Tag: LOTR

The Russian Hobbit, Part 4

In this post I’ll be looking at some Russian / Slavic hobbit illustrations I found that were not published, at least not in a book, as far as I know. This sweet pic depicts, I think, Gandalf and Bilbo after their adventure sharing a quiet moment together, or perhaps some ho-yay?**  Gandalf is not wearing …

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The Russian Hobbit, Part 3

Yet more strange creatures sprung from the minds of Russian artists with views of hobbits unadulterated by the West. Take the one above. The hobbit is hard to see, but he’s at midcenter left, holding a sword, apparently  miniaturized as he fights the spiders, who should be giant spiders. (The same scene is depicted ina …

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The Russian Hobbit, Part 2

After The Hobbit was published in the Soviet Union in 1976 the same translation was used for subsequent editions. The artists again featured those same furry feet and legs for Bilbo Baggins. Like the creature above who looks far from human-like with his claws, donkey ears, and misshapen face. Well, it’s an honest attempt at …

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The Russian Hobbit, Part 1

As I said in my last post, the first edition of The Hobbit was published in the Soviet Union in 1976 as a hardback children’s book. Translation was by Natalia Rakhmanova with illustrations by artist Mikhail Belomlinsky. Notice anything different about Bilbo? That’s right, his entire legs are hairy, not just his feet. That’s because …

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Sauron in the Bathroom

He’s trimming his nose hairs, apparently.

A Less Than Impressive Hobbit.

It’s amazing to me how differently artists interpret Bilbo Baggins. Last month I found these two covers and now, here’s this one. It’s not a great depiction. First off, Bilbo is too tall and portly, and his signature feature, the hairy feet, is missing. He looks more like John Goodman from the 1990s sitcom Roseanne. …

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The Fall of Númenor [Reading Challenge 2024]

The Fall of Númenor by J. R. R. Tolkien, ed. by Brian Sibley William Morrow, 2022 [ #23  Pixies and Dryads and Elves, oh my! : A high fantasy ] I am backposting this review, as I finished the book only a few days before the end of 2024. Let’s hope 2025 is a little …

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Worldbuilding Wednesday 9/27/23: Welsh I

Want to make your fantasy world really fantasyish? Add in some -wyns,  -yrs, -wys, with a sprinkling of  gws and lls, just like the characters and places in The Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh folktales written down in the 14th century. Based on oral traditions that were older, they served as the basis for modern …

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