A Tolkien Bestiary
A Tolkien Bestiary | |
---|---|
Author | David Day |
Publisher | Mitchell Beazley |
Released | 1979 |
Format | Hardback Paperback |
Pages | 288 |
ISBN | 0517120771 |
A Tolkien Bestiary is an A-Z guide to the flora and fauna of Middle-earth, written by David Day and first published in 1979. The book contains monochrome and full-colour illustrations by Michael Foreman, Lidia Postma, Ian Miller, Allan Curless, Sue Porter, Victor Ambrus and John Davis.
Reception[edit | edit source]
The book has been accused of containing extrapolations and thus deviating from Tolkien's writings.[1] For example, there is a reference to "Kraken" referring to the Watcher in the Water, but the word does not appear as a species in Tolkien's works.[2]
While fans have argued that the book is less reliable as a Tolkien reference than similar works by Robert Foster and J.E.A. Tyler, many are fond of its illustrations.[3]
Editions[edit | edit source]
A number of books have been derived from A Tolkien Bestiary and have been published under many different titles:
- Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (25 November 1993)
- A to Z of Tolkien (8 February 1996)
- The following are identical to each other:
- The Tolkien Companion (1993)
- A Guide to Tolkien (10 October 2001)
- Guide to Tolkien's World: A Bestiary (3 September 2010)
- Tolkien: A Dictionary (10 September 2013)
- Characters from Tolkien (17 October 2001)
References
- ↑ Steuard Jensen, "Notes on David Day's Tolkien Books", Tolkien Meta-FAQ (accessed 11 April 2012)
- ↑ "Tolkien Bestiary (forum thread)", The Tolkien Forum (accessed 11 April 2012)
- ↑ "A guide to Tolkien by David Day (forum thread)", The Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza (accessed 11 April 2012)