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A review by disreputabledog
Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy by Douglas A. Anderson
3.0
Tolkien is often considered to be the father of modern fantasy, but it's not like he woke up one morning and thought, "I'm going to write this crazy story that takes place in a world that may or may not be our own and features Elves and Dwarves and wizards!" This anthology, compiled by Tolkien scholar Douglas Anderson, is a collection of stories from the 19th and early 20th centuries that either are known to have inspired Tolkien or are representative of the kind of (what we would consider) fantasy fiction from that period.
The problem with this anthology is that, while most of these stories are decent, none are very memorable. I've only disliked one or two of the stories, but I can't say that 6 months from now I'm going to remember the plot of any of these tales. Another reviewer noted that these are worth reading only from an academic standpoint - that is, they don't have a lot of merit outside of reading them through the lens of Tolkien's influences - and I have to agree with this statement.
(Starred stories are the cream of the crop in this collection.)
"The Elves" by Ludwig Tieck - 4/5. A fairly traditional story in which a young girl spends what she perceives to be a few hours with some elves and then returns to her family, only to discover that many years have passed.
"The Golden Key" by George MacDonald - 4/5. A boy is given a key and spends a lifetime searching for the door it opens. A bit overly allegorical, but I enjoyed it.
"Puss-cat Mew" by EH Knatchbull-Hugessen - 3/5. A man wanders into a forest with fairies, trolls, and goblins. This story would have worked better if it wasn't so long.
* "The Griffin and the Minor Canon" by Frank R. Stockton - 4/5. A griffin comes to town and befriends one of the townsmen without realizing that he is feared by everyone else.
"The Demon Pope" by Richard Garnett - 1/5. Awful. I don't know why this was included. The devil makes a deal with the pope to be pope for a day.
"The Story of Sigurd" by Andrew Lang - 4/5. A Danish folk tale about a man who slays a dragon, rescues an enchanted maiden, etc etc.
"The Folk of the Mountain Door" by William Morris - 2/5. I really liked this one until the ending, which is abrupt and inconclusive. It left me wondering what the point of this story is. Basically two figures wander into the hall of a king and chat with him for a while. Then they go away.
"Black Heart and White Heart: A Zulu Idyll" by H. Rider Haggard - 2/5. Set in what is today South Africa, an English trader is hiding out from the government among the Zulu. This is an interesting story from the perspective of 19th century colonization and has an interesting message - the white man in the story has the black heart and the Zulu native has a white heart - but otherwise I found it a bit dull.
"The Dragon Tamers" by E. Nesbit - 3/5. A dragon is captured by a blacksmith and confined to a castle. I liked this story at first, but now I just feel sorry for the dragon.
* "The Far Islands" by John Buchan - 5/5. Easily the best story in this collection. A young boy living on the Scottish coast strives to see an island in the distance. As he gets older, the island becomes clearer until his death, when he is able to travel to the island and beyond. Allusions to Middle Earth are obvious here, and I was absolutely spellbound by this tale.
"The Drawn Arrow" by Clemence Housman - 1/5. Like "The Demon Pope," I hated this story.
"The Enchanted Buffalo" by L. Frank Baum - 2/5. This is basically Hamlet/The Lion King, but with buffalos.
"Chu-Bu and Sheemish" by Lord Dunsany - 2/5. An idol name Chu-Bu becomes jealous when a new idol, Sheemish, is placed in the same temple. I didn't like this story but I enjoyed a few others from "The Book of Wonders," the collection that includes "Chu-Bu and Sheemish." I figure this particular story was included because it's known that Tolkien read it, although some of the other stories by Lord Dunsany might have been better choices for this anthology.
"The Baumoff Explosive" by William Hope Hodgson - 4/5. A bizarre and downright eerie story about a man who performs an experiment to simulate the exact physical and environmental conditions that Jesus experienced when he died on the cross. In other words, Baumoff crucifies himself. As a work of horror fiction, this story works extremely well (I found it quite visually disturbing), but it feels out of place in this collection.
"The Regent of the North" by Kenneth Morris - 4/5. A Swedish man becomes upset when Christianity comes to the land and replaces the old gods.
"The Coming of the Terror" by Arthur Machen - 3/5. A condensed version of Machen's novel "The Terror," this story describes a series of unexplained events that happen across Britain during the summer of 1915. "The Coming of the Terror" has an Interesting premise with a weak pay-off; the explanation of the terror was a bit too illogical and boring for my tastes.
"The Elf-Trap" by Francis Stevens - 4/5. This is similar to "The Elves," the first story in this collection, though set in Appalachia.
* "The Thin Queen of Elfhame" by James Branch Cabell - 4/5. A renowned man leaves his home behind in search of an elf queen. This would have been an unremarkable story if not for the dash of irony at the end - the elf queen has no heart and love cannot exist in her wood, which means that no one can get hurt.
* "The Woman of the Wood" by A. Merritt - 5/5. Although the introduction to this story notes that Tolkien probably had never read this story, the similarities between Tolkien's Ents and the trees in this story are eerily similar. This is one of the better stories in the collection - I was riveted the entire time.
"Golithos the Ogre" by EA Wyke-Smith - 3/5. This is a chapter from Wyke-Smith's novel "Marvellous Land of Snergs," which directly influenced Tolkien's Hobbits. This particular except is weak, though; it doesn't focus on the Snergs (Hobbits) or their habits, but instead shows an ogre who has turned vegetarian. Fascinating.
"The Story of Alwina" by Austin Tappan Wright - 3/5. Set in the fictional country of Islandia, this is the story of the land's first female ruler. Not a bad story, but it was written as too much of a history for my liking. No background was provided for any of the fictional names and places in the story and I found myself thinking, "What's the point?"
"A Christmas Play" by David Lindsay - 2/5. I might have liked this one better if it wasn't written as a play; I've never been fond of reading plays. A fairy wants to grant three sisters each a prince, but her queen will only allow her to give two of the sisters princes. A bit too philosophical and preachy for my tastes.
The problem with this anthology is that, while most of these stories are decent, none are very memorable. I've only disliked one or two of the stories, but I can't say that 6 months from now I'm going to remember the plot of any of these tales. Another reviewer noted that these are worth reading only from an academic standpoint - that is, they don't have a lot of merit outside of reading them through the lens of Tolkien's influences - and I have to agree with this statement.
(Starred stories are the cream of the crop in this collection.)
"The Elves" by Ludwig Tieck - 4/5. A fairly traditional story in which a young girl spends what she perceives to be a few hours with some elves and then returns to her family, only to discover that many years have passed.
"The Golden Key" by George MacDonald - 4/5. A boy is given a key and spends a lifetime searching for the door it opens. A bit overly allegorical, but I enjoyed it.
"Puss-cat Mew" by EH Knatchbull-Hugessen - 3/5. A man wanders into a forest with fairies, trolls, and goblins. This story would have worked better if it wasn't so long.
* "The Griffin and the Minor Canon" by Frank R. Stockton - 4/5. A griffin comes to town and befriends one of the townsmen without realizing that he is feared by everyone else.
"The Demon Pope" by Richard Garnett - 1/5. Awful. I don't know why this was included. The devil makes a deal with the pope to be pope for a day.
"The Story of Sigurd" by Andrew Lang - 4/5. A Danish folk tale about a man who slays a dragon, rescues an enchanted maiden, etc etc.
"The Folk of the Mountain Door" by William Morris - 2/5. I really liked this one until the ending, which is abrupt and inconclusive. It left me wondering what the point of this story is. Basically two figures wander into the hall of a king and chat with him for a while. Then they go away.
"Black Heart and White Heart: A Zulu Idyll" by H. Rider Haggard - 2/5. Set in what is today South Africa, an English trader is hiding out from the government among the Zulu. This is an interesting story from the perspective of 19th century colonization and has an interesting message - the white man in the story has the black heart and the Zulu native has a white heart - but otherwise I found it a bit dull.
"The Dragon Tamers" by E. Nesbit - 3/5. A dragon is captured by a blacksmith and confined to a castle. I liked this story at first, but now I just feel sorry for the dragon.
* "The Far Islands" by John Buchan - 5/5. Easily the best story in this collection. A young boy living on the Scottish coast strives to see an island in the distance. As he gets older, the island becomes clearer until his death, when he is able to travel to the island and beyond. Allusions to Middle Earth are obvious here, and I was absolutely spellbound by this tale.
"The Drawn Arrow" by Clemence Housman - 1/5. Like "The Demon Pope," I hated this story.
"The Enchanted Buffalo" by L. Frank Baum - 2/5. This is basically Hamlet/The Lion King, but with buffalos.
"Chu-Bu and Sheemish" by Lord Dunsany - 2/5. An idol name Chu-Bu becomes jealous when a new idol, Sheemish, is placed in the same temple. I didn't like this story but I enjoyed a few others from "The Book of Wonders," the collection that includes "Chu-Bu and Sheemish." I figure this particular story was included because it's known that Tolkien read it, although some of the other stories by Lord Dunsany might have been better choices for this anthology.
"The Baumoff Explosive" by William Hope Hodgson - 4/5. A bizarre and downright eerie story about a man who performs an experiment to simulate the exact physical and environmental conditions that Jesus experienced when he died on the cross. In other words, Baumoff crucifies himself. As a work of horror fiction, this story works extremely well (I found it quite visually disturbing), but it feels out of place in this collection.
"The Regent of the North" by Kenneth Morris - 4/5. A Swedish man becomes upset when Christianity comes to the land and replaces the old gods.
"The Coming of the Terror" by Arthur Machen - 3/5. A condensed version of Machen's novel "The Terror," this story describes a series of unexplained events that happen across Britain during the summer of 1915. "The Coming of the Terror" has an Interesting premise with a weak pay-off; the explanation of the terror was a bit too illogical and boring for my tastes.
"The Elf-Trap" by Francis Stevens - 4/5. This is similar to "The Elves," the first story in this collection, though set in Appalachia.
* "The Thin Queen of Elfhame" by James Branch Cabell - 4/5. A renowned man leaves his home behind in search of an elf queen. This would have been an unremarkable story if not for the dash of irony at the end - the elf queen has no heart and love cannot exist in her wood, which means that no one can get hurt.
* "The Woman of the Wood" by A. Merritt - 5/5. Although the introduction to this story notes that Tolkien probably had never read this story, the similarities between Tolkien's Ents and the trees in this story are eerily similar. This is one of the better stories in the collection - I was riveted the entire time.
"Golithos the Ogre" by EA Wyke-Smith - 3/5. This is a chapter from Wyke-Smith's novel "Marvellous Land of Snergs," which directly influenced Tolkien's Hobbits. This particular except is weak, though; it doesn't focus on the Snergs (Hobbits) or their habits, but instead shows an ogre who has turned vegetarian. Fascinating.
"The Story of Alwina" by Austin Tappan Wright - 3/5. Set in the fictional country of Islandia, this is the story of the land's first female ruler. Not a bad story, but it was written as too much of a history for my liking. No background was provided for any of the fictional names and places in the story and I found myself thinking, "What's the point?"
"A Christmas Play" by David Lindsay - 2/5. I might have liked this one better if it wasn't written as a play; I've never been fond of reading plays. A fairy wants to grant three sisters each a prince, but her queen will only allow her to give two of the sisters princes. A bit too philosophical and preachy for my tastes.