Tag Archives: Pre-Tolkien Fantasy Challenge

Pre-Tolkien Fantasy: “Black Heart and White Heart: A Zulu Idyll”

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Tales Before Tolkien
Douglas A. Anderson, ed.
Print $16.00
Ebook $4.99

Deuce Richardson has been encouraging me to read H. Rider Haggard for quite a while.  I’ve been intending to, and this story provided me with the perfect chance.

This story is more historical than fantasy, but there are some fantastic elements.  It takes place just before the Zulu uprising of January 1879.  Philip Hadden is a ne’er-do-well who is working as a trader.  When he kills a man in a fight, he is forced to flee into Zulu territory.

This isn’t the wisest of moves. Continue reading →

Pre-Tolkien Fantasy: H. P. Lovecraft in Observance of His Birthday

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H. P. Lovecraft

I’d intended to post my next review for the Pre-Tolkien Fantasy Challenge over the weekend, but I was a lazy bum.  Since today is Lovecraft’s birthday (also my mother-in-law’s), I postponed that post to discuss Lovecraft and Tolkien in general terms.

First, their similarities.  They are arguably the two most influential writers of the fantastic of the previous century.  Their influence is considerable decades after their deaths.  Much of what is written in fantasy today, especially in the epic fantasy, multiple volume “trilogy” format is a reaction/rebellion to Tolkien.  Much Lovecraftian fiction is in reaction to Lovecraft’s work, whether stylistically or in response to some attitude Lovecraft held. Continue reading →

Pre-Tolkien Fantasy: “The Folk of the Mountain Door” by William Morris

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Tales Before Tolkien
Douglas A. Anderson, ed.
trade paperback $16
ebook $4.99

Yeah, okay, this may be cheating a bit, but if we’re going to be looking at stories that preceded The Lord of the Rings and may have inspired Tolkien, why not start here?

I’m going to look at two stories in this book, one by William Morris and the other by H. Rider Haggard in an upcoming post.  For the third, I’ll read something from another source by a different author.  There’s been a lot of interest in Lord Dunsany, so I’ll probably let others focus on his stories.

For this post, I’m going to look at a piece of short fiction by William Morris, “The Folk of the Mountain Door”.  There will be minor spoilers. Continue reading →

Signal Boost: Pre-Tolkien Fantasy Challenge

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Alexandru Constantin, over at Barbarian Book Club, has issued the Pre-Tolkien Fantasy Challenge.

Here’s how it works:

  • Identify 3 Fantasy stories written before Lord of the Rings was published. 3 stories written before 1954.
  • Review all three on your blog, focusing on pre-Tolkien differences of similarities, and making sure you let us know where we can find them for ourselves.
  • Share the challenge.

I don’t know about you, but I’m in.

I’ve written plenty of posts on C. L. Moore, Robert E. Howard, and Henry Kuttner, more than I can list here.  Check the sidebar for their names.  I didn’t focus on how the works of those authors compared with Tolkien, though.  I’ll do that in future posts.