[Child of the 7th Age]

Child of the 7th Age-isn't Born Again Christianity involved in this topic?-I.E.-The ScewTape Letters by: C.S. Lewis?

Inkling Elf -- I think that Helen has far more "credentials" to approach such a topic that I do! From a personal standpoint, I can say this in terms of my response to the two authors. I've certainly read most of what Tolkien has written as well as a large chunk of Lewis, certainly everything published during his lifetime. (There's an awful lot the estate is publishing now which doesn't seem to be up to the same quality as the earlier things he himself had published.)

First, I have enjoyed reading both authors, but I have a definite bias in favor of Tolkien. I think the reason is this. With Tolkien, I get an incredible sense of wonder which I don't find to the same degree in Lewis. Surprised by Joy, which is obviously non-fiction has a bit of that sense of the beyond. But the other book by Lewis which "speaks" to me because it does carry that sense of wonder is Till We Have Faces. Interestingly, that book carries no explicit Christian message (at least in the same way that most of his other works do), but I find it incredibly moving. To me, that is Lewis' book which stands closest to the spirit of Tolkien. In fact parts of that tale even remind me a bit of certain pieces of Silm (not in content but spirit).

He wrote this work after his marriage and I think that it really shows. He has become a more sensitive person. His depictions of "mature" women (as opposed to the spirited but young Lucy) are sympathetic in a way that I don't sense in his adult science fiction or his fantasy. Has anyone else read that book, or felt that way about it?

Meril --LOL. You complment and "editing" are accepted. I wonder if there are things in Tolkien which you would see or interpret differently than I would because you are looking through the eyes of an "eastern" tradition?

sharon, the 7th age hobbit

[ September 13, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]