Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

Help sorting through the quagmire of multi-book series in epic fantasy. There are few things better than sinking your teeth into a new multi-book series. You can look forward to many many hours of good reading. One of the hallmarks of epic fantasy is the multi-book series. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is currently up to eleven. And these are no small books. They are real doorstoppers! Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series is currently at 10. And there are plenty more series just as large. One of the hallmarks of epic fantasy is the multi-book series. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is currently up to eleven. And these are no small books. They are real doorstoppers! Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series is currently at 10. And there are plenty more series just as large.The good thing about this is if you want to get really engrossed in a new world you can start a new series and spend literally months reading it.

Although - one of the problems with the multi-series format is that it is easy to get lost trying to figure out what series there are, which one you might like and how many books there currently are. To help you with this task I have put together a list of some of the most popular series. You can see what books there are and learn a bit about the worlds. As far as I can tell this is the most comprehensive list on the web. It currently lists 44 different series from 26 different authors and it lists over two hundred books.You can check it out here: The Big list of Epic Fantasy series   

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Ebert and Roeper did a review of the illusionist last night. Actually it was Roeper and another gentleman. It got one thumb up. This confirms my suspicions that the movie is not going to be something special. There just doesn’t seem to be much to talk about with this movie. It’s a sepia-tone love story. Sepia-tone? OMG? and they showed a clip from the movie and the accents that the actors used was very distracting. They really should have just spoken plain english and forgot the accents. My advice? Don’t go see the movie. But if you are a hardcore fan  of fantasy just rent it when it comes to dvd -whiich won’t take long.

Sidenote: Sorry to see Mr. Ebert wasn’t with the show. He has been having health problems and we all hope he is ok. Making me feel old. It used to be the Siskel and Ebert show, then it’s the Ebert & Roeper show. Will it soon be the Roeper and somebody else show? Funny how the trademarked “Two thumbs up” continues on even though the shows critics change.

You can listen to their review in podcast at the Yahoo Podcast site.

It’s free: Ebert & Roeper

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So what is the Lord of the Rings really all about?
I had a friend ask me this question. He said that there must be more to it than just a story about Orcs and hobbits. It isn’t just a story right?
My enthusiasm gushed at the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite subjects and I watched as his eyes glassed over as my explanation went on and on.
I took this question home with me and gave it some further thought. So what is Lord of the Rings really all about? Let me tell you. It is real simple and it comes down to one scene in the book/movie.
The scene is where Gandalf stands on the bridge and faces the Balrog. He holds up his staff and declares: “You shall not pass”. It is as simple as that. Stand up for what you believe in. Face the beast. Have the courage to do the right thing. No matter how grim it looks. This theme runs throughout the story. And it is exacerbated by the small stature of the hobbits. - It doesn’t matter that they are small. They stand up for what they believe is right.
This reminds me of that old adage: It isn’ t the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. And that describes a hobbit.

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