The Fireside

Today, a new Tolkien book is published for the first time – The Story of Kullervo . It is available in hardback and ebook by Harper Collins. Surprisingly, there is no deluxe edition. My guess, is that, to the publisher, this isn’t a ‘major’ release, even though it is significant to Tolkien, and study of. Usually, Houghton Mifflin, the American Tolkien publisher, releases Tolkien books the same day as Harper does, but for some reason, their release is delayed by a few months. The Story of Kullervo is Tolkien’s prose re-telling (not ‘translation’…?) of the Kullervo cycle found within the epic Finnish poem known as The Kalevala . It was written by Tolkien in 1914-15. The book also comes with articles and commentaries by Verlyn Flieger. I will also add that the tale itself in the book is approximately about 26 pages long, and is unfinished – a ‘fragment’. In Recent years, The Children of Hurin, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun and Beowulf received media attention when they ...

At long last, we come to it: the extended edition of The Hobbit Trilogy. I've been waiting since 2013 to see the extended edition of Part 1 (2012, most likely...); and now we have details. Nov. 17th is the date that the trilogy, as well as The Hobbit: Part 3 extended edition comes out in various formats. Whichever formats the rest were released, expect Part 3 to follow that pattern. There will be the extended edition box set, collecting the existing Part 1 & Part 2, as well as Part 3. Nothing 'new' is offered from previous releases, in other words. I myself will nab the 2D blu-ray trilogy set; which is to be 9 discs. My review of the extended films will follow once I've seen them all. I've reviewed the theatricals, year-by-year as I've seen them at the cinema. No pre-order links yet, but keep your eyes peeled on places such as Amazon. At the very latest, check approx 1 month before release. It will look quite sharp next to my Lord of the Rings blu-r...

Well, the move happened. It went quite well, and the place is beginning to look habitable and feel like home. Not much new, other than, and because of that. Within the next two weeks, I hope to pick up the writing again, then it’s off to Nova Scotia for a week, then more writing. Because we’re in a larger place now, that means almost everything I own can go there. So yeah – things are good, the move went well, now it’s unpacking and settling, then back to normal. Well, the new normal. Current reading: Red Rising (at home); Warriors (on the bus) Current watching: Turn: Season 1 (on Netflix)

Earlier this week, it has been confirmed from numerous news sources that Game of Thrones will continue for two more years [at least...?]. This is good, as the show runners were going for about 7-8 seasons or so anyway. Whether it will go "Season 7 will be 10 episodes, Season 8 will also be 10 episodes", or instead,  "Season 7 will be split into two, like Breaking Bad, Mad Men or Hell on Wheels " for the final year. However they format the last batch of episodes, despite changes from the book here and there (for better or for worse) I am confident that the creative crew will do their best to send the show off in the best way that they can. I am hoping that this announcement means that they are able to wrap up the story in a timely manner without rushing too much, as opposed to dragging it on like a good chunk of shows on network TV that have been around for at least six years, or longer.