The One-hundred and ninth Roving Ranger
Have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Opens in a new window)
This #RR has been delayed thanks to a birthday, an engagement, and technical issues my provider has not yet resolved! Thank you for your patience.
Events & Shows
Professor JRR Tolkien Centenary Lecture (Opens in a new window) at Leeds (Oct 23)
Artist Donato Giancola will host an open studio (Opens in a new window) on Sept 21 in Brooklyn.
The Hobbit (Opens in a new window) is on in at the Warehouse Theatre in Yakima, Washington (Sept + Oct; more info (Opens in a new window))
Lure of Middle-earth 2025 — 25th Anniversary (Opens in a new window)will start registration Sept 13.
David Bratman has a short report from Cascade Moot (Opens in a new window).
For all events (Opens in a new window) check out the International Tolkien Fellowship (Opens in a new window) [FB] and the Tolkien Guide Calendar (Opens in a new window).
Scholarship & Fandom
Roy Peachey has: Tolkien, Eleanor Parker and Winters in the World (Opens in a new window).
Who was Mr. Rang? (Opens in a new window) [ Tolkien Guide]
Dimitra Fimi has published CFP: Tolkien sessions at IMC Leeds 2025 (Opens in a new window).
Two papers presented at Oxonmoot are now available via the Journal of Tolkien Research (Opens in a new window): “A fear of anything large and alive, and not easily tamed or destroyed”: Kaiju in The Lord of the Rings (Opens in a new window) (Larsen) and Teaching Song and Holiness: An Exploration of the Mystic and Syncretic Elements of Tolkien’s Earliest Elvish Language Invention (Opens in a new window) (Higgins).
I don’t understand a word but do love the title: Higher order Bessel beams integrated in time (HOBBIT) with engineered light frequencies (ELFs) (Opens in a new window).
Jason Fisher has Tom Riddle and Roman Castevet (Opens in a new window).
Some fun stats: Fantasy Novels Being Read by my Students (Opens in a new window). [Stratofanatic]
A Tolkien Philatelic Society (Opens in a new window) has been formed [Tolkien Guide]
Merchandise & Franchise
An eclectic list of reactions to the second season of LotR: Rings of Power, episode 4 as an example. Please note: Spoilers and strong language!
That's Not Tolkien's Tom Bombadil In The Rings Of Power, But I Kind Of Love It (Opens in a new window) [ScreenRant] | Rings of Power Took a Major Risk With Tom Bombadil and We Are Glad They Made Him Different from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (Opens in a new window)[FandomWire] | The Rings of Power Hates Tolkien Part 1: Orcs (Opens in a new window) [Bleeding Fool] | Tom Bombadil Is In Rings Of Power, Will Everyone Stop Complaining Now? (Opens in a new window) [Giant Freaking Robot] | The ‘Rings of Power’s latest episode might’ve just confirmed our Stranger suspicions! (Opens in a new window) [Mary Sue] | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 4 Recap (Opens in a new window) [Esquire] | The Rings of Power’s Tom Bombadil Is Finally Here, and He’s a Real Mess-adillo (Opens in a new window) [Slate]
Former RAF airfield is new home for Middle Earth (Opens in a new window) [BBC]
Sir Ian McKellen: 'They better be quick if they want me to play Gandalf again!' (Opens in a new window) [Big Issue]
Hugo Weaving hasn't seen Rings of Power: 'I don't want to go back there' (Opens in a new window) [Radio Times]
TikTok meets Tolkien: how the Folio Society attracted gen Z readers (Opens in a new window) [Guardian]
Amazon Prime Members Get 28 Free Games In September (Opens in a new window) (incl. LEGO LotR &Shadows of Mordor) [GameSpot]
The French Tolkien publisher Christian Burgeois has been bought by (Opens in a new window)Madrigall. [Figaro; in French]
New power station to be powered by JRR Tolkien spinning in his grave (Opens in a new window)[Newsthump; satire!]
Amazon Games Boss Says Lord of the Rings MMO 'Still Early’ (Opens in a new window) [IGN]
Inter alia & Back in the Day
Comic artist Nathan W. Pyle has a lovely summary (Opens in a new window) of The Lord of the Rings. [Facebook]
Potter fans boo as Hogwarts Express not announced (Opens in a new window) [BBC]
George R.R. Martin lovingly titled one of his latest blog posts Burn him! Burn him! (Opens in a new window) And then this happened: George R.R. Martin’s Deleted Post Sparks ‘House Of The Dragon’ Debate (Opens in a new window)[Forbes; see also NZ Herald (Opens in a new window)]
The launch trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Opens in a new window) is out. [INDAC]
Ansible 446 (Opens in a new window) has been published.
EuroCon 2026 has been chosen and it is in Berlin with MetropolCon (Opens in a new window).
Brandon Sanderson achieves another Kickstarter success (Opens in a new window) [Wertzone]
A few words on palaeography (Opens in a new window) from the Iroon Room at the Public Library of Birmingham.
According to German law I have to infom you all links to enterprises, artists, products etc. are [unpaid advertisements.] Some purchase links may earn me a small commission from Blackwell's (Opens in a new window) or Bookshop.org (Opens in a new window), the bookshops of my personal trust.
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As this is 2024 I would like to note that this newsletter is 100% human-made, curated by me, Marcel R. Bülles. This also holds true for everything I write with my blog and here at Steady. Also, the average time of curating this newsletter ranges from 12-16 hours.
