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Hugo and Locus Award-Nominated Related Work

When J.R.R. Tolkien created the extraordinary world of Middle-earth and populated it with fantastic, archetypal denizens, reinventing the heroic quest, the world hardly noticed. Sales of The Lord of the Rings languished for the better part of two decades, until the Ballantine editions were published here in America. By late 1950s, however, the books were selling well and beginning to change the face of fantasy.... forever.

A generation of students and aspiring writers had their hearts and imaginations captured by the rich tapestry of the Middle-earth mythos, the larger-than-life heroic characters, the extraordinary and exquisite nature of Tolkien's prose, and the unending quest to balance evil with good. These young readers grew up to become the successful writers of modern fantasy. They created their own worlds and universes, in some cases their own languages, and their own epic heroic quests. And all of them owe a debt of gratitude to the works and the author who first set them on the path.

In Meditations on Middle-earth, sixteen bestselling fantasy authors share details of their personal relationships with Tolkien's mythos, for it inspired them all. Had there been no Lord of the Rings, there would also have been no Earthsea books by Ursula K. Le Guin; no Song of Ice and Fire saga from George R. R. Martin; no Tales of Discworld from Terry Pratchett; no Legends of Alvin Maker from Orson Scott Card. Each of them was influenced by the master mythmaker, and now each reveals the nature of that influence and their personal relationships with the greatest fantasy novels ever written in the English language.

If you've never read the Tolkien books, read these essays and discover the depthy and beauty of his work. If you are a fan of The Lord of the Rings, the candid comments of these modern mythmakers will give you new insight into the subtlety, power, and majesty of Tolkien's tales and how he told them.

Table of Contents:

• Preface: The Beat Goes On - essay by Karen Haber
• Introduction - essay by George R. R. Martin
• Our Grandfather: Meditations on J. R. R. Tolkien - essay by Raymond E. Feist
• Awakening the Elves - essay by Poul Anderson
• A Changeling Returns - essay by Michael Swanwick
• If You Give a Girl a Hobbit - essay by Esther M. Friesner
• The Ring and I - essay by Harry Turtledove
• Cult Classic - essay by Terry Pratchett
• A Bar and a Quest - essay by Megan Lindholm
• Rhythmic Pattern in the Lord of the Rings - essay by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Longest Sunday - essay by Diane Duane
• Tolkien After All These Years - essay by Douglas A. Anderson
• How Tolkien Means - essay by Orson Scott Card
• The Tale Goes Ever On - essay by Charles de Lint
• The Mythmaker - essay by Lisa Goldstein
• "The Radical Distinction...": A Conversation With Tim and Greg Hildebrandt - interview of Tim Hildebrandt and Greg Hildebrandt - interview by Glenn Hurdling
• On Tolkien and Fairy-Stories - essay by Terri Windling