As the company exits the mysterious forest, Legolas looks back and is enchanted by the trees and their eyes — a perfectly ordinary thing for trees to have, obviously. Before Gimli makes a run for it out of pure self-preservation, Legolas is snapped out of it by Gandalf, who offers no real explanation (again) and urges them to press on along the road to Isengard. We speculate on what Middle-earth would be like if there were no Dwarves, dust off our Gollum voices, and prove once again that we’ll grasp at any flimsy excuse to make a Rush reference.
H/T to listener Trotter for this comprehensive list of books including reproductions of Tolkien’s Book of Mazarbul pages:
- Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien – all three final illustrations are included in both printings from 1979 & 1992. (This book is being re-released in the UK November 2021!)
- J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator – one of the pages is reproduced
- The Art of the Lord of the Rings – all three final illustrations and the early drafts are included
- The Lord of the Rings, 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition – all three final illustrations are reproduced in the UK hardback and US editions
- Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth (Bodleian exhibition catalogue) – all three final illustrations are included
- The Lord of the Rings, 2021 Deluxe Edition – UK release in October will likely include all three illustrations
The original drawings can be seen in this video: https://youtu.be/ER9RSBZEaGo?t=225
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings (Mariner Books, paperback) “The Road to Isengard”, pp. 535-40
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) The Silmarillion (Mariner Books, paperback)
