Understanding Middle-Earth: Essays on Tolkien's Middle-Earth

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: An incredible book! Michael Martinez takes you on a journey through Middle-earth like nothing you have ever seen before. I thought the movies were great but this book blows them out of the water. All the stuff about the Elves is simply amazing. I never knew Tolkien had written so much about Middle-earth.

Martinez mixes humor with serious study and he doesn't take himself too seriously. He covers so many topics you just can't believe there is more to Middle-earth that he doesn't go into. I can't wait for the third book! When does it come out?


Rating:
Summary: Go On An Adventure
Review: Do you believe in hobbits? Do they really exist? Are you sure? Understanding Middle Earth is a book to stir your imagination and make you wonder if these essays on Tolkien's Middle-Earth are really a pseduo-history or a real-life account of elves and their complex societal structure. Imaginary? Probably. Possible? Maybe. Take and adventure and explore possiblities that you might not ever imagine if you do not read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful insights into the vast world of Middle-earth
Review: First off, I am the editor of this book, so call me biased if you will. However, I became the editor because I so enjoyed reading Michael's essays and found them to be the absolute best and most creative source delving further into Tolkien's legendarium. All topics of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, and all of Tolkien's other works are covered. Plenty of other author's and artist's sources have gone into Michael's writings as well.

Michael considers himself to be a populist commentator on Tolkien, and I think it is a good description. He is a well-respected Tolkien scholar in his own right, but his writing style is very down to earth and extremely readable; intelligent, humorous, and even wisely speculative. I quote from the book's introduction, which I think sums it up nicely:

'I am a populist commentator. I write for those people who merely seek the pleasure of discovering new regions of Tolkien's Middle-earth. Because so many of these essays address questions raised by Tolkien fandom through the years, they are necessarily speculative on many points. But if I state something in a very matter-of-fact way, I am drawing upon some comment (or lengthy tale) published in one of the Tolkien books. The facts of Middle-earth's history are scattered across many books.'

This book also includes Michael's extensive essay on the ever popular and fascinating Last Alliance of Elves and Men, in which Sauron met his first defeat and the One Ring was taken from him; you won't find a more thorough treatment on it anywhere else.

If you are craving for more on Middle-earth past J.R.R. Tolkien's writings himself, this is your best first stop.

Highly recommended!

If you have any questions or care to discuss the editing process I went through for Understanding Middle-earth, please contact me at [e-mail].

I also recommend the free eBook Parma Endorion (the #1 downloaded eBook for the past 2 years running, which I, yes, also edited!) you can find at http://www.free-ebooks.net/fan_fiction.html

Rating:
Summary: A great book for any Tolkien reader
Review: How can anyone believe a review written by a self-proclaimed Michael Martinez hater? Why does Amazon allow people to post hateful reviews that are so clearly intended to hurt sales?

I have read this book and I enjoyed it. Michael Martinez knows the material inside out and I have no doubt he does a better job of checking his facts than people who are so hateful they have to accuse him of being a liar.

You should judge for yourself whether the book is worth the price you pay. Middle-earth is a wonderful fantasy and it comes to life under the hand of Michael Martinez. He is extremely faithful to professor Tolkien's word.

Rating:
Summary: A great book for any Tolkien reader
Review: How can anyone believe a review written by a self-proclaimed Michael Martinez hater? Why does Amazon allow people to post hateful reviews that are so clearly intended to hurt sales?

I have read this book and I enjoyed it. Michael Martinez knows the material inside out and I have no doubt he does a better job of checking his facts than people who are so hateful they have to accuse him of being a liar.

You should judge for yourself whether the book is worth the price you pay. Middle-earth is a wonderful fantasy and it comes to life under the hand of Michael Martinez. He is extremely faithful to professor Tolkien's word.

Rating:
Summary: Bully for Michael Martinez! Great book!
Review: I can't believe anyone would say there is misleading information in this book. THERE IS NOTHING MISLEADING ABOUT IT. NOTHING. It takes a lot of integrity for someone like Michael Martinez to keep writing about Tolkien the way readers deserve to see this kind of work. He is honest, direct, and to the point. That just offends some people.

For example, where did Michael claim to have "delved into unpublished material"? That is ridiculous! Michael refers to "previously unpublished" essays and stories throughout Understanding Middle-earth, but he doesn't claim to have any secret knowledge no one else possesses.

As for the Greek and Roman influences on Tolkien, I have read many of the books and articles on Tolkien, and there is virtually no mention of the story of Penthesilea and its connections to Eowyn. Nor do Shippey, Carpenter, et. al. have much of anything to say at all about Tolkien's love of the aesthetic he found in Greek language and mythology. Martinez sets aside all the traditional hype about Tolkien being an Anglo-Saxon professor and he looks at Tolkien's other material.

The humor in the book is special. After a long session of reading essays on Numenor, Gil-Galad, Legolas, it is a nice break to see how Frodo and the Baggins family could be Mafioso. And the final essay, Snoopy versus the Lord of the Nazgul, is a great tribute to both Tolkien and Charles Shultz.

Understanding Middle-earth will sure take a beating from those who don't want you to read it. They tried to drag down Visualizing Middle-earth with their negative reviews too. All I can say is, most people will love this great book. It is filled with the kind of information we Tolkien fans hunger for. There are some really great extrapolations here, but the most valuable property of this book is the fact that Michael Martinez has taken the time to bring together so many little-known facts.

Careful readers won't feel the need to deride this book. They will appreciate the hard work it represents. Understanding Middle-earth is a great resource for anyone who has read The Lord of the Rings and wants to know more about Middle-earth. It is miles above anything by David Day, J.E.A. Tyler, Robert Foster, Karen Fonstad, and all those other so-called "experts" who publish books that just gloss over Middle-earth.

Rating:
Summary: Bully for Michael Martinez! Great book!
Review: I can't believe anyone would say there is misleading information in this book. THERE IS NOTHING MISLEADING ABOUT IT. NOTHING. It takes a lot of integrity for someone like Michael Martinez to keep writing about Tolkien the way readers deserve to see this kind of work. He is honest, direct, and to the point. That just offends some people.

For example, where did Michael claim to have "delved into unpublished material"? That is ridiculous! Michael refers to "previously unpublished" essays and stories throughout Understanding Middle-earth, but he doesn't claim to have any secret knowledge no one else possesses.

As for the Greek and Roman influences on Tolkien, I have read many of the books and articles on Tolkien, and there is virtually no mention of the story of Penthesilea and its connections to Eowyn. Nor do Shippey, Carpenter, et. al. have much of anything to say at all about Tolkien's love of the aesthetic he found in Greek language and mythology. Martinez sets aside all the traditional hype about Tolkien being an Anglo-Saxon professor and he looks at Tolkien's other material.

The humor in the book is special. After a long session of reading essays on Numenor, Gil-Galad, Legolas, it is a nice break to see how Frodo and the Baggins family could be Mafioso. And the final essay, Snoopy versus the Lord of the Nazgul, is a great tribute to both Tolkien and Charles Shultz.

Understanding Middle-earth will sure take a beating from those who don't want you to read it. They tried to drag down Visualizing Middle-earth with their negative reviews too. All I can say is, most people will love this great book. It is filled with the kind of information we Tolkien fans hunger for. There are some really great extrapolations here, but the most valuable property of this book is the fact that Michael Martinez has taken the time to bring together so many little-known facts.

Careful readers won't feel the need to deride this book. They will appreciate the hard work it represents. Understanding Middle-earth is a great resource for anyone who has read The Lord of the Rings and wants to know more about Middle-earth. It is miles above anything by David Day, J.E.A. Tyler, Robert Foster, Karen Fonstad, and all those other so-called "experts" who publish books that just gloss over Middle-earth.

Rating:
Summary: A great book for every Tolkien fan
Review: It is unbelievable what people say when they set out to bash an author and his book. So, I am supposed to be a close friend of Michael Martinez just because I like his book? What nonsense!

The truth is that I have read this book from cover to cover. More than once. I love it. There are absolutely no false claims in it whatsoever. To suggest that anything Michael Martinez has written in this book is misleading is simply outrageous. Take the Penthesilea example mentioned in a previous review.

She comes towards the end of a very long essay, "The Other Way Round", in which Martinez carefully examines many sources and influences on Tolkien. Penthesilea comes from "The Fall of Troy" by Quintus of Smyrna. "Fall of Troy". Does that sound familiar? It should. It sounds very much like "The Fall of Gondolin". But there are more than just similarities between the names of these works.

If Martinez's sin is failing to mention that Eowyn's history is not based on Penthesilea's history, then the critic is at fault, not the author. This essay attributes only a few resemblances to Eowyn. And the tragic way Prince Imrahil finds her on the battlefield is compared to how Achilles beholds Penthesilea after he sees that she is a woman. But Martinez compares similarities between Eowyn and other female characters. And he starts out the Penthesilea discussion by saying "though Tolkien had no Anglo-Saxon models for Eowyn, he would have found one in Quintus' 'The Fall of Troy'".

"Would have found" does not mean "did find" or "only found" or "must have found". Who is misleading whom I say?

Martinez cites Tolkien letters and many other sources in this fantastic essay. It opens the eyes of those who haven't closed their minds. If there are axes being ground, they seem to have the name of Michael Martinez carved on their blades. Why do people keep trying to mislead Martinez readers if his books are really so bad? Maybe because he really is showing Tolkien readers there is more to Middle-earth than "Beowulf"? For shame!

And I, for one, am tired of people telling us that Michael Martinez doesn't know that Tolkien really was an Anglo-Saxonist. Do you know who else says he was not? Tom Shippey, author of The Road To Middle-earth and J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Shippey served in the same position Tolkien did. Shippey knew Tolkien. Does that mean that Shippey does not understand how British academia works?

But Shippey is the not the only voice in academia Martinez listens to. He quotes Jonathan Glenn who also disagreed with the Anglo-Saxon point-of-view. Martinez goes out of his way to show the traditional Anglo-Saxon arguments. He does not pretend that Tolkien's knowledge of Anglo-Saxon literature had no effect on him. Martinez does quote Tolkien often about Greek literature and history, Babylon, Egypt, and other sources. Why is it wrong or misleading to point out for the reader the things Tolkien himself wrote?

If one is to study Tolkien, is it not acceptable to learn from Tolkien? I think that is what Martinez is saying. He finds many examples where Tolkien disagreed with and criticized people who tried to argue the Anglo-Saxon point of view. Maybe there is something to what Professor Tolkien said. If we dare not believe Michael Martinez because of all this supposed axe-grinding, what should we think about Tolkien? Was he grinding swords and spears along with axes?

I conclude what I said in my review about Visualizing Middle-earth, that it is no wonder people get upset when Michael Martinez knocks their pet theories into last year with clear and numerous citations from Tolkien. Enjoy the book because it is a rare treasure in a chest full of sand. Or hate it. But don't lie about it. That is so unworthy of Professor Tolkien's memory.

Rating:
Summary: A great book for every Tolkien fan
Review: It is unbelievable what people say when they set out to bash an author and his book. So, I am supposed to be a close friend of Michael Martinez just because I like his book? What nonsense!

The truth is that I have read this book from cover to cover. More than once. I love it. There are absolutely no false claims in it whatsoever. To suggest that anything Michael Martinez has written in this book is misleading is simply outrageous. Take the Penthesilea example mentioned in a previous review.

She comes towards the end of a very long essay, "The Other Way Round", in which Martinez carefully examines many sources and influences on Tolkien. Penthesilea comes from "The Fall of Troy" by Quintus of Smyrna. "Fall of Troy". Does that sound familiar? It should. It sounds very much like "The Fall of Gondolin". But there are more than just similarities between the names of these works.

If Martinez's sin is failing to mention that Eowyn's history is not based on Penthesilea's history, then the critic is at fault, not the author. This essay attributes only a few resemblances to Eowyn. And the tragic way Prince Imrahil finds her on the battlefield is compared to how Achilles beholds Penthesilea after he sees that she is a woman. But Martinez compares similarities between Eowyn and other female characters. And he starts out the Penthesilea discussion by saying "though Tolkien had no Anglo-Saxon models for Eowyn, he would have found one in Quintus' 'The Fall of Troy'".

"Would have found" does not mean "did find" or "only found" or "must have found". Who is misleading whom I say?

Martinez cites Tolkien letters and many other sources in this fantastic essay. It opens the eyes of those who haven't closed their minds. If there are axes being ground, they seem to have the name of Michael Martinez carved on their blades. Why do people keep trying to mislead Martinez readers if his books are really so bad? Maybe because he really is showing Tolkien readers there is more to Middle-earth than "Beowulf"? For shame!

And I, for one, am tired of people telling us that Michael Martinez doesn't know that Tolkien really was an Anglo-Saxonist. Do you know who else says he was not? Tom Shippey, author of The Road To Middle-earth and J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Shippey served in the same position Tolkien did. Shippey knew Tolkien. Does that mean that Shippey does not understand how British academia works?

But Shippey is the not the only voice in academia Martinez listens to. He quotes Jonathan Glenn who also disagreed with the Anglo-Saxon point-of-view. Martinez goes out of his way to show the traditional Anglo-Saxon arguments. He does not pretend that Tolkien's knowledge of Anglo-Saxon literature had no effect on him. Martinez does quote Tolkien often about Greek literature and history, Babylon, Egypt, and other sources. Why is it wrong or misleading to point out for the reader the things Tolkien himself wrote?

If one is to study Tolkien, is it not acceptable to learn from Tolkien? I think that is what Martinez is saying. He finds many examples where Tolkien disagreed with and criticized people who tried to argue the Anglo-Saxon point of view. Maybe there is something to what Professor Tolkien said. If we dare not believe Michael Martinez because of all this supposed axe-grinding, what should we think about Tolkien? Was he grinding swords and spears along with axes?

I conclude what I said in my review about Visualizing Middle-earth, that it is no wonder people get upset when Michael Martinez knocks their pet theories into last year with clear and numerous citations from Tolkien. Enjoy the book because it is a rare treasure in a chest full of sand. Or hate it. But don't lie about it. That is so unworthy of Professor Tolkien's memory.

Rating:
Summary: Reviewers Attack!
Review: It is with some little concern that I write a review here, it seems that for every unenthusiastic review posted, there follows a host of the author's friends not just defending the books, but acting as if some conspiracy is out to get the author. Well, I'm no conspiracist, just a Tolkien fan.

The book is interesting. It could have used some better editing, but Martinez' style is engaging. And he certainly knows his Tolkien material well. But that also seems to give him license to speculate. Some of these speculations are fun and are makred as speculations on the part of the author. There are others however that are not so marked, but are equally speculative in nature, but are stated as truth.

To take a case, the author claims to have discovered cases of influence on Tolkien that other critics have overlooked or ignored in favor of Tolkien's preferemce for Northerness. One of these overlooked cases according to Martinez is Penthesilea, an Amazon queen who fought for Troy in the Trojan war in order to atone for the accidental murder of her sister. She fought Achilles and Achilles fell in love with her in spite of killing her on the battlefield. Now Martinez declares that this is an influence on Tolkien's depiction of Eowyn. But Eowyn wasn't an Amazon. She didn't commit a sin that needed to be atoned for. She didn't fight on the losing side. She didn't lead forces into battle. She didn't face a "champion" who fell in love with her beauty. The only parallels between the two is that they are both women and both beautiful. But when it comes down to it, there are a number of warrior women in all of Western literature who fit that description, Martinez' argument for a unique connection between the two figures really just does not work. There are other parallels that are as close and in some cases much closer than Penthesilea. This is just one of many such items in the book.

Having read both this author's books, it seems that he has an axe to grind against Tolkien scholarship, and the books fairly foment at the idea of calling Tolkien an Anglo-Saxonist or medievalist because he was a philologist as if those were somehow mutually exclusive disciplines. It demonstrates that in spite of his grinding axes against Tolkien academics that the author, and so the books, do not understand the way the university works, certainly not the university system in Britain in Tolkien's youth. The book seems to actively desire to downplay the influence of Germanic and Norse languages and mythologies on Tolkien in favor of other mythologies such as Babylonian, Egyptian, or Greco-Roman. These competing views are presented in a "not this, but this" fashion rather than emphasizing "a lot of this and some of that" kind of way. ANd many of these influences are questionable.

There are some chapters that border on the silly. The Baggins as mafioso or Snoopy vs. Sauron are fun reads but in my view don't really belong in a serious discussion of an author's work. The book should either be full of fun, fan sorts of silliness that is enjoyable to read, or advertise itself as a commentary on Tolkien's works, whatever form that commentary takes. It detracts from the book in my view to try and be both.

Still, having said all that, Martinez has still written a decent book, and if the reader is aware of the problems with it going in, I'm confident that the reader will finish the book with some profit and desire to continue Tolkien studies. And that's a good thing. But I suppose now Martinez fans will trash my review as they have to others.....one almost wonders if it isn't the author himself defending his book in this forum since it seems a negative review of the book is equated with a negative view of the author. But read the book anyway.