White Council

Re: Isildur Novel | White Council Forum Archive - msg 3188

White Council Forum Archive
Original Xenite.Org White Council Forum Archive

Site Map


All Archives Top White Council Archive Index Archive 15 Index


VISIT LIVE TOLKIEN FORUM
Topic: Re: Isildur Novel    Reply to: msg 3183
Posted: May 07, 1999 at 15:33:31: by Michael Martinez
: I know there is some fanfiction novel out there about the fall
: of Sauron at the end of the second age, but does anyone know of
: a website where it is?
: Thanks

I only reluctantly give you the link here since it's also archived on Dejanews and fairly easy to find anyway. Brian Crawford wrote an unauthorized novel called ISILDUR and posted it on his Compuserve Web site. You download a text file and read it on your own PC.

It is, in my opinion, a poorly written story. It does not conform to Tolkien's history and world in many respects and the writing just makes me wince. I cite here an analysis of the novel's main points which I posted to rec.arts.books.tolkien in February 1999.


Crawford's summary of the book is:


Isildur is sent throughout the West to gather another army to
launch a surprise attack on his own city of Minas Ithil, still
under the control of the dreaded Nazgul, Sauron's most feared
lieutenants. This time, the allies will use their greatest
weapons and their greatest danger: the Great Rings of Power.
But this is exactly what Sauron has been waiting for so long.

There is nothing like this in any of Tolkien's writings. Isildur, according to Tolkien, sailed to Arnor and marched south with Elendil and Gil-galad. He only returned to Gondor after the war.

Look at the nonsense in this summary of the story's highlights:

1) The White Fleet of Lindon battle the Corsairs of Umbar in a mighty naval battle!

Sorry -- there was no White Fleet of Lindon, no Corsairs of Umbar, and no naval battles in the War of the Last Alliance.


2) An entire nation doomed to continue as undead until their oath is fulfilled!

This comes out of Aragorn's account of the Paths of the dead. I have not read the novel, but the identification is easily enough made.

3) The origin of The Mouth of Sauron, the Dark Lord's eldritch
spokesman!

Tolkien's description of the origin of the Mouth of Sauron places him in the Third Age, not the Second.

4) The great Council of the West, held under the majestic Dome of Stars in Osgiliath!

Nope. No specific councils are mentioned. However, Elendil probably met with Gil-galad in Lindon (or, possibly, in Annuminas).

5) The Three Rings battle with the Nine as the Elves attack the Nazgul in Minas Ithil!

Nope. Tolkien specifically wrote that the Three were not used in the Second Age, and that they were not made for war.

6) The final battle on the slopes of Orodruin when Sauron emerges at last!

This might be derived from LOTR, but the only details of Sauron's battle with Gil-galad and Elendil were published in THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH.

7) Isildur's fateful decision to take the One Ring for himself!

Definitely comes from LOTR.

8) How the Ring came to be lost so that it would be found again by Gollum!

Presumably this would be based on Gandalf's account of the Ring's history (and Elrond's). But given how little attention Crawford paid to non-LOTR sources, I would be surprised to learn he had been greatly influenced by "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields".

So, yes, he took characters (Isildur, Elendil, Gil-galad undoubtedly) and events (the War of the Last Alliance, although his depiction of it appears to differ considerably from Tolkien's), and the aftermath. Unquestionably. But let's not treat this story like it's ACCURATE or FAITHFUL to the
original concepts.

It's not.


------------------
The ISILDUR Novel Homepage



Contact us | SF Fandom | Privacy Statement


SF Fandom Sites

SciFi Forums
Archives
Forum Short Addresses
Other SciFi Sites

Xenite.Org Network

Science Fiction & Fantasy
SF Fandom
SF Worlds
The Queen of Swords
Tolkien Studies

Popular Network Sites

Entertainment Search Engine
Grace Park
Harry Potter News
History of Xena
Lord of the Rings News
Mizuo Peck
Poster Store
SciFi Search Engine
Star Wars News
White Cheese Dip
Witch World Page
Xena: Warrior Princess
 

This page is copyright © 1997-2007 by Michael L. Martinez. All rights reserved.
No portions of this page may be reproduced electronically or otherwise without express permission from the copyright holder, except as occurs in normal browser caching and page indexing.

No random scifi pages were incorporated into this archive. However, the truth about Balrogs may have been mentioned at least once. Learn more about Balrogs: Balrog of Moria. Read more Tolkien essays.

Created by SEO Specialist Michael Martinez. Search engine optimization and search engine optimization provided by SE cOnsulting.