Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth reissue gets Ted Nasmith cover (05.02.10 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

A new reissue has been released of the b-format edition of JRR Tolkien’s legacy of short stories which inhabit the realm of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. It now uses a cover of Ted Nasmith. Hopefully we see an illustrated 30 Anniversary Edition released further this year!

Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century’s most acclaimed popular author.

The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as Gandalf’s lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at bag-end, the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan.

Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth.

The tales were collated and edited by JRR Tolkien’s son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father’s writings.
Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth reissue gets Ted Nasmith cover

The Blue Wizards Journeying East

The cover uses the painting by Ted Nasmith, called The Blue Wizards Journeying East. They are two of the five Wizards (or Istari) sent by angelic beings called the Valar to Middle-earth to aid in the struggle against Sauron. They are called the Blue Wizards on account of their sea-blue robes (each of the other Istari had robes of a different colour), and their individual names are given in the Unfinished Tales as Alatar and Pallando. They were both sent to the distant east of Middle-earth, and therefore played no role in the events of the west of Middle-earth, as described in the The Lord of the Rings. Consequently, little is known about them.
The Blue Wizards Journeying East
Title: Unfinished Tales  of Numenor and Middle-earth

Publisher:
HarperCollins

Re-issue Date:
04 February 2010

Type:
paperback, 624 pages
ISBN-10: 0261102168
ISBN-13: 978-0261102163


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