Discussion of non-Tolkien literature: any place for it around here? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Sydney · 09-09-2008, 07:34 PM

So, it might seem a funny thing to do to register on a Middle-Earth/Tolkien board with the initial aim of discussing works not written by Tolkien, but I do this out of love for the great man himself! It was interest in Tolkien that led me to Mervyn Peake, and the works I'm interested in discussing (and fanatically promotoing, hah).

Fanatic though I'm fast becoming, I'm not sure how well-known the series is. Is anyone here familiar with Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series, sometimes referred to as "The Titus Books"? Consisting of Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone, the "low-fantasy"/gothic triology was originally conceived as a sprawling epic, cut short by the author's early death. I see an amazing potential for popularity in these books, particularly in the wake of the Lord of the Rings films, but maybe that popularity exists already; I read somewhere that the BBC did a miniseries on the first two books, and I'm in the process of tracking it down.

When I began reading these books, my mind jumped immediately to Tolkien. Peake describes faces and characters in as gorgeous detail as Tolkien takes with his characters and landscapes. Because I was hugely in to The Lord of the Rings a few years ago, and moderately active on the forums revolving around the LotRO game, (This community doesn't seem to be based around the gaming community, but I might have skipped over the site description; my navigational skills are so rusty) I got the idea of coming back to one of the old forums to reccomend these books and see if anyone else was already into them. Things seemed to have changed a lot in the Tolkien comunity, but I came across this forum and figured I'd try my luck.

So, is this kind of discussion all right by the board rules? Or should I take my crazy shenanigans elsewhere?

Just looking for discussion, and maybe even some recommendations for similar works (high fantasy, low fantasy, anything). It's time for this nerd to get back in touch with her roots. : )

09-09-2008, 07:34 PM	#1
Sydney Newly Deceased Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 2	Discussion of non-Tolkien literature: any place for it around here? So, it might seem a funny thing to do to register on a Middle-Earth/Tolkien board with the initial aim of discussing works not written by Tolkien, but I do this out of love for the great man himself! It was interest in Tolkien that led me to Mervyn Peake, and the works I'm interested in discussing (and fanatically promotoing, hah). Fanatic though I'm fast becoming, I'm not sure how well-known the series is. Is anyone here familiar with Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series, sometimes referred to as "The Titus Books"? Consisting of Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone, the "low-fantasy"/gothic triology was originally conceived as a sprawling epic, cut short by the author's early death. I see an amazing potential for popularity in these books, particularly in the wake of the Lord of the Rings films, but maybe that popularity exists already; I read somewhere that the BBC did a miniseries on the first two books, and I'm in the process of tracking it down. When I began reading these books, my mind jumped immediately to Tolkien. Peake describes faces and characters in as gorgeous detail as Tolkien takes with his characters and landscapes. Because I was hugely in to The Lord of the Rings a few years ago, and moderately active on the forums revolving around the LotRO game, (This community doesn't seem to be based around the gaming community, but I might have skipped over the site description; my navigational skills are so rusty) I got the idea of coming back to one of the old forums to reccomend these books and see if anyone else was already into them. Things seemed to have changed a lot in the Tolkien comunity, but I came across this forum and figured I'd try my luck. So, is this kind of discussion all right by the board rules? Or should I take my crazy shenanigans elsewhere? Just looking for discussion, and maybe even some recommendations for similar works (high fantasy, low fantasy, anything). It's time for this nerd to get back in touch with her roots. : )