wow...i missed the whole freaking big conversation...dammit /sad face
anyway...i think Sam was the real hero because he was forced to fight foes mroe terrible and fearsome than he could ever have imagined and he journeyed into the heart of darkness all for a friend he loved like a brother

Kin, I realize they're all histories, I'm just saying that as a history, Lord of the Rings doesn't strike me as having a specific main theme.

Have you read The Children of Hurin? If you haven't it's a book pieced together by Christopher (?) Tolkein from various notes and texts by his father. It's really an interesting story, but what makes it really interesting is that it's actually written like a historical story, almost completely neutral third person.

I have not, actually, because I'm personally more inclined to shy away from the stuff that wasn't directly compiled by Tolkien, since it's easy to put one's own spin or interpretation on things and his view of middle earth was very very specific. I just worry that someone else wouldn't necessarily be true to his vision.

i love the silmarilion because its all these different elven myths such as the creation the fall of morgoth and the rise of sauron and all these different things about the lands across the sea to the west

The Silmarillion is in my stack of books to be read, but it's near the bottom just because of it's reputation. xD And I'm really excited for some of my other books.

As to the Children of Hurin, personally I thought that it seemed pretty good. I guess I mean I didn't feel dubious of it while reading it. Probably because of the neutral point of view, I guess.

Yeah the PoV in LotR was more inclined to the good guys and followed their exploits and i haven't actually read the Children of Hurin yet...but it sounds good

Yeah, Lord of the Rings is a tale, and Hurin is like, a description.
It's really fascinating, I must say. It goes into a lot of stuff that is long gone in the world by the time LotR rolls around. And on the topic of this thread, Turin (the main character) is really fascinating.

So would you take the elvish version of immortality if it was offered to you? or on that note what race would you be in LotR if you could pick any of them

personally i'd be a vala

I think choosing Vala is kind of a cheap answer to that question. =P I mean, you chose 'god'.

Not unexpected, though. His fandom in the opening post was for the Nazgul, so you already know he's got a godmode complex. :)

hehe go go gadget god complex and eru illuvitar is the god the vala are just spirits with some form of power far less than his

Semantics.

Ilúvatar may have been the creator, but the Valar had the power to create and destroy, and were ostensibly tasked with the physical creation of Arda. They were the lords over all the people of Arda, and no matter how you slice it, were gods. :)

Hell, Aulë went so far as to create people.

Let's compare here. Vala aren't gods in Middle Earth as Angels aren't gods in Christianity. So, not really, but they're not exactly hum-drum beings.

I definitely like all elves myself. I like Glorfindel since he was supposed to have been the one who came to their rescue. I wished movies were just a bit more accurate when it comes to the retelling of a tale in a media medium. I like all dwarves too, Gimli son of Gloin is an interesting character, I like how his and Legolas' friendship evolves throughout the entire series.

well we also have morgothal who though he rebelled against illuvitar was still unable to defeat him

I always feel really connected when I read about the Rohirrim, because their culture is so similar to ancient Norse culture, so they as a collective are definately favourites of mine.

Character-wise, I really adore Haldir for some reason, and am miffed they killed him off in The Two Towers-movie. I have a tendency to like the rather minor characters, because of the variation they bring to the plot. It may not make sense.