Bilbo Baggins enjoys a contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive and enlist his services on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo's life is never to be the same again.
A new hardback edition with a cover design by Tolkien himself, to complement the popular Hobbit and Lord of the Rings hardbacks. Includes new Preface by J.R.R. Tolkien unique to this edition. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien''s World. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. Included in the book are several shorter works. The Ainulindale is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings.
Malorie raises the children the only way she can: indoors. The house is quiet. The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed over the windows. They are out there. She might let them in. The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall. Soon she will have to wake them. Soon she will have to blindfold them. Today they must leave the house. Today they will risk everything.
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, new threats are emerging from every direction. Tyrion Lannister, having killed his father, and wrongfully accused of killing his nephew, King Joffrey, has escaped from King's Landing with a price on his head.
To the north lies the great Wall of ice and stone - a structure only as strong as those guarding it. Eddard Stark's bastard son Jon Snow has been elected 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
But Jon has enemies both inside and beyond the Wall. And in the east Daenerys Targaryen struggles to hold a city built on dreams and dust.
Painstakingly restored from Tolkien''s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Luthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien''s Middle-earth. The tale of Beren and Luthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Luthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Luthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Luthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Luthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril. In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Luthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told the story in his father''s own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.
Frodo the hobbit and his eight companions undertake a perilous quest to destroy the One Ring and break the power of the Dark Lord before he can overcome the peoples of Middle Earth.
Painstakingly restored from Tolkien''s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a standalone work, the epic tale of The Fall of Gondolin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Balrogs, Dragons and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien''s Middle-earth. In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwe, chief of the Valar. Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo''s desires and designs. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Turin, the instrument of Ulmo''s designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes great; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon''s daughter, and their son is Earendel, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo. At last comes the terrible ending. Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Tuor and Idril, with the child Earendel, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Earendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources. Following his presentation of Beren and Luthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same ''history in sequence'' mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ''the first real story of this imaginary world'' and, together with Beren and Luthien and The Children of Hurin, he regarded it as one of the three ''Great Tales'' of the Elder Days.
Return to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in the second instalment of high adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy.
The popular paperback edition of this fascinating collection of stories, which continue the tales of The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and contains an alternative version of The Children of Hurin.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.
Features the fourth installment of George RR Martin's classic "A Song of Fire and Ice". Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. But, fear and deceit are in the air, their enemies are poised to strike. This book describes dark magic, political intrigue, and bloodshed.
The world first publication of a previously unknown work of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the powerful story of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and who swears revenge on the magician who killed his father. Kullervo son of Kalervo is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien''s characters. ''Hapless Kullervo'', as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny. Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruellest of fates. Tolkien wrote that The Story of Kullervo was ''the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own'', and was ''a major matter in the legends of the First Age''; his Kullervo was the ancestor of Turin Turambar, tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. In addition to being a powerful story in its own right, The Story of Kullervo - published here for the first time with the author''s drafts, notes and lecture-essays on its source-work, The Kalevala, is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien''s invented world.
Read the classic edition of Bilbo Baggins'' adventures in Middle-earth. Featuring more than 60 colour paintings and pencil drawings by the award-winning artist, Alan Lee, Conceptual Designer on Peter Jackson''s THE HOBBIT trilogy. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ''there and back again''. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon... The prelude to The Lord of the Rings , The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century. It is now available in a smart new package, and is illustrated throughout in gorgeous watercolour and delicate pencil by Alan Lee, Conceptual Artist for Peter Jackson''s films, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN.
Special 50th anniversary edition of the literary phenomenon voted Book of the Century and the Nation's favourite Big Read. Includes revised and reset text and special features unique to this edition.
Nona Grey''s story reaches its shattering conclusion in the third instalment of Book of the Ancestor. THEY CAME AGAINST HER AS A CHILD. NOW THEY FACE THE WOMAN. The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor''s armies are in retreat. Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun''s habit before war is on their doorstep. Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war. The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it''s a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her. A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned. HOLY SISTER completes the Book of the Ancestor trilogy that began with RED SISTER and GREY SISTER. A ground-breaking series, it has established Mark Lawrence as one of the most exciting new voices in modern speculative fiction.
Robin Hobb takes readers deep into the history behind the Farseer series in this exclusive, new novella.
Long before the time of Chivalry Farseer, there was another indiscreet member of the royal line. Princess Caution Farseer, in defiance of her name, was headstrong and willful, destined to fall dangerously in love where she ought not.
The child she bore, a Witted boy known as the Piebald Prince, rose to favour despite his questionable bloodlines. But the dukes of the Six Duchies backed Canny Farseer for the throne. And so both young men competed for power But this was not their only struggle: for they both fell in love with the same lady. Such rivalry could end only in bloodshed
The complete box set of George R R Martin''s internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age.
George R.R. Martin''s A Song of Ice and Fire series has set the benchmark for contemporary epic fantasy. Labelled by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world, Martin has conjured a world as complex and vibrant as that of J.R.R. Tolkien''s, populated by a huge cast of fascinating, complex characters, and boasting a history that stretches back twelve thousand years.
The box set includes:
A GAME OF THRONES A CLASH OF KINGS A STORM OF SWORDS, 1: STEEL AND SNOW A STORM OF SWORDS, 2: BLOOD AND GOLD A FEAST FOR CROWS A DANCE WITH DRAGONS The dimension of the box set is 178mm x111mm.
You think you know how the world works? Think again. 21st Century America Magic has faded from the minds of mankind , until an encounter between Melisande Stokes, linguistics expert at Harvard, and Tristan Lyons, shadowy agent of government, leads to the uncovering of a distant past . After translating a series of ancient texts, Melisande and Tristan discover the connection between science, magic and time travel and so the Department of Diachronic Operations - D.O.D.O. - is hastily brought into existence. Its mission: to develop a device that will send their agents back to the past , where they can stop magic from disappearing and alter the course of history . But when you interfere with the past, there''s no telling what you might find in your future... Written with genius and complexity , this vividly realised novel will make you believe the impossible , and question the very foundations of the modern world.
