Tolkien is the Closest thing I Have to a God.

           

              So you definitely have a good idea about my slight obsession with Tolkien, I have seen all the movies, and mostly directors cuts of course, read all of his books... well i am still finishing Fall of Gondolin but i am close. The Hobbit is my favorite book of all time, it for me truly captures what a fantasy story should feel like how it should immerse you. I frankly do not really know where to start or what to discuss specifically with this one, there are just to many things. I think one of my favorite things is how he created all these concepts that are used so regularly in modern fantasy but run so much deeper due to his influences and motivations for the writing. For example the wizards in middle earth, to any one unfamiliar they seem rather typical for fantasy they are old men with staffs, and long bears, and pointy hats, and grumpy attitudes, with a fair share of mystery around them, and an aptitude of showing up in the last minute. However unlike in harry potter, or dnd or any fantasy mmorpg, the wizards in Tolkien's writings are particularly unique. They are close to angles then to old men, for they are not really men at all but demi-god like spirits who were sent from essentially heaven to guide and advise the people of middle earth. They simply take the form of old men as to be un threatening and unassuming to those they were sent to advise. The reason they were sent was because of the threat the most powerful of their kind posed to middle earth, Sauron. Yeah it is not to often in fantasy that the dark lord, wandering wizard, and fire demon are all basically siblings. It stands much closer to how angles and fallen angles are represented in Judeo-Christain mythology, which was a huge influence on the world Tolkien created and why it continues to stand out as brilliantly unique and deep fantasy world.