The Adventures of Tolkien and Lewis?

[zxcvbn]

Has anybody here read the novel Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen? The plot:

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica -- an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.

The surprise twist at the end is that the three characters John, Jack, and Charles, are none other than John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, C.S. Lewis (who went by the name Jack), and Charles Williams, and that these adventures are what inspired them to create their fantasy worlds later on.

Warner Brothers has already picked up the film rights. The film will be produced by David Heyman(who is producing the Harry Potter films) and the script will be by David Goyer(who wrote Batman Begins).

Any opinions? I wonder if the Tolkien Estate would have anything to say about it, since they control the use of JRRT's likeness.

[Sauron the White]

My local B&N had it marked down 40% a few weeks after it came out so I bought it. I read about a quarter of it and gave up since it was very light and without any real substance. I could see how it was bought for a film since the writer followed that format pretty closely.

Did you read the book zxcvbn? Did you like it?

[zxcvbn]

I read it and it was good, though nothing stellar. I didn't like the hodgepodge of bibical myths and Arthurial legends much, though. And I understand the book got many details of Tolkien and Lewis's lives wrong. And there are many unexplained things, too. Like how nobody had the idea of mass-producing the Imaginarium Geographica in 2000 years to prevent quarrels over its use.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I've just finished reading all three of the currently available volumes of The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica and enjoyed them very much. Though these stories are supposed to be for "young adults", there is much that only a knowledgeable adult will get. As in other good children's books, there are layers of meaning. I can understand that not everyone likes the metafictional aspect connecting the old myths, whether Greek, English, or Nordic, including the Christian legends, and foreshadowing those of the Inklings to come, but that's the fun part as far as I'm concerned.

I'd heard enough about these books before I bought them to know who the three Caretakers were, and of course knowing enough about the Inklings would have had me realizing that soon enough at any rate.

As far as the fiction meets actual person's lives, we can't expect everything to be biographical. The author reminds us that his characters, even when taken from real life, are fictional. This would be similar to historical novels, which aren't always accurate in details.

Anyone at all interested in history, mythology and literature - and in dragons! - is sure to find these books very entertaining. I look forward to the next one!

Here, There Be Dragons
The Search for the Red Dragon
The Indigo King

coming up this fall:
The Shadow Dragons

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Although I do wish the author had bothered to learn enough about Tolkien to know that he never went by "John." To his family he was "Ronald," to Lewis and other friends he was "Tollers". About as egregious as calling Lewis "Clive."

[Estelyn Telcontar]

William, I think that was part of the idea, using names that wouldn't give away their identity too quickly. And the Tolkien character comments on that somewhere.

edit: Again, it's important to remember that this is a work of fiction. In historical fiction, where real people become characters in a novel, changes and liberties with known facts are frequently used to heighten the dramatic effect and/or tighten up the storyline. A work of fantasy fiction should certainly not be judged by biographical standards, especially when it clearly states its intention to be fictional.

Oh, and I like the explanation that the story gives for the choice of "Jack" as Lewis' name!

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Although I do wish the author had bothered to learn enough about Tolkien to know that he never went by "John." To his family he was "Ronald," to Lewis and other friends he was "Tollers". About as egregious as calling Lewis "Clive."

Though to be fair, while if I see John Tolkien my first instinct is to think it refers to Father John, I have just been re-reading the letters and in no309 he says:

" But for myself I remained John. Ronald was for my near kin. My friends at school, Oxford and later have called me John (or occasionally John Ronald or J.Rsquared)..".

Of course that is contradicted by the notes that he signed few letters John and asks Rayner Unwin to call him Ronald in letter 334. And the fact that men of his generation in the public school / university environment especially would probably have used surnames /nicknames. Even in my day at a comprehensive decades later I can't recall the boys using christian names among themselves.

I am not accusing him of lying but names are a complex thing in Tolkien's world and it is often the case that certain names are for certain people / situations only and so it was perhaps for Tolkien. Having a four syllable first name myself I have given up trying to impose its use in it's entirety on everyone (though I mind a little if people shorten it without asking) but the resulting instant familiarity does seem a little hasty as Treebeard would say! Maybe my English stuffiness over names is a result of having lost the distinction between the polite and familiar forms of "you". When I lived in France you moved to first names quickly but to "tutoyer" someone was a significant mark of intimacy.