Tolkien and Norse Mythology

Click here for audio version With the new Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series coming up, I thought I’d explore the connections between Tolkien’s world and the world of Norse mythology. Let’s start with Gandalf!  Gandalf The most obvious, and most mentioned, connection between The Lord of the Rings and Norse mythology is the character of Gandalf. Gandalf…

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Norse Undead

Click here for audio version Witches. Skeletons. Zombies. Scary creatures in the dark. We humans love to be scared and the Norse people were no exception. They told stories of some very spooky creatures. Living in the far North where it was bitterly cold and dark for many months of the year seems to have lent itself to inventing terrifying…

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Archetypes: The Shapeshifter

Click here for audio version In this next installment of the archetype series, I discuss the Shapeshifter. The Shapeshifter Do you like to read or watch characters who you don’t know whether to trust them or not? Or the characters who are fascinating because it is hard to tell which side they are on? They could be on any side…

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Archetypes: the Sidekick

Click here for audio version You may not know the word archetype or what it means, but if you’ve read novels or watched movies and TV shows, you have encountered them. Archetypes are the characters who play a particular role in a story, like the Wise Old Wizard or the Femme Fatale, and we all recognize them when we see…

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