So Where Did Frodo Go?

dokko · 20 Nov 2006 at 20:36

Gilly said:
Nah, the Undying Lands can only be reached by sailing to them.

I heard Easyjet were doing cheap returns as of Jan 2007 though. So hang on a couple of months and avoid a rather large hungry turtle.

Book now to avoid disappointment.

Mark A · 20 Nov 2006 at 20:36

I wish i hadn't seen the films now

, although they're good they aren't a patch on the book and now when i read the book ill envision the characters from the film. I read the Hobbit when i was 10 and its the best thing i have ever read, if you have seen LOTR then you need to read the hobbit!. I started reading the LOTR when i was in secondary school but didn't finish it for some reason. It was a really good read though and i wish i had read it all. Most of the stuff thats missing from the film is little things like meals that they make etc, it makes you feel more involved and i often became hungry for some stew when reading it lol.

MasterMike · 20 Nov 2006 at 20:37

Lord of the Rings is indeed a dusty old tome; I admire the films for taking the story out and leaving (most of) the rest of it behind. Ever tried reading the Silmarillion? Reads like a history book. A particularly long-winded history book.

Trick · 20 Nov 2006 at 20:40

The thing to remember is that The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is just a tiny part of the world that Tolkein created over many many years. A fair chunk of that world/history is told in The Silmarillion, The Book Of Lost Tales and Unfinished Tales. Be warned though that whilst TLOFR trilogy is relatively easy to get into and enjoy, the rest is very deep and reads more like an historical text than a story. Having said that, I read paractically everything by Tolkein that I could get my hands on whilst I was a Uni student and throroughly enjoyed the lot. I think I've read the trilogy about 4 times and will do so again in the not too distant future.

Gilly · 20 Nov 2006 at 20:53

MasterMike said:
Lord of the Rings is indeed a dusty old tome

No it isn't, and they missed massively important parts from the film.

MasterMike said:
Ever tried reading the Silmarillion? Reads like a history book. A particularly long-winded history book.

Thats because it is a history book. It was never written as a story.

joeyjojo · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:04

In J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, Aman ("blessed realm") is a continent that lies to the west of Middle-earth (although it lay in another dimension during the time of The Lord of the Rings), across the great ocean Belegaer.

:/

Damn good books, and very good films - much better than I remember. The end of RotK is critiscised a lot, but I watched it last night and it's perfect.

MasterMike · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:07

Gilly said:
No it isn't, and they missed massively important parts from the film.

I forced myself to read Lord of the Rungs ... before I saw the films. I found it horrible to read. I love the films. I could have happily skipped the whole Tom Bombadil thing - the only thing about it that interested me was the Barrow Wights. Tolkien certainly had one of the most fertile creative minds of modern times, but I do feel he had the tendancy to write history. This is what interested him, of course - and many others - but I personally don't feel it makes for brilliant story pacing.

Gilly · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:10

joeyjojo said:
:/

Damn good books, and very good films - much better than I remember. The end of RotK is critiscised a lot, but I watched it last night and it's perfect.

Whats with the face? As mentioned earlier it had been a part of the earth in an earlier age but had been removed when the men of Númenor attacked it.

MasterMike said:
I forced myself to read Lord of the Rungs ... before I saw the films. I found it horrible to read. I love the films.

Fair enough, I won't try to change your opinion.

Wrong though it is

[edit]The important things I was referring to: Barrow Downs, Scourging of the Shire/Sharkey, Radagast... Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are secondary to the story really.

vincent1989 · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:11

KurTz said:
Never read the books, only seen the films and thought they were all brilliant. How much from the books is missing on screen?

'The Hobbit' beats all the LoTR's books/films pants down, pity they never made a film of it as well

go read the books, number 2 (the two towers) is a bit of a killer (is a bit slow, and boring I.M.O) but the other 2 are brilliant, and the movies, while the best i have seen for relativeness to a book, just don't do them justice.

and then go read 'The Hobbit' precursor to the trilogy (which by the way, was never intended as a trilogy

)

M0T · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:12

MasterMike said:
I could have happily skipped the whole Tom Bombadil thing

I enjoyed the books but it took perseverance. A lot of the people I know completely gave up halfway throught the Tom Bombadil section because it didn't feel like it was going anywhere.

MasterMike · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:15

Gilly said:
Wrong though it is

Lord of the Rungs? Good lord, I'm getting lazy.

robmiller · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:17

bringerofdecay said:
'The Hobbit' beats all the LoTR's books/films pants down, pity they never made a film of it as well

Peter Jackson is making one, it should come out around 2009.

Gilly · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:18

bringerofdecay said:
'The Hobbit' beats all the LoTR's books/films pants down

Its a nice story for kids but it doesn't compare to LOTR.

MasterMike · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:20

robmiller said:
Peter Jackson is making one, it should come out around 2009.

I believe he said 2008-09 is the earliest it would start filming.

Bumhucker · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:20

To answer the most intriguing question about Tolkien's world read this:

http://www.ansereg.com/what_tolkien_officially_said_abo.htm

Gilly said:
Nah, the Undying Lands can only be reached by sailing to them. They were taken from the world when the last king of Númenor attacked them in search of immortality. Sauron talked him into that.

Didn't one Elf decide to walk around the top?

I think that was in one of the earlier ages but someone (Illuvatar?) decided to detach the Undying Lands physically and made it so you could only get there on a boat with people who are allowed to get there (elves and ringbearers).

Gilly · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:29

Bumhucker said:
Didn't one Elf decide to walk around the top?

I think that was in one of the earlier ages but someone (Illuvatar?) decided to detach the Undying Lands physically and made it so you could only get there on a boat with people who are allowed to get there (elves and ringbearers).

Well they did used to be part of the world so if they were connected it'd have been possible to travel it on foot, I don't remember reading of an elf that travelled on foot, but its possible. I think it was Manwë that asked Ilúvatar to remove the Undying Lands from the earth, and I think they destroyed Númenor at the same time.

vincent1989 · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:37

robmiller said:
Peter Jackson is making one, it should come out around 2009.

bah, I'll have died by then...some flab related illness...or heart defect

Bernard · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:38

Sauron corrupted the Numenorean(?) King, which led to the Numenoreans worshipping evil, and sacrificing humans. They eventually set out with a massive fleet to wage war on the Valar/Maiar and the High Elves.

As soon as they set foot on the Undying Lands, Manwe caused the Pelori Mountains to fall on top of the invading army killing them all, at the same time the Volcano on Numenor erupted, destroying the Island which sank beneath the sea.

This is when the undying land were set apart and as said only the ships of the elves could reach it.

Some faithful Numenoreans left before the disaster, and founded Gondor and Arnor(which later was destroyed), Aragorn was a descendant of these men.

Eventually after Aragorns death, Legolas and Gimli both went to the Undying lands as well.

Gilly · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:44

Bernard said:
Some faithful Numenoreans left before the disaster, and founded Gondor and Arnor(which later was destroyed), Aragorn was a descendant of these men.

Wasn't it more that they recognised there'd be big fallout from the attack rather than any remaining faithfulness?

Bernard · 20 Nov 2006 at 21:47

No, their king was Elendil, they were known as the Elendili(the faithful) one of the Valar, forget the name atm , gave them a seedling, which is what the white tree in Gondor is descended from.