fajrdrako | Being a fan of The Lord of the Rings....

I found this on

monsieureden's site:

1. When did you first become a LOTR fan?

In July 1968. I was fifteen and going by bus to my uncle's cottage in Northern Ontario - 25 miles north of Parry Sound. Passing through Toronto on the bus, I picked up "The Fellowship of the Ring" because my father had said he'd heard it was a good book and it sounded like the kind of thing I'd like. (He hadn't read it. Still hasn't.)

I knew there were three books but I only picked up the first one, in case I didn't like it.

I read all night on the bus. When I got to my cousin's cottage I briefly said "hi" to everyone and then slipped away to finish reading the book. When I got to the end - totally enwrapped in the story - I realized I had a couple more weeks at the cottage and no access to any bookstore and I hadn't bought "The Two Towers" or "The Return of the King". In despair, I read "Fellowship" again.

As soon as I got home, I got the other books, and read them. Reread them several times over the next decade, but I was more in the habit of rereading Dorothy Dunnett's books and went a decade or two without reading Tolkien, until the first movie came out.

Though I don't like doing it, this is pretty long, so I'll give you a cut tag. 2. Have you read the books? Yes.

3. Seen the movies? yes. (I wonder if this is a trick question...)

4. What is it that you love about LOTR?

(1) The sense of heroism.

(2) The relationships between characters, the way the personal and the public and the political flow into one another. The way hierarchical relationships become so loving. The way loyalty and faith are paramount in the relationships.

(3) The historicity of it. It is the best recreation of a non-modern mindset that I have ever read.

(4) The use of language and of languages. In other words, I love the way Tolkien uses English, but I also love the way he shows us Elvish and the Black Speech and so on, and the alphabets, and works archaic words into modern English in a way that seems natural to my ears.

(4) The maps. I love the maps.

5. How many times did you see each of the movies?

Too many. Well, really, about thirty times each, in the movie theatres. Then I got the DVDs. I'm still watching them over and over. I'm going to my sixth viewing of "The Return of the King" on Saturday.

6. Times you've read the books:

Maybe... oh, really, I don't know. Right through from the beginning of Fellowship to the end of Return, maybe three or four times. Reading most of it but skipping the parts I like less, dozens of times. Favourite scenes - many dozens of times. Does reciting some of the poems at bus stops count?

7. Just how obsessed are you with LOTR?

What, is there a scale of degrees of obsessiveness? It changes with time. In my teens and early twenties, I was pretty obsessed - enough to read the Anglo-Saxon poets and draw fantasy maps and listen to Caedmon recordings and read Beowulf and Bede. How much of this was my own love of early medieval history and how much my love of Tolkien? I really couldn't say. Since the movies have come out, I have been more than mildly obsessed, but in the nicest possible way.

How about: I am more obsessed by Dunnett than Tolkien, but only slightly. I am more obsessed (at least at present) by Tolkien than X-Men. I am happily obsessive about a lot of things.

8. Can you speak Elvish? A few words I learned from the movie.

9. Did you dress up for any of the movie premieres? Yes. "Return of the King". I was at a medieval banquet right before the movie, and wore the gown to both events.

10. Most memorable moment as a fan:

That awful experience of getting to the cliffhanger at the end of the first book and realizing I wouldn't know what happened till I got back to civilization.

11. Favourite of the books:

Book III. But it's hard to choose.

12. Favourite of the movies:

I don't like to choose. Now that I've seen the third, it's all one continuum for me. If I had to pick, I'd probably say "The Two Towers" because I liked the pacing and structure, but it's not that I liked it much better than the other two.

13. Favourite overall character:

Aragorn son of Arathorn. This has been true since that first reading of "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony" back in 1968. As far as I was concerned, the books should be named "The Adventures of Aragorn". (This is not to say I don't love many of the other characters.)

4. Character you find most attractive:

In the movies: Faramir. Closely followed by Legolas, Aragorn, Eomer, Elrond, Haldir, Figwit, Eowyn, Arwen, Frodo, Pippin, and an anonymous hobbit at the birthday party who caught my fancy.

In the books: Aragorn. No one else was in the same league.

15. Favourite couple:

Aragorn and Legolas.

From the book: Aragorn and Arwen. So classic, so fated.

16. Favourite hobbit:

Pippin. So curious, so full of humour even when things get bad, so involved in what is going on - even when he doesn't understand it. Then the maturing process, realizing the consequence of actions, pledging himself to Gondor and becoming a guardsman in armour with the White Tree on it. I loved the whole progression Pippin makes from eager kid to responsible warrior.

17. Favourite elf:

Fingon, if I can include The Silmarillion in the question. In the movie, Legolas.

18. Favourite man: Aragorn. In the movie, Faramir is a close second. In the books, I also rather liked Bard.

19. Favourite dwarf: Gimli, by default. I didn't much like the dwarves in The Hobbit. Are there other dwarves in LOTR? with dialogue?

20. Favourite wizard: Gandalf. Really. Silly question.

21. Favourite orc: Gorbag.

22. Favourite villain: (1) Smaug, because I love his dialogue. (2) The Nazgul, because they are so scary.

23. Favourite horse: In the movie, Brego, because he saves Aragorn. In the books, Bill the Pony. Shadowfax is a close second.

24. Favourite scene from the books:

Can I choose three?

(1) The meeting of Frodo and Aragorn at the Prancing Pony, culminating with the letter from Gandalf with the poem The Riddle of Strider.

(2) The meeting of Aragorn and Eomer when Aragorn rises from the grass and Gimli insults Eomer and Eomer tells Aragorn that "Strider" is a stupid name. (Well, that's what he means.)

(3) Pippin looking into the Palantir.

I'd say "Aragorn looking into the Palantir" too but that isn't really a scene.

25. Favourite scene from the movies:

(1) The Fellowship of the Ring: The meeting of Frodo and Aragorn at the Prancing Pony. Hey, I'm consistent. "Are you frightened?" "Yes!" "Not nearly frightened enough."

(2) The Two Towers: The meeting of Aragorn and Eomer when Aragorn rises from the grass and Gimli and Eomer give each other lip.

(3) The Return of the King: When Aragorn charges the Black Gate, crying "For Frodo!"

(What, you thought I'd mention the scene where Pippin looks into the Palantir? It's right up there. But my second favourite scene in The Return of the King is when the people of Gondor bow to the Hobbits.)

26. Coolest creature: The Ring.

27. Scariest creature: The Witch-King of Angmar, especially in his battle-armour.

28. Cutest creature: Peter Jackson's young daughter.

29. Favourite quote: what, you want me to pick *one*?

Uh.

Thinking.

Okay. From "The Fellowship of the Ring":, page 61 of my edition:

"My dear Frodo!" exclaimed Gandalf. "Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you in a pinch."

It is similar in the movie, but shorter.

30. Where would you want to live in Middle Earth?

Minas Tirith. My favourite fantasy city.

31. What kind of creature would you be? Man. Er, I mean, woman.

32. What's your weapon of choice? Sword.

33. Are you good/evil/somewhere in between? Somewhere in between, like all mortals.