Search Results for: not all adventures begin well

Not All Adventures Begin Well: My Review of Peter Jackson’s Adaptation of The Hobbit

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

Not all adventures begin well. Certainly, as we have it in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, a hapless Bilbo Baggins all but stumbles into his first adventure, racing off toward the Lonely Mountain without his handkerchief or his pocketbook. Practically naked without … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged An Unexpected Journey, film, film review, Gollum, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, myth, Peter Jackson, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings | 45 Comments

A Note on C.S. Lewis and the “Tragic Splendour” of British Monarchy on Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

I must confess that I am not terribly fascinated by royalty. I do like coronation chicken sandwiches, Beefeaters clearly have style, and if the Earl and Countess of Strathearn invited me to be a theologian in residence, it would definitely … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Duchess Camilla, King George, Louis XIV, Narnia, Prince Charles, Prince Edward Island, Queen Elizabeth, Ruth Pitter, The Chronicles of Narnia, The King's Speech, The Lion, The Splendid Century, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Till We Have Faces, Victorian Era | 13 Comments

All Things Screwtape: A Pilgrim in Narnia List of Resources on C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters by Brenton Dickieson

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Today is the 80th anniversary of the publication of The Screwtape Letters in book form in the UK. As it has been a decade since I gave my last “Nefarious Nod to our Favourite Degenerate Demon” at the 70th, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged Billy Graham, C.S. Lewis, John Cleese, Neil Gaiman, The Oh Hellos, The Screwtape Letters, W.H. Auden, William Lindsay Gresham | 15 Comments

Good C.S. Lewis Studies Books That Did Not Win the Mythopoeic Award: Part 4: C.S. Lewis Reception Studies

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As part of my reflection on the strength of Tolkien Studies projects of late, and on the heels of a series where I am trying to encourage strong Lewis studies books, I decided to share some of the good and … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged American history, C.S. Lewis, Chad Walsh, J.I. Packer, Jerry Root, Joy Davidman, K. Alan Snyder, Katherine Langrish, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Mark Noll, Michael Ward, Narnia, Pierce Pettis, Reader Response Criticism, reception history, The Screwtape Letters, Walter Hooper | 13 Comments

“Nightmare Alley,” the Official Teaser Trailer of the William Gresham Adaptation by Guillermo del Toro

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

We have heard the rumours for months, fuelled by short news pieces that sounded promising. And now we have it, the teaser trailer of Nightmare Alley, a Guillermo del Toro adaptation with a huge cast, including Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Willem … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, News & Links | Tagged Abigail Santamaria, Bradley Cooper, C.S. Lewis, Cate Blanchett, dark fantasy, Guillermo del Toro, Joy Davidman, Mary Steenburgen, Nightmare Alley, Pan's Labyrinth, Rooney Mara, The Shape of Water, Willem Dafoe, William Gresham | 14 Comments

The First Animated Hobbit, and Other Notes of Tolkienish Nonsense

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I have had a wonderful and difficult and exceptionally busy week, preparing for Mythmoot and then attending live online. I have so much I would like to say, but I thought, for now, and for a smile, I would simply … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged film adaptation, J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings | 5 Comments

Is Narnia an Allegory? (A Friday Feature from the Vault)

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

No. It’s not. While tempted to leave it at that and produce the shortest blog of history, I think it is important to let the Narnian himself address the question. C.S. Lewis was, after all, a literary scholar who … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Fictional Worlds, On Writing | Tagged allegory, books, C.S. Lewis, children's literature, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, fantasy, Fictional Universes, J.R.R. Tolkien, Narnia, Ransom Trilogy, Reading, Science Fiction, The Fellowship of the Ring, writing | 21 Comments

Books Long Enough for Tea (a post about a lot of nothing)

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

One of the legendary sayings of C.S. Lewis is that he has never encountered a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit him. His brevity in writing is well known, yet his true love was … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, David Foster Wallace, Dorothy L. Sayers, fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leo Tolstoy, literature, Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth, Narnia, Reading, Stephen King | 40 Comments

12 Reasons not to Write Lord of the Rings, or an Ode Against the Muses

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I’ve never understood images of the Muses as seducers. Perhaps I am not truly inspired, but I get the same cold, clammy response from the Muses as I did from girls when I was in Junior High School. Fortunately, I … Continue reading →