What do You think about Master Of Middle-Earth: The Fiction Of J.R.R. Tolkien (1972)?
This was published before the Silmarillion, which made for interesting reading, as I've read the Silmarillion a few times and know a fair bit about Middle-Earth. There were some suppositions and guesses in this book that have since been answered, both by the publication of the Silmarillion and by others. I did enjoy this very much though.I particularly liked the chapter on Aragorn, which presented a way of looking at his character in a way that I've never imagined. The fact is that he is the 'hero' character and would most likely have been the main character had this been written by any other author. The analysis of his character in this volume digs beneath the superficial presentation of a good man who is doing his best to fulfill his destiny and win the hand of Arwen. There are many interesting aspects to his character that I've never considered - such as feelings of frustration, desire, ambition. I've always seen him as wise and patient and, essentially, passive. The analysis of his discussion of Narsil/Anduril and his position with Boromir during the council is also well worth reading and will colour my next reading of it (Sadly, I'm already at the end of book 3, about to look into the palantir with Pippin in my current reading).The final chapter, Seven leaves, was very interesting for the simple reason that I've never considered much of Tolkien's other writing in relation to his writings on Middle Earth. It's very interesting to see the familiar imagery and parallels that pervade his other writings.Even though this is old and in some places out-dated, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Tolkien's work.
—Andrea Hickman Walker
Although first published several years before The Silmarillion, in that vasty deep time when so many of our questions remained unanswered, Master of Middle-earth remains one of my favorite critical studies of Tolkien. Kocher's chapter-long character study of Aragorn is particularly brilliant:"This is the ambitious, weary, and apprehensive prince who impatiently watches the foolish antics of the hobbits under the suspicious eyes of the crowd at the inn. To his mind the hobbits badly need taking in hand, as children who are playing games with the fate of Middle-earth....He does not make the mistake of being ingratiating; on the contrary, he starts out with a shock tactic. Because of the debacle in the common room he treats them like the children they have shown themselves to be, and proposes to give them unspecified valuable information in exchange for the 'reward' of being allowed to accompany them. The proposal is meant to be indignantly refused and when it is, Aragorn applauds." (p. 133)[First read in February 1973 and several times since.]
—Elizabeth
From the title, I'd thought this book would be a biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, so I was little disappointed when I sat down to read it and realized that it was more of a literary analysis of Tolkien's works.Still, after I accepted it for what it was, I found it to be quite an enjoyable book. It reads rather like a series of seminar lectures - what you might hear from a (rather entertaining) professor if you signed up for a class on Tolkien. (The author was a professor, so this is not surprising).As might be expected, some of the observations are rather obvious, but others are quite insightful, and indicative of well-done research. Kocher obviously loves and respects Tolkien's work, but not to the point of sounding 'fannish.'The book was published in 1972, so some of Tokien's posthumously published works are not spoken of, but overall, I have to say this book is worthwhile for any Tolkien fan.
—Althea Ann
