| Tolkien's World : Paintings of Middle-Earth | 
 enlarge | Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Creators: Inger Edelfeldt, Tony Galuidi, Roger Garland, Robert Goldsmith, Michael Hague, Alan Lee, John Howe, Ted Nasmith, Carol Emery Phenix
Publisher: MJF Books
Category: Book
List Price: $12.98
Buy Used: $1.91
You Save: $11.07 (85%)
New (3) Used (28) from $1.91
Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 377235
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 11.5 x 9 x 0.7
ISBN: 1567312489
EAN: 9781567312485
ASIN: 1567312489
Publication Date: April 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: EX-LIBRARY; used item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned for refund. Buy with confidence - your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics!
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Amazon.com Review
The fantastical world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is a land of rugged valleys and strange gothic forests inhabited by wizards and goblins. This world comes to life within the vast vaults of our imagination--and it may unnerve devotees of The Hobbit, Silmarillion, and The Lord of the Rings to physically encounter this world in paint and paper. Can the full evilness of Smaug, that demon of jaws and fire, ever be reproduced in a picture? Thankfully and reassuringly, Tolkien's World does not denigrate our very personal conceptions of this place in any way. An array of talented artists conjure up brilliant images on canvas, inspired by specific passages from the texts. Alan Lee's style is whimsical and enticing--his landscapes of Mount Doom and Tol Brandir are enveloped in a foggy veil, the elf lady Galadriel glows in an strange light standing "tall and pale." In contrast, John Howe's works are bold and dramatic, reflecting terrifying encounters with trolls, dragons, and creatures of "sting and of claws." These and other fabled paintings only add to our dreams of Middle-earth. --Naomi Gesinger
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle Earth September 19, 2008
The book was in perfect shape, it arrived well before I expected it, and the whole purchasing process was seemless.
Used and Good! December 11, 2007
I bought it used for .50 cents; totally worth it! Yes, the 'weird' paintings do not appeal to me, but I can live with them. Buy it used, and ignore the naysayers, unless you are spending $25+ dollars.
 A conflicted "World" July 4, 2003
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Perhaps no fictional world has inspired as much art as J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Unfortunately, a lot of it stinks. The good art is excellent, but plenty is mediocre or just awful, rough-looking futuristic stuff that seems utterly alien to Tolkien's work. John Howe's have the vividity and beauty we expect from him, especially his outstanding picture of Gandalf that inspired the Peter Jackson movie's Gandalf; Alan Lee's are more ethereal and colorless, but still beautiful (especially his Luthien painting). Nasmith's are usually quite good; they're not as good as Howe or Lee, but head and shoulders above average. Goldsmith is fairly good, not exceptional. Michael's Hague's are mediocre, lacking in imagination and sparkle but serviceable. Robert Garland's paintings range between the exquisite (his lovely "Smith" picture) and the cartoonish (his eye-popping "Haven" picture); the same is true of Edelfeldt, who is divided between bad and good. Phenix and Galuidi are just awful, garishly colored and totally unrealistic. Galuidi's Saruman looks like a picture for a D&D game, and his Barad-dur looks like a cheap scifi cover. Each painting is accompanied by a relevant quote or piece of verse, usually an excerpt from the book in question (not just "The Hobbit" or "Lord of the Rings," but other books as well). There are some nice bits of artwork in this book, but only buy it if you can't find Nasmith, Lee, Howe or Goldsmith anywhere else.
Good; some of the paintings inspired Peter Jackson's vision July 2, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a collection of 50+ paintings based on various works by Tolkien, which fans of Tolkien will no doubt enjoy. It may be of speial interest to those who watched the movies (and who hasn't, who read Tolkien...) as you can clearly see how some of these paintings are replicated in Jackson's movies; it takes but a moment to catch it in the film, but if you see the pictures enough you'll recognize it.The quality of the paintings are uneven, and each one has its favorite. Like many people, I find Hague lacking, but also Edelfeldt, who isn't bad but whose style is not unique enough in my opinion. My favorites, on the other hand, are Howe, Garland, Nasmith, Lee and Galuidi. Garland, my favorite, has a unique and glowing, almost 'mystical' style that does the book justice. Howe's pictures are also intriguing and beautiful, and feel true to the book (and thankfully, he seems to dominate the book in terms of the number of contributions). Nasmith has some splendid landscape pictures, though his vision of the characters leave something to be desired (especially of a fat, distorted Boromir!) Galuidi's sci-fi, computerized style may not appeal to some, but I find them interesting. Finally, Lee's soft watercolors are very appealing, and his vision of the characters is near-perfect (especially Galadriel and Gandalf).
Something for everyone June 26, 2003
While everyone has their own taste and surely will not like the work of every author included, there is something here for everyone that is a Middle Earth fan. Most notably I find the work of Ted Nasmith, John Howe, Alan Lee, and Robert Goldsmith enjoyable. A big bonus as a fan of the History of Middle Earth and the Silmarillion were the images from those times by John Howe and Roger Garland.
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