Title: Flawed
Product review: This book is essentially a series of short essays on various topics loosely related to the works of JRR Tolkien. While some of these segments are well researched with references to obscure passages in Tolkien's writings, the majority are little more than self-important ramblings and speculations. Even in the research essays the author seems most comparable to David Day in that he can't seem to differentiate between things that Tolkien actually wrote and those things which are merely his own interpretations or preferences. He casually dismisses evidence damning to his own position or simply ignores it entirely.If you are looking for 'chatty' speculations on various topics about Middle-earth and don't much care about their accuracy this may be the book for you. If you are looking for serious literary analysis or unbiased research into Tolkien's less known works - look elsewhere. Carpenter and Shippey would be a good start.
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