Feb

22

Riddles in the Dark: Episode Three

Prof. Corey Olsen and Dave Kale tackle one of their favorite events in all of Middle-earth history: The Battle of Azanulbizar.  Heroic deeds, cinematic taunts, slaughter and death, and, of course, the burned dwarves: they cover it all.  They share some of their favorite passages from Appendix A of The Return of the King, delve into the geography of the valley of Azanulbizar and its appearance in The Lord of the Rings, and speculate about how the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs may factor into the The Hobbit film and its backstory.  They also address listener feedback about Thrain and Thror and share the “shadow and a threat” that have been growing in their minds: will the filmmakers conflate the Battle of Azanulbizar and the Battle of Five Armies?

Listen to Episode 3 now!

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Feb

20

Riddles in the Dark Prediction Game Launches

The Mythgard Institute, in conjunction with the Middle-earth Network, is proud to announce the long-awaited launch of the Riddles in the Dark prediction game attached to the RITD podcast by Corey Olsen and Dave Kale.

The prediction game brings together guest analysts, hailing from some of the most popular Tolkien websites and podcasts on the Internet.  These experts will take part in competitive speculation about how The Hobbit will make its transition from beloved book to epic film every two weeks!  All guesses will be aggregated in a giant prediction grid – and updates will be posted to the Mythgard site, Riddles in the Dark pages and Tolkien Professor iTunes feed.

Learn more in the News section over at mythgard.org!

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Feb

12

Riddles in the Dark: Episode Two

In this session, Dave Kale and Corey Olsen discuss the extraordinary sequence of misfortunes that afflicted the House of Durin, especially Thror. They explore Thror’s story and gruesome death in Appendix A ofLOTR and The Quest for Erebor and connect it to the story of The Hobbit. Finally, they speculate on what role Thror may play in the upcoming film, particularly in the light of casting news.

Learn more and listen to Riddles in the Dark

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Feb

05

Faerie and Fantasy Class 23 Online

Faerie and Fantasy Class 23 (Princess and the Goblin, Chapters 1-10) is now available for download. See? I’m getting the production gears in motion again!

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