Tag Archives: orcs

Roland in the Deep

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

Babes in the Woods

I remember, back in high school, reading about Scandinavian tales of women living in the forest who looked beautiful and human from the front, but were hollow in the back. I think the book just called them elves, and they … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Authors, British, Fairy Tales, German, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Mythology, Names, Norse, Piers Anthony, Roman, Xanth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All in How You Spell ‘Em

I saw something recently about the difference between the words “fairy” and “faerie.” Really, there’s no difference; the latter is just an archaic spelling. The word comes from the French for “fate,” and therefore “enchantment”; and was applied to many different … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, British, Celtic, Discworld, Etymology, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Orc My World

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

Worm Your Way

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

Etymology in Oz

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

Gods, Men, and Monsters

In the Company of Ogres, by A. Lee Martinez – This was a comedic look on fantasy, hardly anything new, but still entertaining. It tells the story of Never Dead Ned, a guy who dies quite often, but is always … Continue reading

Posted in A. Lee Martinez, Authors, Book Reviews, Greek Mythology, Heroes of Olympus, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magnus Chase, Monsters, Mythology, Norse, Rick Riordan, Terry Pratchett, Trials of Apollo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hyrule on the Hog

Years ago, I wrote a post on how common people turning into pigs is in mythology and fantasy. More recently, this post on Power of Babel also addressed the theme of pig-people, specifically that of orcs with the heads of … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Authors, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Chinese, Dragon Quest, Fairy Tales, Focus on the Foes, Games, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Mythology, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All Gods Are Bastards

Here are some thoughts on a few books I’ve read recently. I’ve been patronizing the library quite a bit as of late, and their eBook system is pretty convenient. The thing I’m not keen on when it comes to their … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Christopher Moore, Comics, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Epic Fail

While looking at Twitter a few days ago, I noticed that Neil Gaiman linked to an anti-Tolkien article by Michael Moorcock, written in the 1970s. I haven’t read anything by Moorcock, and the article often just makes him sound like … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Fairy Tales, Focus on the Foes, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Technology, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment