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J.R.R. Tolkien: The Mind of a Genius
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 20, 2023
Recently, I’ve been reading through special-edition magazine issues that focus on Tolkien and Middle-earth. The reason is partly curiosity for anything Tolkien-related, and also wondering whether any of these magazines rises quick, shallow projects and could instead be useful as gifts for students in a Tolkien class. My first two tries—The Ultimate Guide to Lord of the Rings and LIFE The Lord of The Rings: The Origins, the Stories, the Extraordinary Adventure—were not successes. They were okay, but for the price, they were not great. And both of them focused especially on Peter Jackson’s LOTR movies, which is not my primary interest.
But now I’ve read a Tolkien magazine that is much closer to what I hoped for. The layout throughout the magazine is very classy and stylish. There are several two-page spreads of infographics that are quite beautiful. This is definitely the best of the Tolkien/LOTR magazines I’ve read.
I also appreciate that the focus of this publication is Tolkien himself. The other magazines I’ve read seem obligated to discuss Tolkien, but only en route to talking about Jackson’s movies. This magazine relegates the LOTR movies to one brief article at the end (with no mention at all made of the Hobbit film trilogy). There are brief mentions of the BBC’s 1981 radio drama of LOTR, and even one reference to the LOTR board game, illustrated by John Howe.
There’s not a lot of new content in this magazine, which is what I would expect—I regard these as more like scrapbooks than new contributions. But the articles throughout this publication include input solicited from Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, Alan Jacobs, and other notable Tolkien specialists. Yes, it’s a little silly that the cover proclaims, “Introduction by Alan Lee, renowned Tolkien illustrator,” when the introduction turns out to be five sentences, printed in large type on a half-page of the magazine. And it’s placed on a two-page spread of a photo of Tolkien, not an illustration by the renowned illustrator who wrote those five sentences. This odd choice is mitigated by a full-length article about Lee later in the issue.
Overall, this is the first Tolkien special-edition magazine that I’d be happy to gift or share with others. It provides a fun excursion through the familiar story.
But now I’ve read a Tolkien magazine that is much closer to what I hoped for. The layout throughout the magazine is very classy and stylish. There are several two-page spreads of infographics that are quite beautiful. This is definitely the best of the Tolkien/LOTR magazines I’ve read.
I also appreciate that the focus of this publication is Tolkien himself. The other magazines I’ve read seem obligated to discuss Tolkien, but only en route to talking about Jackson’s movies. This magazine relegates the LOTR movies to one brief article at the end (with no mention at all made of the Hobbit film trilogy). There are brief mentions of the BBC’s 1981 radio drama of LOTR, and even one reference to the LOTR board game, illustrated by John Howe.
There’s not a lot of new content in this magazine, which is what I would expect—I regard these as more like scrapbooks than new contributions. But the articles throughout this publication include input solicited from Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, Alan Jacobs, and other notable Tolkien specialists. Yes, it’s a little silly that the cover proclaims, “Introduction by Alan Lee, renowned Tolkien illustrator,” when the introduction turns out to be five sentences, printed in large type on a half-page of the magazine. And it’s placed on a two-page spread of a photo of Tolkien, not an illustration by the renowned illustrator who wrote those five sentences. This odd choice is mitigated by a full-length article about Lee later in the issue.
Overall, this is the first Tolkien special-edition magazine that I’d be happy to gift or share with others. It provides a fun excursion through the familiar story.
September 14, 2017
While much of the info was stuff I already knew, it was still well done, fun to read, and I thought Newsweek did a great job making an interesting and beautiful special edition. Recommended for Tolkien fans or people who would like to know more about the man and his works.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews