Feb 10, 2022

The worlds of Middle-earth are about to look a bit different. Saul Zaentz, has decided to release the movie, merchandising, gaming, and live event rights to “Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit” and other titles from author J.R.R. Tolkien are coming up for auction. The Tolkien properties are projected to fetch at least $2 billion, based on recent high valuations...

May 30, 2020

  This a guest post by published author Seth C. Adams HarperCollins, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter.     Over a quarter-century ago–long before I had the coherent thought that I wanted to be a writer–I read J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time. As a middle school kid, I was...

Aug 23, 2018

  Dark Horse will release a 200-page collection of contemporary artist Donato Giancola’s paintings and drawings illustrating J.R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings saga.     Middle-Earth: Journeys in Myth and Legend brings together Giancola’s lifelong illumination of Tolkien’s words, which spans his entire career from the late 1980s to today. ...

Apr 25, 2018

Hail Friends! Hope you are all doing well. Happy 11th Anniversary to The Lord of The Rings Online. It is a joy to see such a wonderful game based on Tolkiens lore still going strong. While raiding is fun but the mere fact that we can just log into a game and go visit Prancing Pony in Bree or go see the Tower of Isengard or witness the destruction of the Black...

Sep 16, 2017

Planning a Hobbit day party? Want to impress your guests? I’ve got just what you need. Next Friday, September 22, is both Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday and has been proclaimed by the Tolkien Society as Hobbit Day. Many Tolkien fans go all out on the day and throw parties if this is you and you really want to stand out, and so all of your guests that you are...

May 18, 2017

Hail Friends! Hope you are all doing well! The sun is shinning bright, spring has said goodbye but weather-man says the unexpected winds of winter are about to make a come back here in northern Italy. Casual Raiders had a slow week, with some players taking a break from gaming to tend to real life, we have decided to take this time to go back to the basis and...

May 2, 2017

  Hail Friends! Guess who is back! Did you guys miss me?  Life has been busy, with work and my Kinship and 3 million other hobbies, it was very hard to keep up with the weekly Tolkien inspired poetry. So many times I wanted to publish what little poetry I wrote but I just didnt want to publish something which wouldn’t have done justice to the...

Feb 24, 2017

Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past (Part 4&5) A dreaded pestilance attacked Casa Buggins last week which is why in this article I highlight two episodes of Exploring Lord of the Rings. We look in these two episodes at the further revlations made to Frodo Baggins informing him that his magic ring is a little more potent than first believed… We also...

Feb 11, 2017

Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past (Part 3) Continuing from our discussion last week, which focused on Gandalf and his knowledge of Rings, including the great ring. This week we look into the History of the one Ring. With a fun field-trip down down down to Goblin Town. Our hosts on Brandywine were the Casual Raiders kinship. Here is the full class from Signum...

Feb 4, 2017

Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past (Part 2) Yet another week and more thought provoking chat with Prof. Corey Olsen. This time we look at the text in the second chapter to discuss what exactly did Gandalf know about Bilbo’s ring. Why did he decide to leave it and Frodo in the Shire for seventeen years? I watched this episode on YouTube and you can also....

Jan 26, 2017

Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past (Part 1) Professor Corey began our indepth look at chapter 2… (FotR). Lilirose from the Kinship Rangers of The West led a wonderful introduction on Gladden. We open The Shadow of The Past with a visit to The Green Dragon and a conversation between Samwise Gamgee and Ted Sandyman. As usual I like to go grab a screen shot...

Jan 23, 2017

Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party (Part 3) Greetings fellow scholars, Sorry I missed posting this article in time for LPN. The community of Arkenstone were our hosts for this talk, the last look at Chapter 1. The Professor (Corey not JRR) led a detailed discussion looking at the conversation between Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf. (After the Party). What does Gandalf...

Jan 14, 2017

Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party (Part 2) A fine gathering assembled on Crickhollow for this installment of “LOTRO meets LotR”. We explored the character differences in Bilbo Baggins when we first meet him in Ch 1. of The Hobbit and again in Ch 1. Of The Fellowship of the Ring. Looking at how Bilbo has developed and how Bilbo has caused other folk...

Jan 5, 2017

Return to The Shire And we begin at the beginning: Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party (Part 1) A great deal of interest was shown by the LOTRO community when it was announced that an interactive lecture series was going to commence on the 3rd Jan 2017. I have been in awe of Professor Corey Olsen’s “gift-of-the-gab” since I first heard him talk a...

  The mortal man and immortal elf are important figures in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth mythology . Now, HarperCollins has announced plans to release Beren and Lúthien in 2017, 100 years after Tolkien first wrote it.     The Middle-earth tale tells of the love between the mortal man and the immortal elf. Lúthien’s father, an Elvish lord, is...

Update: You can listen to the full discussion in the following video. Dr. Corey Olsen, ‘The Tolkien Professor’, will be having a chat with LOTRO’s writer of the Epic Story, MadeOfLions, on Thursday. “We’ve got a special treat planned for you as part of Signum’s 2016 Fall Fundraising Campaign. On Thursday, October 13, at 4...

Aug 21, 2016

This week’s video highlight brings us a series of great hobbit drinking songs.  “Hobbit Drinking Medley – Peter Hollens feat. Hank Green!!” was released in 2016 on Peter Hollen’s YouTube channel. Do you know of a good Middle-earth themed video and want it to be featured in this series? Send an email to contact@lotroplayers.com with...

Jun 23, 2016

This week’s video highlight gives a hypothetical trailer for a Silmarillion film saga.  “The Silmarillion – Final Trailer” was released in 2016 on Game Ovais’ YouTube channel. Do you know of a good Middle-earth themed video and want it to be featured in this series? Send an email to contact@lotroplayers.com with a link to the video...

Jun 16, 2016

This week’s video highlight brings a poem from The Lord of the Rings to life.  “The Lay of Nimrodel” was released in 2012 on Adele McAllister’s YouTube channel. Do you know of a good Middle-earth themed video and want it to be featured in this series? Send an email to contact@lotroplayers.com with a link to the video and it might end up...

Jun 11, 2016

Coursera’s free “Online Games” course will be starting up again on Monday, June 13. This course explores what happens to stories, paintings, and films when they become the basis of massively multiplayer online games. The course focuses on how The Lord of the Rings trilogy is transformed as it is presented in the different media forms: Tolkien’s novels, the...