Tag Archives: beowulf

Roland in the Deep

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Nathan

I think I first heard of Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso in a blurb about C.S. Lewis comparing J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to it. Well, they do both have a magic ring that makes people invisible, and a monster … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Arthurian Legend, Authors, Book Reviews, British, C.S. Lewis, Characters, Christianity, French, Greek Mythology, Islam, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Poetry, Relationships, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Video Games, William Shakespeare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We’re on a Road to Numenor

Posted on July 3, 2021 by Nathan

The Desolations of Devil’s Acre, by Ransom Riggs – The sixth and final (at least for now) book in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series takes place when the resurrected Caul, Miss Peregrine’s evil brother, is using his power to … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, C.S. Lewis, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Magic, Mythology, Punch-Out, Street Fighter, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Orc My World

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Nathan

This past weekend, Orcs were trending on Twitter, based on a tweet about how a description of them in Dungeons & Dragons was pretty racist. (Full disclosure: I haven’t played D&D, although I’ve come across it quite a bit in … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, Biology, Christianity, Ethnicity, Fairy Tales, Focus on the Foes, Games, History, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Norse, Prejudice, Religion, Science, Star Trek | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sidhe Bop

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Nathan

I’ve been reading a lot recently, but a bit sporadically. There are some library books I want to finish before starting on anything I own. I’m pretty anxious to read more of The Lost Tales of Oz, but I kind … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, Authors, Book Reviews, British, Catholicism, Characters, Christianity, Greek Mythology, History, Magic, Magic Items, Monsters, Mythology, Norse, october daye, Oz, Religion, seanan mcguire | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Worm Your Way

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Nathan

Looking into mythology and fiction involving giant worms is a little tricky because it seems like a lot of early societies thought worms and snakes were variations on the same thing. I guess they didn’t want to investigate all that … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, Cartoons, Etymology, Final Fantasy, Futurama, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Monsters, Mythology, Science, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Friends in Grindylow Places

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Nathan

You might remember the Grindylows from their appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which they lived in the lake at Hogwarts. They are an actual sort of creature from English folklore, being particularly associated with Yorkshire … Continue reading →

Posted in British, Etymology, Harry Potter, Monsters, Mythology, Slavic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Etymology in Oz

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Nathan

I bought a few old Baum Bugle issues at OzCon in Portland, and they have some interesting content. There was apparently a sometime recurring feature called “Footnotes to Oz” that explained names in the Oz series, written by Jerry Tobias. … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Characters, Etymology, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

That’s My Spot

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Nathan

As you may well know, the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit had a completely armored body except for one spot. Bilbo Baggins found out about this weak spot, and a thrush brought the news to a man named Bard, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, British, Discworld, J.R.R. Tolkien, Monsters, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Smithering Smith

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Nathan

I’d heard good things about the Fables comic series, so I checked out the first volume from the library. The one I found was a deluxe edition including the first ten issues, and hence the Legends in Exile and Animal … Continue reading →

Posted in British, Comics, Mythology, Norse | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gotta Have My Bops

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Nathan

Ditty Bops, Love Letters – Some bands become more mainstream as time goes on, but that can’t be said of the Ditty Bops, who just seem to get more and more twee and cutesy with each new album. I support … Continue reading →

Posted in Albums, Book Reviews, Diana Wynne Jones, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment