Read it before you see it & win a copy of The Hobbit

Book review on “The Hobbit” by Adam Brennan, TCC Librarian

I can still remember the first time I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and followed Bilbo Baggins on his journey through the wilds of Middle Earth. Like so many before me, “The Hobbit” was my first forray into the fantasy genre and kindled an addiction to reading that lasts today. “The Hobbit” was a gateway book that led me to C. S Lewis, Robert Jordan, Robert E. Howard, Jack Vance and others.

Tolkien is an accomplished master of the High Fantasy epic (fantasy stories that revolve around defeating an evil to save the world), but you won’t find that in “The Hobbit.” Instead, you’ll find a traditional journey narrative along the likes of “The Odyssey.” The main protagonist Bilbo Baggins accompanies a band of fortune seeking dwarves along a string of adventures and proves to be an unlikely hero. 

It’s a light and fun book; perfect for the holiday season. Tolkien keeps the pacing quick and the adventure coming in this prequel to the “Lord of the Rings” series.

Check out The Hobbit today from the TCC library.  Click here to visit the catalog. 

Like the TCC Library on Facebook to find out how to win a copy of “The Hobbit.”  A copy will be given to one lucky winner.

Eyes of the Overworld - Book Review

Eyes of the Overworld: Reading about the adventures of one of fantasy’s greatest rascals.

Fantasy is full of picaros; rascally protagonists that are just as likely to steal the king’s treasure as he is to rescue the King’s daughter. Fritz Leiber’s Grey Mouser and Fafhrd come to mind. None however, are as charming and irredeemable as Cugel the self-proclaimed "Clever" in Jack Vance’s Eyes of the Overworld.

Eyes of the Overworld is set in the distant future where science has given away to occult superstition and the earth’s bloated red sun hangs in the sky like a piece of rotten fruit ready to drop form the vine. In light of earth’s soon to be demise, most people just go about the business of self-gratification. Cugel is a master at this. He is a lazy, untrustworthy, rakish, lecherous, greedy, and impish rogue. Unfortunately for him, he gets caught stealing from a powerful magician and is coerced into performing a task that takes Cugel to the far side of the world. He must use his wits and natural talents (which are fairly base) to return to the wizard and free himself from his service.

Reading about Cugel’s adventures while he accomplishes his task is a beautiful train wreck. Time after time he surprises the reader with his selfish behavior and turns advantage against him. And as bad as Cugel gets, I can’t help but read on. Much of this is a result of Jack Vance’s masterful use of baroque language. Jack Vance weaves a tapestry of obscure words and vivid descriptions that keep the reader ensorcelled. He introduces language in such a way that not only does the willing of suspension of disbelief remain unbroken, but context offers clues to even the most archaic of terms and keeps the reader from running for his dictionary.
This book is a timeless classic of fantasy, and has inspired legions; Gary Gygax, George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman to name a few. If you are interested in getting back to popular fantasy roots, reading something that isn’t a pastiche of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and like scoundrels, this book is for you!

Adam Brennan

LRC Floater