Books

[Old Black Man]

Been listening to readings of Lovecraft, here’s what I got so far.

The Statement of Randolph Carter

The Outsider

The Picture in the House

The Whisperer in the Darkness

The Hound (really liked this one)

And finally The Rats in the Walls, the one with the most based cat name ever.

[Rushy]

I grew up reading the Lord of the Rings many times, but always in the Estonian translation. A few days ago I bought a copy of the original English text for the sake of authenticity and I find myself very surprised by just how concise Tolkien is.

Having read George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire in English before this, I expected Tolkien to be somewhat in that vein, heavy on the 'old-timey' grammar and vocabulary. I mean, Tolkien was a linguist after all, and these books were written earlier than Martin's, back when people spoke differently to how they do now.

But Tolkien is so much more straightforward. All the dialogue sounds like I'm watching a cozy 1960s Hammer film or something. The descriptions are basic and to the point, in a good way. It's such a relaxing read.

I have nothing else to say, I just wanted to share my delight.

[Kugelfisch]

I should get around to reading LotR eventually as well.

[wulfenlord]

If you are in the masochist mood to fight yourself through a linguistic slog full of philological flourishes try the Silmarillion. It's like the Bible with all Hebrew names exchanged with Elvish ones (or Eldar for the learnéd )

[Kugelfisch]

No thanks. I'm not enough into fantasy for that, which is why I never got around to reading LotR. I started reading The Hobbit when I was 14 and found it very tedious, which is another reason.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales have some banger stories, like the one about that bloke who ruins his marriage because of his obsession with sailing (a true testament to "Bros before Hoes").
Or that tale about the dragonslayer who loses his mind when he finds out the amnesiac chick he's been banging was his sister all along.

I mean, Tolkien was a linguist after all, and these books were written earlier than Martin's, back when people spoke differently to how they do now.

It's specifically because he was a linguist. He knows that getting your message across in a clear and concise manner is more important than flaunting your thesaurus.

The most annoying thing about George Arr Arr's style to me is his insistence of having everyone pronounce numbers in the Germanic way ("nine-and-sixty" instead of "sixty-nine"). Dunno if that is more "accurate" and "authentic" (as accurate and authentic you can be in a world that is eternally stuck in the Middle Ages), but it's annoying as shit.

(Could be personal bias on my end, though. I got shit in elementary for not "understanding" our nonsensical way of reading numbers, and even after I became one of the greatest math incels in my school I still found it stupid af.)

[rabidtictac]

Sword and Sorcery stories tend to be a lot more immediate than high fantasy, so I'd recommend those to people who don't like that Silmarillion type of shit.

To be fair, I like LOTR and The Hobbit but can't stand the Silmarillion. Tolkien was a Beowulf scholar who loved epic poetry and it shows, but we didn't need a literal bible full of fake bullshit explaining every aspect of his DEEP PLOTS for LOTR.

I've never been able to stomach George's prose long enough to read any of his books. There's something about the way he writes I find insufferable.

[Rushy]

Tolkien was a Beowulf scholar who loved epic poetry and it shows, but we didn't need a literal bible full of fake bullshit explaining every aspect of his DEEP PLOTS for LOTR.

He knew that, though. The whole reason Lord of the Rings exists is because he knew nobody would care about his fake history unless it had an epic story behind it. Silmarillion was mainly meant for uber fans and those who had a deep interest in the world beyond that.

[Old Black Man]

Been listening to Solomon Kane tales, this has to be the most accurate description of a black person I've ever heard. @45:50

[Le Redditeur]

I've never been able to stomach George's prose long enough to read any of his books. There's something about the way he writes I find insufferable.

Obligatory AMERICAN TOLKIEN! moment:



And there's this pearl from a comment in that video:

There is literally a line in the same book that goes, "The ship groaned like a fat man straining to take a shit."

An author should always write about what he knows. Bravo Martin!