Jeff LaSala

Drawing parallels between Middle-earth and the primary world—often unsolicited—is just one of the many services I provide for my friends.

Unlocking Middle-earth: Jeff LaSala on Tolkien, Lore, and The Silmarillion Primer Podcast Episode · The NoName StoryTeller Podcast · 08/08/2025 · 59m

Fly! Fly! Part 2 of my NoName StoryTeller podcast visitation is upon us! Lots of talk of The Silmarillion this time, and Orcs (in and outside of Tolkien)! And a few honest thoughts about The Rings of Power.

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Narnians unite! Dr. Sørina Higgins—who knows a thing or two (or eighty thousand things) about the Inklings—is conducting a course this fall on everything to do with lions, witches, and wardrobes beyond the lands of Spare Oom! I literally can't think of anyone more qualified.

Ah! This just dropped today. Part 1 of 2. It was much fun hopping into the NoName Storyteller Podcast! I talk more about D&D and Eberron and game writing than Tolkien in part 1. creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

For anyone able to reach NYC and didn't make this year's New York Tolkien Conference, I highly recommend next year! It was quite fun, and always informative!

Who's the publisher? Can an ebook be had? I, too, have had my first novel long out of print (along with most by Wizards of the Coast), except in ebook/audiobook form.

Ahh, cool! I don't know what your book is about yet, but I have to say, I now think a group of swans should be *called* a significance. A parliament of owls, a skein of geese, a significance of swans . . .

I will always recommend this book for newcomers to Tolkien!

Guess which man of the cloth from the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves represents an actual (and realistically flawed) Christian and which one is the perfect symbol for a MAGA Christian?

And isn't it curious how we just all instinctively know the answer, on a visceral level?

Ah! That showed up amidst some awkward plot reinvention, but it felt like a glimpse into what could have been some great book lore (even though descriptions of any physical form is scarse in Tolkien's text), and I was sad to see the reference generally go unexplored later. I did like it, though!

Yup! I know it, and I said so in this post. Fandom or market-speak, not lore-talk.

Sauron’s “Specious Fair Form” What did Sauron look like, really? What’s his deal? Was he ever a flaming eyeball on top of a tower? Probably not. Was he a creepy-as-hell humanoid with nine black fingers when he tortured Go…

I wrote this right before Season 2 of The Rings of Power began, and I still stand by it. In fact, it's the Hill of Himring that I will die upon. #Tolkien #Sauron #Annatar #LordoftheRings #Silmarillion

The Silmarillion Primer - Signum University Press By Jeff LaSala J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion is famous for two things: being a brilliant masterwork of fantasy literature . . . and being a real slogfest that no one’s ever finished reading. To ma...

Hey, look! A project page for The Silmarillion Primer. Hopefully, in a few months, there'll even be a spot in the Signum store!

press.signumuniversity.org/.../the-silm...

#Tolkien #Silmarillion

Aww, man. "God Only Knows," "Good Vibrations," and for some reason the quirky "Sloop John B" are the top for me.

It's all "needless baggage," as Fëanor would put it.

As a Tolkien nerd, I find it very difficult to reconcile anyone supporting Trump ALSO liking LotR. Too many appropriate and spin Tolkien's works in a way that supports their selfish, bigoted, and/or power-hungry worldviews. It's tragic.

This is how MAGA readers perceive The Lord of the Rings. Their brains render whatever redaction or confirmation bias adjustments are needed so they can get to the "good" stuff such as the killing foreigners. The themes of pity, sorrow, and fellowship go WAY over their heads. Fingers in ears.

Sure did. Loved that exhibit, and the talk by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond that came with. It also overlapped with the Frankenstein exhibit, too. Made for such a great period of time!

Sapphic Romance, Epic Fantasy & Noir Worlds: K Arsenault Rivera on Storytelling Across Genres The NoName StoryTeller Podcast · Episode

Been enjoying episodes of the NoName Storyteller Podcast. Like your recent episode, @arsenaultrivera.bsky.social. I quite enjoyed hearing you mention some of my past (and present) Tor colleagues, and discussion IP fiction writing. Plus general geekery. open.spotify.com/episode/1zZC...

Hey, look a wild Donato Giancola spotted in one of its natural habitats!

Faith & Heresy This posts blends Dungeons & Dragons, religion, and today’s political climate—that last one being a topic I would like to generally avoid here. But this one eats away at me so I just need…

A meandering post about religion, heresy, and hypocrasy in a D&D game world (but really, the real world) with no solid conclusions because that's how messy things are today.

But would MacGuyver know which finger has the power to control the world, when asked by the High Aldwin?

Long ago, when I was writing my D&D novel, I had two primary sources of inspiration for my male protagonist: Madmartigan (waggish fighter) and MacGuyver (resourceful problem-solver who hated conventional weapons). They remain my film/TV heroes. Today, I've got the roles of Val Kilmer in mind.

I was there, Gandalf. Seven years ago, when LotR-based memes were only in the millions and I made a few of my own.

An awesome ad on the back of some boring old non-AD&D comic book. #dungeonsanddragons #forgottenrealms

Awesome. Well, if he needs any help with The Silmarillion especially, I think I know an excellent resource coming *this* summer. . . .

Valentine’s in Middle-earth So, I made some Middle-earth Valentine’s “cards” in years past. They have to go somewhere for posterity. Grab ’em, if you want . . . orc else!

If you're not willing to put on the grisly hide of a skinned werewolf in support of the one you love, then run on four legs beneath her winged, vampire-transformed body so you can infiltrate the Hells of Iron . . . what are you even doing? Happy #ValentinesDay #Tolkien

Right. It's purely theater.

That's a distinction that a lot of fans have a hard time grasping. And I know very little about Warhammer 40k and its lore. But yeah, even in the Star Wars, it's the Galactic Empire that destroys planets, not the writers describing the Galactic Empire.

Karen Wynn Fonstad Continuing the theme of talking about the good things in life . . . This is just a short post mostly to redirect folks to this awesome and insightful new article in the “Overlooked No Mere&#8…

The New York Times did an "Overlooked No More" article about Karen Wynn Fonstad and I mostly just want to send people to read it, because it's very interesting. Then I added a few words of appreciation of my own.

jefflasala.online/2025/01/14/k...