P&C's Talking Tolkien Book Club

Part 2 of our Final Farewell. Acknowledgments, regrets, a final power rankings, and last reflections. From the bottom of my & Clifford's hearts, thank you very much for taking the time to go on this journey with us. It'd been

Part 1 of our farewell is a long reminiscing reflection. It really could also serve as an extended trailer for this show. In fact feel free to send to a friend! Thank you for listening!

We come to the end of the road, literally to the Grey Havens & the Sea. Thank you to all who joined us for the whole journey. A two-part final wrap-up episodes will both follow come tomorrow. Please enjoy & send to a friend!

The hobbits arrive home to the Shire, but it is not at all how they left it. Things must be set right. Please enjoy and send to a friend! Thank you for listening!

Highly recommended reading for yourself FIRST. Parts will feel familiar, but strangely packaged. Hopefully you will feel the enchantment & nostalgia. With this special, truly we enter the twilight. Please enjoy & send to a friend. Thank you for listening!

The entire chapter was a bold move on Tolkien's part, because little about it was wrapping up. We dive into why, and then tack on a lengthy game that helps bring the show full circle. Please enjoy and send to a friend, thank you for listening!

A bagillion goodbyes this chapter...or at least two dozen to cover. We dive into it, and though in a way all of them are sad, most are ultimately happy, fitting, and well done. Themes and games are reprised. And parting words filled with lasting wisdom abound. Please enjoy and send to a friend! Thank you for listening!

What was originally supposed to accompany chapter 5 about a possible deleted scene in Minas Tirith has become its own normal length episode. We cast our minds all the way back to the choice of Bilbo, and tell almost all about the wizards. Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

The final push begins! And we finally fulfill the book's title is in addition to a myriad of other tangents including courtship drama and the transition from legend to history. Please enjoy and share with a friend! Thank you for listening!

It's taken a lot of work to get here, but it is finally time to discuss in full the Chief Hero of Lord of the Rings, and possibly the greatest Eucatastrophe moment of the trilogy. Please enjoy, thank you for listening! Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Fittingly, on 4/15/22 (Good Friday of 2022) finally Frodo and Sam reach the slopes of Mt Doom to complete the quest. But can they complete it? We go over beautiful moments to treasure, love, and draw wisdom from. And major twists in the plot that need explanation are analyzed. Please enjoy, and Thank You THANK YOU for listening and coming so far with us.

A penultimate episode of sorts. Lots of action and drama, and also deep dives like Tolkien playing with the Priest, Prophet, and King Types. Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

Our two operatives behind enemy lines finally enter the dreaded Mordor, but not together. How does Sam handle himself with the Ring, and what does he do about Frodo's dilemma? Find on in this episode, as the real final push to the finish begins. Let us say second semester of senior year. Please enjoy and thank you for listening everyone!

Please enjoy this extra special episode to close out Book V. Warning: it is extremely heavy on the allegory Tolkien *supposedly* disliked. Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

Glorious marches and impending doom against impossible odds. Parleys and talks with dreadful characters, but surely the Blackland cannot be bargained with. An epic ending to Book V of LOTR, what is one of the most epic books in the history of literature. Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

We've uncovered a lot about the raggedy Ranger we met all the way back in Bree....but there is STILL enough backstory to cover in its own special episode. Thus lettuce dive into our hopeful future king. Please enjoy and thank you for listening.

The blood of the Men of Dol Amroth, Aragorn's leadership, Chess analogies, and a reprisal of the Council of Elrond. Look forward to this and more in this episode. Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

Another rich....and therefore long....episode about possibly the most underrated chapter of the series. Please enjoy discussions of leechcraft, herblore, and miraculous healings. Please enjoy and Thank you for listening!

We discuss all things Denethor who seems to have been reading an emo and angsty book of the Bible. We also discuss chapter order, Persian carpets, and the liberal arts. Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

One of our most over-the-top episodes yet. It's long. It's packed. The tangents stray far from the chapter, but it's also chuck full of things that we deem cannot go unmentioned. We hope you enjoy and thank you for listening!

A pinnacle chapter of the book, with an often overlooked but still beloved beginning. We hope everyone enjoys this one as much as we did recording it. We hope your blood gets pumping! And thank you for listening!

Super long one tonight. Mostly because Tolkien wrote a really long and action packed chapter.

Let no man or hobbit be left behind. Yet another army sets out to join in the greatest battle of the age! Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

Well, this was high on the list of favorite chapters, and it was really big. A lot of ground is covered metaphorically and cartographically. Please enjoy and thank you for listening!

A fun tangent of the episode turned into its own special. And honestly, I think it turned into one of our best episodes ever. Hope you enjoy, thank you for listening!

It's the beginning of the end: we talk architecture, mountain gradients, exiled kings, Jacobites, gathering clouds, and much more. Please enjoy and send to a friend! Thank you for listening.

The last special before we begin Return of the King. We hope you enjoy finding out about the origins of the critical alliance between Gondor and Rohan. We discuss Eorl, Cirion, and others in this episode. Please send to a friend, and thank you for listening!

The second part of our history of the Exiled Numenorean kingdoms. We focus on illustrious Gondor. We cover a lot of ground. We must set a show record for historical references in one episode.

The first of the Exiled Realms' history is discussed tonight. It was a fun one. In Appendix A lays quite a bit of the lore that make LOTR so authentic, so we really enjoyed going over and discussing this one. Hope you enjoy, and please send to a friend! Thank you for listening!

We figured it had to be addressed in full. One of the most important backstories to all of Lord of the Rings is described and analyzed in full this episode. Thank you for listening and please send to a friend. Hope you enjoy!

Most stories have a set up, a problem or challenge, and then a redeeming end. Spoiler alert! This one does not follow suit. We discuss the tragic end of Numenor here. 

We reviewed the creation and build up of Numenor, now let us get into the meat and the tension. All good stories have a good conflict, we get into it here.

Alright, alright, just in time for all the hype about the Amazon show being one year away. Check out the first of our Part 3 special on Numenor, which will be an essential feature of the new show to come. And is The link (along with Sauron and the Noldor still in Middle Earth) from the Silmarillion to the Lord of the Rings, from the Elder Days to the Third Age. 

Alright, laid-back for one tonight. Check out our oft-forgotten Druedain. But if you hear the these quirky tales, you'll never forget them again. 

Alright, Alright this is a big one. We get in the weeds of the metaphysics of Elves and Men. Enjoy our explanation of this cult classic writing of Tolkien. 

It was the one topic of Book 4 left unturned. We go back and talk about Faramir's epic broad strokes sweeping history of Men speech in the Window to the West chapter. From this 3 page monologue we build out an entire mini season of special episodes.

Please enjoy this Easter Special centered around the Tolkien and Lewis conversation about True Myth that held CS Lewis to convert to Christianity.

Patrick, Clifford, and Morgan go through 64 Middle Earth Characters and rank which is the most creative and well-crafted from Tolkien's whole legendarium. Happy end of March! Please enjoy and send to a friend! Thank you for listening!

To wrap up the Two Towers we ask what were the Two Towers, and we each run through what were our top five favorite chapters.

And with this episode we close out Two Towers besides the ultimate chapter Power Rankings still to come. We get into Sam and his Choices quite a bit. And we talk about the orcs quite a bit as well after one certain line really caught my eye. Please enjoy and send to a friend! Thank you for listening!

Gollum leads the hobbits into the Tunnel...Shelob's Lair. It is the beginning of a the great finale at the end of the second volume of the Lord of the Rings. Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thank you for listening!

Frodo and Sam make it past Minas Morgul, up the famous stairs, and have possibly the most memorable conversation in the whole series. Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thank you for listening!

Dear Friends,Sorry for skipping a week, Patrick had Corona. Hobbits are back in this ultimate transition chapter. Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thank you for listening!

Dear Friends,The hobbits ole' traveling companion shows up once again and meets Faramir. It seemed a good opportunity to contrast character who seem to have total resistance to the Ring (Faramir) and those completely obsessed by it (Gollum). Please enjoy and send to a friend! Thank you for listening!

Dear Friends,We learn all about this Faramir character -- he seems like a really good guy and then proves he's a really good guy. We talk about watercolor paintings, saying grace, waterfalls, and more. Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thank you for listening. 

Dear Friends,The hobbits and Gollum come to the Garden of Gondor, Ithilien, and it is quite a place. It is one of THOSE places everyone remembers, and there is one of THOSE scenes that is so iconic. Check it out in this episode. Please send to a friend and enjoy! Thank you for listening!

Dear Friends,The Hobbits get to the Black Gate and find it impassable. Only then does Gollum tell them there is another way into Mordor. Why was this not mentioned before? In fairness, because the hobbits never asked. Check out what ensues for the rest of this episode. Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thank you for listening!

Dear Friends,Frodo, Sam, and Gollum cross the Dead Marshes. It is an unbelievably depressing process.....HEAR ALL ABOUT IT HERE! Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thank you for listening!

Dear Friends, We're back, and so are Frodo and Sam....and they are not alone. Check out everything that happens in this chapter from meeting Gollum to do hardcore research and calculations about the length of an ell. Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thanks for listening everyone!

Merry Christmas Dear Friends! We have produced for you a Special episode that is fit for Christmas if not actually about it....you'll see when you listen to it. We lay the groundwork to talk about the famous conversation between Tolkien and CS Lewis that brought Lewis back to the Christian Church. Please enjoy and send to a friend. Thank you for listening!