Some people like to read more into the Middle-Earth tales than the author intended. They like to think that Lord of the Rings was about the evils of industrialism, just because the bad guys ripped up a few trees.
Well, in the spirit of reading more into something than was intended by the author, let’s talk […]

We’ve been skirting around Middle Earth for the past three weeks, and we’ve finally arrived. J.R.R. Tolkien took the stories of the mythical ring and turned them into a whole new genre of literature.
Like many fantasy adventure books, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings include maps to help you with your journey. And while […]

The badger thought he would be defeated by a big burly blonde German warrior, not nerdy little Malcolm Fisher in his beat-up car. He really was Expecting Someone Taller.
Tom Holt brings the cursed Rhine gold ring to modern-day England by way of Ingolf the giant, disguised as a lowly badger to escape the greedy hands […]

I’ve got a supreme contact buzz right now. Everywhere I turn, people are getting stoned, and my head is swimming in a smoky haze.
In the past two weeks, I have…
1) … watched Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny in which starry eyed young JB meets the talented KG. They form a band the likes […]

Following the little people back to the Rhine, I find myself in Germany during World War II, picking Stones from the River. Trudi is a bitter dwarf with a good heart, and through her eyes, we can see what it must have been like to live under the fear of Hitler.
Since my heart doesn’t bleed, […]

Did you know that when you’re talking about mythical characters, the plural is “dwarves,” but when you’re talking about real humans, the plural is “dwarfs”? I’m not sure how accurate that is — it came straight from Wikipedia, which means somebody could very well have made it all up.
Still, I’m not sure the technical term […]

If you want to immerse yourself in the Norse myths, Thorarinn Gunnarson can take you travelling on the wings of valkyries, soaring from the heavens to the tree that gave birth to the gods on earth, to the Rhine river and beyond. His novels Song of the Dwarves and Revenge of the Valkyrie are a […]

From Avalon in the British isles, we travel across the North Sea to enter the mainland via the Rhine River. The river has a rich and magical history, whose mythologies gave birth to modern day fantasy fiction. If Middle Earth were a real place, this is where it would be.
Stephan Grundy’s Rhinegold takes us back […]

My man often asks me, “If you went to church every Sunday as a kid, how come I know more about The Bible than you do?” The answer is simple to me. It’s because I was raised Catholic. Here are the facts:
1) Church was meant to teach us self-control and obedience. The idea was to […]

I loved The Brothers McMullen. With its indie appeal, the acting is crap, but the dialogue is brilliant. Ed Burns beautifully captures the Catholic American dilemma, reconciling American culture with sin and guilt, using religion as a motivator, an excuse, and the basis for some really screwed up logic.
The youngest brother, Patrick, is so afraid […]