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J.R.R. Tolkien's THE SILMARILLION provides the cosmology behind his best know works THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT. It presents all that came before, preparing Middle-earth for the War of the Ring. But lacking the same storytelling structure of those best known works, Tolkien's legendarium can present challenges to readers. Here we talk strategies, resources and tips for readers who may find the names, geography and massive volume of characters to be a challenge.

But if you are for the challenge, arm yourself with this advice and prepare to be richly rewarded by one of Tolkien's essential works.

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Unlike many of the servants of Middle-earth's Dark Lord, The Mouth of Sauron was a mortal man who rose through the ranks to become the general and communicator of the great flaming eye. On The Tolkien Podcast, we read from select passages and discuss the person destined to help rule Middle-earth — if Sauron had won the War of the Ring.

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Appearing only in a few pages of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, with few mentions elsewhere, and not appearing in most adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Tom Bombadil has always captured the imagination of readers. We look at who Tom is, which is really more an examination of WHAT Tom is. And, we look carefully at the recent and significant depiction of the merry fellow on TV screens. The show also introduces listeners to a hand-made Tolkien necklace as part of the growing support for THE TOLKIEN PODCAST.

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Tolkien's Middle-earth included wizards, from nearly the start of THE HOBBIT published in 1937. From there The Professor included wizards Gandalf the Grey, and Radagast the Brown woven throughout his tale.

When THE LORD OF THE RINGS was published Saruman the White was added to the wizard ranks and the mystery expanded from there. Deep in Tolkien's other writings were fragments and clues about the two mysterious blue wizards, who never entered into the narrative directly except in cryptic references, but were among the most wise and powerful beings in Middle-earth and beyond.

In this episode of THE TOLKIEN PODCAST we piece together all the fragments to get to know several names of the of these mysterious icons and how, from off-stage, they shaped the outcome of The War of the Ring. (Episode artwork courtesy Dan Miller from Pixabay)

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Sir Richard Taylor, knighted in 2010 and named New Zealand's Man of the Year in 2012, has won five of the six Academy Awards he was nominated for. He co-founded Weta Workshop with his now wife Tanya Rodger and is responsible for the miniatures (bigitures), costumes, prosthetics, props and weapons on screen in Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS film trilogy. His crew also contributed mightily to THE HOBBIT trilogy of films as well as many other TV series and movies, including miniatures for BLADE RUNNER 2049. He was influenced by Tolkien as a child and is a champion of New Zealand, art and creativity.

Here he speaks about his work here on The Tolkien Podcast.

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In this episode of The Tolkien Podcast, The Return of the Balrog, we take a breakneck-speed look at the history of Tolkien's fantasy realm of Middle-earth and its context in Arda. The super-quick tour isn't concerned with names and dates but aims to provide a big-picture glance to provide context for history's most cinematic balrog — called the Flame of Udûn by Gandalf.

That run of history transitions into history of another kind: cinematic history, including when that balrog met the public eye for the first time, touching on movie fan sites.

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Balrogs, creatures of shadow and flame in J.R.R. Tolkien's universe are, pardon the pun, a topic of hot debate. They are also cool, as, well, cool as hell (Udûn.) In this episode we take a walk through the valley of the shadow to discuss these powerful, captivating and often debated creatures, and take on the old debate: wings vs. no wings.

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J.R.R. Tolkien published a lot of material. With the help of his son and literary executor, there is a wealth of published content and commentary, including non-Middle-earth fiction, art, his essays and letters and some excellent writings about The Professor.

So, as a reader, should you follow conventional wisdom or is there a better way to get more out of his works beyond "The Hobbit," and "The Lord of the Rings?" Additionally, how does a reader make the most of the dense and sometimes challenging "The Silmarillion?" Where does that fit into my reading?

In this episode of The Tolkien Podcast, we dig into those questions with answers and suggestions that don't follow the traditional wisdom. Please visit and share: https://thetolkienpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

PODCAST DISCLAIMER: This podcast, is created to discuss the works, and life of J.R.R. Tolkien, with diversions into works inspired by his efforts, the ramifications of his works on pop culture — indeed culture — the works of his son Christopher Tolkien.

We will also discuss adaptations of The Professor’s works in other mediums most definitely including film, television, art and music, or anything else that seems worthy of discussion or of interest. It is all part of the broad topic presented here.

In no way is anything discussed here part of, or officially or unofficially endorsed by anyone associated with the Tolkien Estate, Middle-earth Enterprises, any of the publishers in any of the countries around the world that print Tolkien books, or any of the studios or artists that publish Tolkien content of any kind. Indeed, this is simply fair use commentary and discussion of all of the above and more.

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