Lord of the Mind Bomb

In addition to the recent post on weird connections, I also have this memory of reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy while listening to The The's brilliant Mind Bomb.

It must have been spring 1989 as I was preparing for my final tests of that year. I often had the house to myself. There were beautiful days that I would climb out of the window to the small area on the flat roof where there were tiles to sit on. Shielded from the wind, the spring sun was warm enough to enjoy. I think I read the books in less than two weeks, and all that time I had the album on repeat on my walkman, so it became a de facto soundtrack for me.

The I still feel that Mind Bomb fits the story better than the Howard Shore soundtrack, excellent though that is. Somehow, the OST is more rooted in the Carmina Burana and The Planets while Mind Bomb just gives it that much more contemporary vibe. There was a touch of bombast to it as well, but I guess that just goes with the wide vistas and epic events that Tolkien invokes. But the great thing is that in every aspect it is one whole and not just a collection of songs. So the mood stays with you.

It wasn't just the music but also the lyrics that went along well with the books. Matt Johnson's frequent invocations violence, war and madness influenced my interpretation of the book. The talk of evil, religion and obedience in The Violence of Truth poses an interesting contrast to the two dimensional good and evil of Tolkien's world.    

In combination with the dark atmosphere of the album the creeping dread of The Fellowship of the Ring made a deep impression on me and I still rate it as the best of the three volumes.

Who is it 
that can make your little armies of the left 
and your little armies of the right 
light up your skies tonight?

The looming threat in Good Morning Beautiful and Armageddon Days Are Here Again was just made for the armies massing in the vales of Isengard and Rohan and on the plains of Mordor and Osgiliath.

What kind of man was I?
Who would delay your destiny to appease his tiny mind
Who could delay your destiny to appease his aching swollen pride
Who could delay your destiny to appease his screaming little mind
You're mine
August & September starts out as an intermezzo, with its mellow base and shuffle drums, but then slowly escalates into the manic creed at the end. It will have you at the edge of your seat in every passage of the book. Even Gravitate To Me has a leering attraction to it that closely resembles the working of the One Ring on anyone near it.

There is even a glimmer of hope in the ending of Beyond Love as the organ dies away.

Hard to imagine a better accompaniment to Frodo and Sam's lonely trek to Mount Doom than Kingdom of Rain, where Sinead O'Connor shows what a beautiful voice she has. Not forgetting the thunder at the end of the song reflecting the dying rumble of the volcano.

By the way, this was the song I heard on the radio one night and which made me decide to buy the album.

The Shadow Host

Today I had the urge to finish a bunch of miniatures that I had in my cross hairs for some time. It´s a set of great looking warriors of the cursed kingdom under the southern mountains from the War of the Ring range by Games Workshop. They're plastics and wonderfully sculpted with great dynamism.

The Shadow Host

I knew they should be relatively easy to do. A couple of months I got them out and glued them together and on slotta bases. Then nothing happened for a long time.

Even when I bought a can of  black spray paint for the base coat, a Saturday ago, I actually didn´t expect much to happen. However, the next Tuesday I actually got those guys out and subjected them to a black storm.

And today I wanted to see how I could achieve the desired effect, so I started on a few minis to try out the dry brushing followed by a green wash and then a another dry brush for highlights. They had to look ghostly.

I was so pleased, I finished them all of in two further short sessions. And I'm pretty pleased with the result, although it still needs a layer (or two) of varnish and some basing. This was of course the easiest of the easiest of paint jobs, so nothing to be proud of. If only all painting could be that simple.

Return to Lonely Mountain - more thoughts on The Hobbit

I was led (I forgot by whom, but thanks) to a really interesting article on Peter Jackson's interpretation of The Hobbit, by Kristin Thompson. I can agree to it in most cases. I urge all fans of Tolkien to read it (after they've seen the movie). There's a few peeks at cut scenes as well.

Still from the cut scenes where Bilbo sees broken Narsil in Rivendel

But it also made me think about what will be in part 2 and part 3. From the point where the party is rescued by the great eagles on, the following plot main parts from the book are still to come:

Meeting with Beorn, the forest road, the spiders, the elves, the lake town, entering mount Erebor, talks with Smaug, slaying of Smaug, Battle of the Five Armies and the return home. It is to be expected that the encounter with Smaug and the Battle will be in part 3, so you can see the problem for part 2, because it will be pretty lean on spectacular moments.

Apart from the fight with the spiders and the escape from Lake Town, there isn't much high drama. So it is to be expected that a lot of the stuff from outside the book will be included here.

Most important, I guess will be the attack of the White Council on the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. This can involve some spectacular CGI, even if there isn't a full scale battle with ghouls, skeletons and other undead creatures.

Azog, unwelcome as always

We can also expect Azog to feature at some point, although I don't see an easy point where he can be injected in the story. Maybe as he tries to make his way towards the Lonely Mountain. Or worse, if Jackson has him chasing the dwarves through the forest. As Thompson notes, the creative team around him are very fond of the Defiler and he will probably mess up the whole story more than in part 1.

The only intreaguing thing that he could be involved in are the sparse references to a plot against the dwarves ('who have you told of this?'). It is an interesting take, but I don't see at this point who could have been behind it at this point.

Another thing we might see is Gollum leaving the realm of the Goblin King to find his Precious. In Tolkien's version, this happens later, but I could understand if Jackson advances this point. On the other hand, Gollum has no further use in the plot and no immediate interaction with Gandalf. On the other hand, it could be a way to have Gandalf encounter Aragorn and have him search for Gollum.

But chances are that part two will start slowly with Beorn and the forest road and then see a tumble of action scenes, possibly culminating in the siege of Dol Guldur. That's not a bad thing to look forward to as a fan, but it would probably not be enough if this movie were to stand on it's own.

Saruman, victim of hindsight

Also, I still think they've not set up Saruman in the right way. He is depicted as too dodgy, while all he is is extremely arrogant, which he has every right to be, considering that he is the most powerful being in Middle Earth at the time. Why not show Saruman like that? Dismissing Gandalf's evidence of the Necromancer not because he doesn't believe it, but rather because he doesn't like that Gandalf found it rather than him. His pride becomes his folly only after he tries to use the Palantir of Orthanc. I'd preferred if Jackson had kept it that way. Now, because we all know he joins the Dark Side in the end, it is set out too deterministic. Saruman is a lot less interesting that way.

The Hobbit squarely hits the comfort zone

It was only to be expected that Peter Jackson would extend the line from the Lord of the Rings trilogy to the Hobbit and the first part of the Hobbit fully meets these expectations. That is probably why reviews are generally quite flat. This movie shows craftsmanship rather than genius. You can admire the skill with which it's been made but you won't be shocked, overwhelmed, surprised or moved.

This is not a problem as long as you liked the Lord of the Rings, book or movie, and all that goes with it. You can then just continue in that cozy, plush rose garden that you've been looking forward to over the last decade. And that feeling will continue for a few more years as parts two and three appear, followed by extended versions. And then the long wait will start anew, for some adaptation of the Silmarillion or whatever Tolkien's legacy has in store that can be adapted with any chance of commercial success.

As a huge fan of Lord of the Rings since I was 17 I'm one of the core audience for this movie, and Jackson delivers first of all to us, staying true to the imagery of the sequels.  The movie has the dark undertones that Tolkien sought to inject into the Hobbit after the LotR had come out. Luckily the book was saved from that treatment and I can appreciate it for what it is. But the movie, as a prequel, is better for adopting that atmosphere. The setting is pretty grim, but not overburdened with the forboding of the later saga.

Of course, I have my minor qualms about changes to the book. Some are unnecessary, in my opinion. Like the way the trolls are handled. As far as I'm concerned the solution in the book is much funnier. But that is peanuts, especially compared to the Arwen fiasco in LotR. The only thing that comes close is the Rhosgobel Rabbit Express, which is totally ridiculous but thankfully not a recurring item.

The movie is certainly not too long for me, but then again I'm the core audience. I could have stayed there all night if Jackson had so willed it, but if this movie wants to make money it needs to draw in a lot of people who will not just lap up anything about Tolkien. They might think this is overwrought and three movies about this short book is a bit much, even when the movie draws in some stuff from other books.

I read The Hobbit in English first time, but later acquired a Dutch translation. Reads very well

But most of all this movie is a reason to experience it all again. We played Middle Earth Quest again.  It made me reread the Hobbit, much of the early parts and the appendices of LotR and even bits from the Silmarillion. It's wonderful to step into an entire universe with so much behind it and to look at it like a historian or a game designer would, not just as the reader of a novel.

Between the Lonely Mountain and Bree - Middle Earth Quest

Nice tight game of Middle Earth Quest on Saturday, getting us all in the mood for the Hobbit (movie).

Middle Earth Quest is set in the world of Tolkien, between the events described in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these 65 years the three main wizards of Middle Earth, Sauron, Saruman and Gandalf try to cobble together a set of clues concerning the legendary Ring of Isildur, which holds power over other rings in the possession of Sauron.

All three understand the significance of gaining hold of the ring, but lack vital information. Gandalf knows where it is, but not what it is, while Sauron knows what it is, but not where. Saruman has got hints about both.

In MEQ, this is reduced to a struggle between a group of heroes, friendly to Gandalf and Sauron. While Saurn builds up his power and searches for the Ring, the heroes try to provide Gandalf with clues and thwart Sauron's attempts to cast his shadow over Middle Earth.

The game is made by Sauron. The heroes react. Sauron can choose from three strategies, or combine them: finding out what and where the Ring is, corrupt the Free People or increase his imperium by violent means. All these efforts result in quest for the heroes to resolve.

Rob, typecast as Sauron, slowly but surely managed to establish his dominance over  Mordor and its neighbourhood, despite a speedy start for the heroes. Eleanor (Jur) and Eometh (Paul) quickly resolved their basic quests, with Argalad catching up.

Eometh finishes off the Mouth of Sauron. But loses precious time,
which Sauron uses to good effect

Rob chose the (red) conquest strategy and supported it by employing his minions (first the Black Serpent and the Mouth of Sauron, later also the Ringwraiths) aggressively. In this way he protected his quest very well.

Eleanor´s character sheet, with her unspent life points/combat cards on the left,
cards played for movement on top. Cards taken for damage are place on the right

However, this led to the heroes realising before the end of the game that they wouldn´t be able to win directly, and switched to denying Sauron the possibility of a direct win.

It was very convenient that Eleanor (Jur) had acquired a horse early in the game, as she sped from Rohan, through Rivendel where she concocted a dastardly plan with Argalad (Gerard) to slay Gothmog, onto Gundabad.

Although she was weakened by the conditions there, which were not exactly in line with health and safety regulations, she still managed to put a crossbowbolt between Gothmog´s shoulder blades. He hadn´t recovered from this nasty surprise by the time Argalad showed up and finished the job. Just in time, because it denied Rob the steps on the quest track to dispute dominance as well as his secret mission for the direct win.

Eleanor takes on Gothmog in Gundabad, while Argalad prepares the killing blow

This caused the game to end in a direct confrontation of the Ringwraiths and our brave companion Eometh (Paul). Eometh showed that his inexperience was no obstacle, as he proceeded to cut them to pieces. And so Good prevailed.

Strangely enough I haven´t played this game very often, yet. I love the setting, it works well, results in a tight contest. Somehow the rules kept me back. I will try to play it again soon, so I have the rules fresh in my mind.

Had I played it more, I would venture a more review like post, but right now I'll just stick to celebrating the balanced design, the tough choices for all players and the clever combat system incorporating fatigue/rest, training, wounds/healing, movement  and varied tactical options. Designer Corey Konieczka really pulled off a biggy here. Fantasy Flight's high standard graphic design is also apparent.

The amount of rules is probably as much as Mage Knight, but somehow this game works better for me.

As said, I always saw the War of the Ring, and especially the period leading up to it, as a three-way conflict with Saruman as the dodgy one (in hindsight). These guys are essentially equals (called maiar by Tolkien), the three most powerful beings in Middle Earth and effectively demi-gods, even more ancient than the elves. I know it's unlikely to ever be made, but that conflict would be my grail game. This comes close in scope, however.

The Hobbit is on the programme for next Monday, after we have our Christmas Offensive. There´s going to be seven of us, so the range of games available is limited. My offerings will be: Junta, Struggle of Empires, Civilization (AH) and Arkham Horror. What do you guys think?