Thoughts On Re-Reading The Hobbit

I recently watched a couple extended edition versions of the LOTR movies and I got the itch to dive back into that world. And since the movie version of The Hobbit is drawing near, I figured I'd go for it. I'd read The Hobbit only for the second time as speed reading practice some fifteen years ago.

And now I'm about a third of the way in. I'm enjoying it, but I'm shocked by the narrative voice. It's written like a child's fairy tale ... which I suppose it is. The problem is that I've gotten so swept up in the idea of LOTR being a history that I find myself disappointed by the humorous "story teller" narrator in The Hobbit. When the narrator mentions the post office, or golf, I'm jarred right out of  Middle Earth.

And the frequent mentions of what Bilbo would think about the adventure many years in the future destroys any sense of jeopardy.

Gandalf! He makes me cringe! He's mean, he has a "wand" and he's kind of a buffoon. Didn't Tolkien know that Gandalf is supposed to be wise, compassionate, and cool? I mean, he's Sir Ian McKellan after all.

And the exclamation points! They're everywhere! Sometimes their even in the middle! of sentences!!

I'm still hopeful that the movies will be awesome, and I still love the old cartoon version. But it's clear I've outgrown the book.

I came up with a good writing exercise out of this re-read though. One could rewrite a chapter using a more modern narrative voice. Maybe even try first person, or a limited third. Could be fun!

Of course, I don't have time for that right now. I'm working on Undermountain 2.

Sense Of Wonder

It's why I read.

I spent the better part of my childhood and early teens reading speculative fiction of one sort or another. I certainly loved all the action sequences and heroics. But above all, I loved the mystery and discovery I felt in seeing a new world for the first time.

I first remember feeling the sense of wonder when I was a little kid watching the Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. There was something about that weird claymation landscape. Something haunting about the little trees and the snowy hills.

Later on I had that same sense of wonder when I watch the Empire Strikes Back. In particular the attack on the planet Hoth at the beginning blew my mind.

One of my chores when I was a kid was to feed the dogs. They lived outside in a chain link pen. (Don't worry they had a little house to go into when it was super cold.) And as I walked out there during the winter nights to get their food bowls, I imagined that I was I Luke Skywalker fighting the snow monster or an AT-AT Walker.

In some ways those strange movie landscapes were more real to me than the physical world. I believe that's typical of readers. It certainly is of writers

As a writer the first thing I wanted to achieve was that sense of wonder. When Danny and his friends go into Undermountain, I want readers to feel as if they are there. I want them to feel the awe of the city, the thrill of discovery, and to wonder at the mystery of how such a magnificent place could remain hidden so long.

So while I love great characters, a nice romance, amazing action, huge set pieces, and twisty plots, what I crave the most is a sense of wonder. 

What makes you feel it?

BTW. There are easter eggs in Undermountain that refer to both Rudolph and Empire!

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There Are Two Stories In Every Book

If you're reading this, you already know how it feels to be absorbed in a great book. You love being transported to a cool world filled with magic, mystery, romance and adventure. You read for many reasons: to have vicarious experiences, to escape the stress of school or work, to care about something.

I'm so grateful I got the reading bug early on. I remember having this aha moment reading one of Anne McCafferey's Dragonriders books, when I said to myself, "Oh my god! This isn't a fantasy novel, it's actually science fiction!"

My mind was blown.

I remember getting teary-eyed reading The Hunger Games when Katniss sings to Rue. Just thinking about it still gives me a little lump in my throat. 

But you know what I remember more than the stories themselves? I remember where I was when I read them. For the Dragonriders it was summer of 1982 or '83, in my bedroom, windows open, the sounds crickets filling the air with their endless white noise. We didn't have AC, so to cut the humid heat I relied on a little oscillating fan. The thing was filthy with dust. At the end of each swing of its head, gears in its body clicked a few times before it figured out it was time to go the other way.

Next to my bed was a paper cup filled with ice water, a digital alarm clock, a bunch of guitar picks, and a reading lamp. Each night, I'd lie there reading, immersed in the fantastic world that sprang from Ms. McCafferey's mind.

There's one more detail. The smell of the pages. Actually all those paperbacks had that smell, didn't they?

I tried to start The Hunger Games at least three times before it took. I struggled with the present tense, the full immersion in a world with no explanation. The fact is, I always hate starting books. I'm never really into them until I've gotten forty or fifty pages in. But I made myself get that far, and once I did ... well, I just kept reading until the end.

And where was I when I read it? In bed, of course. But there was no oscillating fan, no crickets, no sweltering heat. I have my own house now. I had the cup of water, the digital alarm clock and the guitar picks. But I have AC now, and that old fan was tossed in the dumpster long ago. The only clicking came from the buttons on my Kindle. 

There are so many other books I remember in this way. I could go on and on. Maybe it's why I tend not to re-read books. Because I'm afraid I'll overwrite an already perfect memory.

For me, there are two stories in every book, and I remember them both.

Eric is the author of Undermountain, available from these ebook retailers.