Tales from the Perilous Realm

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Midway through the book is a segment titled “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil,” named after one of sixteen poems included here, some of which were included in The Lord of the Rings and only two of which involve Tom Bombadil himself. As most readers already know, Tom Bombadil appears within the trilogy as one of its most mysterious characters, most widely regarded as a sort of embodiment of the English countryside; someone who is immensely powerful, but not interested in exerting that power. Tolkien’s powers of creating mood and melancholy are at work here, particularly with the poignant “The Last Ship,” which involves the passing of the Elves from Middle Earth.

Tales from the Perilous Realm is a compilation, published in 1997 and later again in 2007, of the lesser-known "classic fairy tales" of J.R.R. Tolkien. Its only major relation to Middle-earth is The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, which features the character Tom Bombadil from The Lord of the Rings. The publication contains art by Alan Lee. Here we will have a most surreal trip going to places like the luminous face of the moon, where The Man of the Moon lives, or the bottom of the sea. A story with a strong childish touch, with interesting elements (The Man of the Moon, or the magicians, and even The Sea Serpent), which is based on a real event and how a father tries to cheer up his son (that's right, Michael Tolkien lost a puppy toy and this is his father's way of helping him cheer up) Tolkien presents these poems as the “marginalia” of writing that was found in the Red Book of Westmarch, which most will recall as the book authored by Bilbo, Frodo and Sam at the conclusion of the trilogy, and from which Tolkien himself purported to gather his information on the War of the Ring. It is a clever way of including several of his early poems (many of which were composed before his great trilogy was properly conceived) into the framework of his greater story, and Tolkien even includes a foreword that speculates on which of his characters wrote which poems. This means he has to retcon a couple of details, as when he blames the fake Elvish names in the poem “Errantry” (which was written thirty years prior to the trilogy) on Bilbo’s poor grasp of the Elvish language, but also provides intriguing details such as speculation that “The Sea Bell” was written not by, but in memory of Frodo, regarding to his disturbing illness after he returned to the Shire. Needless to say, it all adds to the rich tapestry of The Lord of the Rings. Farmer Giles of Ham is the most straight-forward of the stories, the tale of a "little man" (though of great girth!) who is reluctantly forced into a heroic role. It is a humorous and somewhat satirical tale, easily enjoyed by children for the adventure, and by adults for the characterisations. The story begins with Froto Baggins and hobbit friends heading off on their mission to destroy the One Ring. While wandering through the haunted forest they get lost. To their relief, the stumble upon a house, the home of Tom Bombadil. They are all welcomed inside, told that nothing will harm them while they stay there and recover. Tom Bombadil is master of wood, water and hill. Each night he tells them stories of the wood. Each night Froto has terrible dreams, but the reassurances that nothing can harm him while in Tom Bombadil's home enable him to return to sleep without fear. The hobbits are given shelter, food and drink.However, all in all the poems didn't woe me. I was hoping for an insight into the culture of the hobbits and maybe even some fun facts about Tom Bombadil, but most of the poems were pretty useless in that regard. I will say it time and time again but you can never go wrong with Tolkien. I know that his writing style and the structure and complexity of his narratives isn't for everyone, but this man and the worlds he has created have slowly but surely stolen their way into my heart. Tolkien, himself a philologist, sprinkled several philological jokes into the tale, including a variety of ingeniously fake etymologies. Almost all the place-names are supposed to occur relatively close to Oxford, along the Thames, or along the route to London. This review is going to be different, since I will comment a little on each story separately. This book collects 5 Tolkien short stories, some previously published, others unpublished for the book. But they are all about the same thing: The world of fairies and fairy magic. These stories are much simpler in their elaboration than the well-known universe of Eä, Arda or the Middle Earth, although no less elaborate for that. Tolkien's ability to create worlds and stories is fascinating. And I can't forget the amazing art by Alan Lee, a small sample of each story below these.

Disc 2 contains Smith Of Wootton Major, an interesting story with a hint of magic & mystery. This is also suitable for all ages. The voices, again were enjoyable & well done.In Farmer Giles of Ham, having accidentally shot a giant, Farmer Giles’ brave reputation is tested by Chrysophylax the dragon. In Smith of Wootton Major, a young boy eats a piece of cake containing During my first listen through, as I stated above, I was looking for the Tom Bombadil context and was super confused. On the second, I enjoyed it and appreciated it for what it was. Poetry is not really my thing, but some of these are considered to be very good works by Tolkien, so I’m glad to have experienced them. Easily the best, in my view, is the title poem, but Errantry is excellent, too, and all the poems have something to recommend them. The tale is quaint and fairly short in which a dog, initially named Rover, is turned into a toy as an act of revenge because he bit a mean old sand sorcerer. Some people really are that petty. This leads to a series of events in which the toy is washed up on a beach, learns to fly and finally ends up in the company of the Man in the Moon.

The story of “Roverandom” was born out of Tolkien’s desire to comfort one of his sons after the boy’s favourite toy dog went missing on a holiday to the seashore. Tolkien speculates that the toy was not a toy at all, but rather a real dog that had been transformed by a grumpy wizard, and who was now attempting to find his way home again. As Roverandom journeys from the moon to the depths of the ocean, and meets a host of magical creatures on the way, his various adventures contain aspects of the ancient mythology that Tolkien admired so much. As the introduction by Tom Shippey points out, the dragons, serpents and wizards in the story all have their counterparts in later works; it is all “connected with the bigger picture.”Farmer Giles of Ham" ***** - I've read this one before. This is a humorous story about the meeting of Farmer Giles and a dragon named Chrysophylax, set in the countryside near Oxford. Farmer Giles eventually becomes Lord of Worminghall (a real place; part of inspiration for the story came from Tolkien's speculation that the name meant "hall of the Wormings" [aka dragons.]). The fictional 'Ham' of the title is meant to be the real village of Thame. Entonces, lo que hace más sentido como en toda colección es ver la valía individual de cada uno de los cuentos y ponderar al final. Other than his usual and original use of the term Faery, this is not linked to his middle-earth legendarium, and in my opinion, has more of the lighthearted silliness of the other novellas in it. A great cook and his apprentice (referred to as ‘prentice) make a great cake filled with 24 trinkets and coins for the children. However, this year they include a 25th item, a star from faery. The smith’s son swallows it, later spitting it out and affixing it to his forehead. This serves almost like a blessing from the faeries, and he is blessed with skills and personality.