Meditations on Middle-Earth

MEDITATIONS ON MIDDLE-EARTH

MEDITATIONS ON
MIDDLE-EARTH

EDITED BY KAREN HABER

A BYRON PREISS BOOK

MEDITATIONS ON MIDDLE-EARTH
. Copyright © 2001 by Byron Preiss Visual
Publications, Inc. All right reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No
part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles or reviews. For information address
St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010

Editor: Karen Haber

Project Editor: Howard Zimmerman

Designed by Gilda Hannah

Interior Illustrations copyright © John Howe 2001

Jacket illustration by John Howe

copyright © 2001 John Howe/Sophisticated Games, Ltd.

“The Beat Goes On” copyright © 2001 Karen Haber.

“Introduction” copyright © 2001 George R. R. Martin.

“Our Grandfather: Meditations on J. R. R. Tolkien” copyright © 2001 Raymond E. Feist.

“Awakening the Elves” copyright © 2001 Paul Anderson.

“A Changeling Returns” copyright © 2001 Michael Swanwick.

“If You Give a Girl a Hobbit” copyright © 2001 Esther M. Friesner.

“The Ring and I” copyright © 2001 Harry Turtledove.

“Cult Classic” copyright © 2001 Terry Pratchett.

“A Bar and a Quest” copyright 2001 Robin Hobb.

“Rhythmic Pattern in The Lord of the Rings” copyright © 2001 Ursula K. Le Guin.

“The Longest Day” copyright © 2001 Diane Duane.

“Tolkien After All These Years” copyright © 2001 Douglas A. Anderson.

“How Tolkien Means” copyright © 2001 Orson Scott Card.

“The Tale Goes Ever On” copyright © 2001 Charles de Lint.

“The Mythmaker” copyright © 2001 Lisa Goldstein.

“ ‘The Radical Distinction . . .’ A Conversation with Tim and Greg Hildebrandt” copyright © 2001 Glenn Hurdling.

“On Tolkien and Fairy-Stories” copyright © 2001 Terri Windling.

A B
YRON
P
REISS
B
OOK

www.stmartins.com

ISBN 0-312-27536-6    ISBN 978-0-312-27536-5

First Edition: November 2001

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In memory of Paul Anderson

CONTENTS

Preface: The Beat Goes On
      
Karen Haber

Introduction
      
George R. R. Martin

Our Grandfather: Meditations on J. R. R. Tolkien
      
Raymond Feist

Awakening the Elves
      
Paul Anderson

A Changeling Returns
      
Michael Swanwick

If You Give a Girl a Hobbit
      
Esther M. Friesner

The Ring and I
      
Harry Turtledove

Cult Classic
      
Terry Pratchett

A Bar and a Quest
      
Robin Hobb

Rhythmic Pattern in The Lord of the Rings
      
Ursula K. Le Guin

The Longest Sunday
      
Diane Duane

Tolkien After All These Years
      
Douglas A. Anderson

How Tolkien Means
      
Orson Scott Card

The Tale Goes Ever On
      
Charles De Lint

The Mythmaker
      
Lisa Goldstein

“The Radical Distinction . . .”
A Conversation with Tim and Greg Hildebrandt
      
Glenn Hurdling

On Tolkien and Fairy-Stories
      
Terri Windling

Author Biographies

PREFACE:
THE BEAT GOES
ON