Tweaking Things a Little. Essays on the Epic Fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien and G.R.R. Martin

Thomas Honegger

Cormarë Series No. 50

"World-building, name-finding, language-crafting; the flaws in chivalric practice, and the ethics (Machiavellian and otherwise) that produce the moral complexities of Middle-earth and the Known World are thus the topics that Tweaking Things a Little considers. The modest title belies what lies within these covers: nimble readings, profound knowledge of the medieval world, original and provocative reading of both books and the TV show await the reader here. Pointing both back in time to the medieval underpinnings of Tolkien’s creation and outwards to the contemporary world that informs Martin’s pragmatic and politically astute thinking, these essays enthral, astonish and challenge. Best of all, they encourage us to journey back into Middle-earth and the Known World, with newly opened eyes and ears, to rediscover their wonders anew."

Carolyne Larrington, Professor of Medieval European Literature (University of Oxford), author of Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of 'Game of Thrones' (2015) and All Men Must Die: Power and Passion in 'Game of Thrones' (2021).

About the author: Thomas Honegger is Professor for English Medieval Studies at the Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena (Germany).

 
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Table of contents

Author's Preface

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Carolyne Larrington

Part 1: Worldbuilding, Icebergs, Depth, and Enchantment

Part 2: Names, Onomastics, and Onomaturgy

Part 3: Languages

Part 4: Riders, Chivalry, and Knighthood

Part 5: Ethics

Conclusion

Bibliography

Picture References

Index

table of contents | cover | announcements | more

Cover

Cover illustration and cover art by Jay Johnstone,

table of contents | cover | announcements | more

Announcements

Mallorn reviews Tweaking Things a Little (27th March 2024)
Journal of Tolkien Research reviews Tweaking Things a Little (17th March 2024)
Lembas Katern reviews Tweaking Things a Little (11th December 2023)
New publication, Tweaking Things a Little (2nd July 2023)

 
435 pages, Walking Tree Publishers 2023, Cormarë Series No. 50, ISBN: 978-3-905703-50-4.
 

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