The Fireside

It has been revealed that there will be a new, illustrated, edition of Unfinished Tales . It will feature artwork by Ted Nasmith, Alan Lee and John Howe. As of this post, I am unsure if they will be new illustrations, or a compilation of their existing material. I'm guessing the size dimensions will be the 'standard' size; and not over-sized like The Lord of the Rings 60th anniversary illustrated edition or Jemima Catlin's illustrated Hobbit (reg or deluxe). The info below follows. Also, remember that these are UK editions, and as such, should be ordered off Amazon UK, Blackwell's or Waterstones for example: Illustrated Hardback (Standard Edition) Published: Oct. 1 ISBN: 9780008387952 Illustrated Hardback (Special Slipcased Deluxe Edition) Published: Oct. 1 ISBN: 9780008387969 Once more info is revealed (cover art, synopsis reflecting these editions, and possibly size dimensions) I'll relay the info here. Two parting thoughts: 1) it can be assumed that the 20...

The details of the forthcoming deluxe edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (which also includes Pearl and Sir Orfeo ) have been revealed. Publication date: April 20 ISBN: 9780008393625 " This elegant deluxe slipcased edition of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour, features a beautifully decorated text and includes as a bonus the complete text of Tolkien’s acclaimed lecture on Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values. Pearl is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a sense of great personal loss: but, like Gawain it is also a sophisticated and moving debate on much less t...

I had previously reported that HarperCollins will be (re)publishing Alan Lee's illustrated editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In this post, I'll provide the cover art, ISBN info (key to ordering those exact copies) and the official product description. Remember that these are UK editions - the US won't be getting them. Buy from Amazon UK, Blackwell's, Waterstones, etc using the ISBN's to ensure you get them.  THE HOBBIT ISBN: 9780008376116 Publication date: May 14 "A great modern classic and the prelude to The Lord of the Rings. Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance! Whisked away from his co...

This year, my Tolkien book buying will likely come to an end. Of what's coming out that we know of at this point, I feel like I'm finally finished; and in a sense, ready to go goodbye because of that. Buying Tolkien books has been a part of my life since about 2002. Now, it's time to look ahead. The next (possibly 'last') series of books I'm interested in getting are Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels. Most famously, in 2003 Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany starred in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World . It adapted portions of some of O'Brian's novels. I have heard that the books are quite good, and reading up on them, I have become interested. I admit, this particular time period is quite unknown to me. However, the East Coast in me revels at the idea of reading these stories. The books in the series are: - Master and Commander: 9780006499152 - Post Captain: 9780006499169 - H.M.S. Surprise: 9780006499176 - The Maur...

Highland Park is my favourite whisky distillery. This could be because it was their 12 year old that got me into single malts. Of course, I like other distilleries, however I think it's the safe to say that I like Highland Park. Also, I love their 'viking theme.' Recently, the third and final of their Viking Legends series has come out here in Canada: Valfather. The second one was Valknut, and the first was Valkyrie. They have done other series like that in the past: Dark and Light, and Fire and Ice. I'm not sure what else they have planned on the horizon, however of what's out now, these are the following I'd like to try: CORE RANGE 18 year (Viking Pride) Slow-burning, aromatic peat from Hobbister Moor; hand turned floor maltings, Sherry seasoned European oak casks, cool maturation in our temperate island climate and a long and unhurried harmonisation process. Like our founder, Magnus Eunson, we share our Viking ancestors’ commitment to skilled craftsmanshi...