareció demasiado. El "villano" es realmente interesante.

Hoja de Niggle: De lo más hermoso que he leído en la vida. Un relato que reconforta el corazón. ♥

Apéndices. Sobre los cuentos de Hadas No es un relato sino un ensayo, y debo confesarlo. No lo leí. Disfruté mucho los cuentos como para ponerme a filosofar con Tolkien. Ya habrá otra oportunidad, además como bien dice es un apéndice, no es parte del libro en sí.

Un libro que vale mucho la pena, tanto para fans del GRAN JRR Tolkien como para quienes desean leerlo y le temen con justa razón al resto de sus libros. Las ilustraciones de Alan Lee son simplemente hermosas.

"Tom Bombadil el viejo era un alegre tipo;
chaqueta azul brillante, y zapatos amarillos,
de verde cinturón, las calzas de buen cuero,
y una pluma de cisne sujeta en el sombrero."

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

Writer J.R.R. Tolkien has written numerous shorter pieces that does not necessarily have any connection to his Middle-earth universe. Far more comical, much more whimsical, these shorter works of fiction, and even non-fiction, help readers better grasp the extent of the author’s imagination. They give us all a glimpse into the mind of a writer in full control of his passion, irrevocably capable of sending his readers on adventures with unpredictable twists and turns. Tales From the Perilous Realm collects within one volume six of his shorter stories about fantasy and adventure, including Roverandom, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Smith of Wootton Major, Leaf by Niggle, and his essay “On Fairy-stories”.

The first short story, Roverandom, follows a dog, initially called Rover, who is forcefully turned into a toy by a sorcerer and embarks on a formidable adventure, learning to fly, and even meeting strange individuals along the way. Originally conceived by author J.R.R. Tolkien to try to explain to his second son Michael where his own toy might have gotten lost, this curious story is as unpredictable as it gets. Its charming nature and plot direction sets the mood for a magical quest full of silly and unforgettable characters.

The second short story, Farmer Giles of Ham, follows the title character who inadvertently saves a village from a giant and becomes a hero of the people. Embracing the fame, his stature draws the attention of various characters, including the King himself, as his reputation precedes him and leads him to face off against an even more powerful foe, one with wings, claws, and maybe some fire-breathing abilities. This story was quite wonderful, a favourite of the bunch, as its refreshingly simple narrative leads to some fun encounters.

The third short story, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, is the only short story that refers to a character from Middle-earth, and one of the most mysterious entities of them all too. It would be difficult to call it a short story too, considering that it’s more like a collection of poems, notwithstanding the first two chapters that briefly introduces Tom Bombadil and his way of life, always through poetry. Unfortunately, poetry wasn’t what I was looking for through these short stories, and while I appreciated the micro-expansion of Middle-earth’s lore through this collection, these poems mostly, figuratively speaking, went through one ear and got out the other.

The fourth short story, Smith of Wootton Major, begins with an imminent festival celebrated every twenty-four years, as twenty-four children are invited and the Great Cake is unveiled at the Feast of Good Children. The particularity here is the secret magical ingredients within the cake that would give one lucky child the opportunity of a lifetime to enter the Land of Faery. Despite such a fascinating premise, complemented by author J.R.R. Tolkien’s wonderful writing style, the story was void of peripeteia. As you approach the end, you realize that nothing much happens with the chosen one and the world of faeries, leaving you completely unsatisfied by the end of it all.

The fifth short story, Leaf by Niggle, tells the story of the artist Niggle, who dedicates his life to drawing the perfect tree until an unexpected event sends him on a life-changing journey. This story was short and sweet, quite sad at times, kicking off with this society that attributes no value to art. However, the story evolves in such an intriguing way that by the end of it all, nothing will ever be the same, both for Niggle and everyone else in his village.

The sixth story, placed as an appendix, is an essay by the author J.R.R. Tolkien called “On Fairy-stories”. Inevitably, this one had a completely different tone. Clearly not dedicated to children unlike all the other short stories, this one offers insight into the author’s understanding of fairy-stories, what they are, and what they are meant to be. His deconstruction of the whole category, while offering explicit examples of well-known fairy-stories and authors, demonstres his clear-cut definition of fairy-stories and allows readers and writers to put the art of writing these kinds of stories into perspective.

As a whole, this collection of short stories is a wonderful read, allowing fans to explore more of author J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination and understanding of fantasy and adventure. This edition also contains an introduction by Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey, artist Alan Lee’s remarkable artwork (you should see his pencil-drawn oliphaunt), and an afterword by the artist himself.

Tales From the Perilous Realm is a peculiar and eccentric collection of short writing pieces about fantastical creatures and places.

[Little Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you a total Tolkien fanatic you would probably like this book. I did not enjoy the collection of poems and shorts. Some are about Middle Earth and some are not. Not recommended

[Lisa - *OwlBeSatReading* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book! 🤩 (the artwork!!! Kudos to Alan Lee). Brilliant stories. (Mostly). I admit I did skim the Appendix where JRR waffles on about faery stories, as I’d had enough by then, but the rest were magical and slightly bonkers which is what I expected and I wasn’t disappointed.

Roverandom - the story of a lost dog. Inspired by when one of Tolkien’s sons (known only as ‘little boy Two’ throughout) lost his favourite cuddly toy dog whilst taking a walk on the beach. An out-of-this-world adventure which, as my rating states below, was crazy-bonkers-mad as a box of frogs, and I’m over the moon that I’ve finally read it.

‘…and fifty-seven varieties* of spiders ready to eat anything they could catch’.
(*as in, the label on a tin of Heinz baked beans! 🤣)

World building/descriptions - 🌚🌚🌚🌚🌚/5

Peril level - 🕷️🕷️🕷️/5

No. of frogs in a box - 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸/5

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Farmer Giles of Ham - is an ale-loving farmer who becomes a hero when he unwittingly scares off a Giant which then leads him to Chrysophylax the dragon who I LOVED. However, I really disliked Farmer Giles, he was so unkind to his dog, Garm, but I adored this story nonetheless. It was clever and witty and slyly poked fun at (what was once a Great) Britain.

World building/descriptions - ⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️/5

Peril level - 🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉/5

No. of swords unsheathed - 🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️/5

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The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

’Old Tom Bombadil was a merry fellow;
bright blue his jacket was and his boots were yellow,
green were his girdle and his breeches all of leather;
he wore in his tall hat a swan-wing feather’.

I’m not crying. I’m not! Ok, I am 😭 The love I have for this is so pure. Inspiration from the nursery rhyme ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’ in chapters 5 and 6 made me shout OMG at my husband, who was playing his PlayStation opposite me at the time, and I rudely interrupted his quiet concentration apparently 🤣 but I HAD to tell him about it that instant! It just burst out of my mouth in childish excitement!

So yeah, I enjoyed this one the best of all because of my childhood memories 🥹

Out of the 16 ‘chapters’ or separate poems, only two were actually about Tom Bombadil, but that didn’t make it any less fabulous. This was a flawless collection of poetry.

World building/descriptions - 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱/5

Peril level - 🦡🦡/5

No. of feathers in a tall hat - 🪶🪶🪶🪶🪶/5

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Smith of Wootton Major

The Master Cook has done a runner - who can be trusted to bake the once-every-24-years-Great-Cake? It’s an important job! Enter Nokes. (Much to Prentice’s dismay). And then off on some faery/elven tangent which lost me!

World building/descriptions - 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Peril level - 🧚🧚/5

No. of Great Cakes - 🧁🧁🧁/5

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Leaf by Niggle

Niggle just wants to paint the perfect picture of a tree. But his lame neighbour, Mr Parish, is interfering with Niggle’s artistic efforts and soon Niggle gets all….niggled, amongst other things.

Well that was all very silly.

World building/descriptions - 🍁🍁🍁/5

Peril level - 🎨🎨/5

No. of lame legs 🦵🏼🦵🏼/5

[Javier Maldonado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada uno de los cuentos que aparecen en este libro son una muestra de la maestría de Tolkien como narrador y creador de mundos. Y respecto al ensayo: "On Fairy-Stories" (Sobre los Cuentos de Hadas), repetiré lo que escribí en twitter esta mañana: debería ser lectura obligatoria para cualquiera que pretenda escribir (y leer) Fantasía en serio. Yo me demoré demasiado (más de lo justificable) pero creo que aún no es demasiado tarde.

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read. (Lost track of how many times I've read these charming stories.)

It's easy to remember Tolkien as "just" the creator of Lord of the Rings, but he was also a world-class talent, and his other works deserve as much recogntion as LotR.

(Not sure it would fit thematically in this volume, but it would have been nice to get Tolkiens take on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Orfeo, and Sir Pearl in here, but that doesn't deter the magnificence of this volume of tales.)

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've actually been reading this book for a while, but only just now am I adding it to my goodreads. It's a collection of short stories written by J.R.R Tolkien. I've been reading them in between my larger books. Tolkien always makes me smile😊 It's not The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, but a great collection of shorter fairy tales tailored towards children, some better than others, but certainly worth your time if you want to wind down and relax.
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5