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DwellerInDale
Rohan
Sep 4 2013, 12:32pm
Post #1 of 18
(2090 views)
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German Website Review of DOS Annual 2014
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The German website Premium-Format has a review of the Desolation of Smaug Annual 2014:
http://www.premium-format.de/...14-review/22015.html
The most interesting part of which is that they have 20+ pages on view.
Don't mess with my favorite female elf.
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burgahobbit
Rohan
Sep 4 2013, 5:37pm
Post #2 of 18
(1209 views)
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Unfortunately I can't look, because I'm trying to avoid all spoiler-heavy things.  I'm not doing too shabby this time. I've tried this before especially with the AUJ soundtrack and other things too (and failed miserably), but this time, the only thing I've learned from these tie in books is something that was written as the title for a thread. I'm actually glad I learned that much though because it was kind of a cool spoiler and not a very big one imo.
"I don't mean to be blunt but I felt I had to speak my mind, I'm sorry." - Bilbo Baggins.
"Apology accepted." - Balin.
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little mouse
Rivendell
Sep 4 2013, 7:11pm
Post #4 of 18
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It`s pretty hard to read, the letters are really small, but there are heavy spoilers
I like the part with Thranduil and Thorin
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little mouse
Rivendell
Sep 4 2013, 7:31pm
Post #5 of 18
(1171 views)
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but there are some spoilers that catch the eye (spoilers inside)
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-Thranduil blackmails Thorin to give him some gold for their release (he is greedy but not that greedy, obviously led by strange motives)
-Legolas and Tauriel following the Company after escape? I hope they don`t have anything to do with Bilbo`s escape plan
-most of Beorn`s kin is killed by Azog (just so Azog wouldn`t look like a "last minute" addition to the storyline)
-Smaug posseses the Arkenstone (how, pray tell, did he found such a little stone among tons of gold)
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Lio
Lorien
Sep 5 2013, 12:25am
Post #6 of 18
(1067 views)
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Thanks for posting the link!
Most of the spoilers have already been discussed in a previous thread, but some things caught my eye that I don't remember being brought up before:
- Lake-town was "devastated by Smaug when he drove the Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain" and is now "a dying, rotten town". Hmm, that doesn't quite sound right to me. Could they be partially confusing Lake-town with Dale? Or is this another change from the book?
- Tauriel is a "skilled swordfighter" in addition to being an archer. That's interesting, I only remember seeing her with a bow and pair of daggers. Will she wield a sword at some point?
- Bard is "a bargeman from Lake-town." Is this in addition to being a soldier, or is his profession being changed for the movie?
- Interesting that the Goblins have their own page, and distinct from the Orcs. Does this mean we'll be seeing them again in DoS (I can't imagine how), or is this just recycled material from AUJ?
- Apparently the Orcs have a "very long lifespan." A possible nod to Bolg's apparent longevity in the books?
- "Beorn keeps bees and makes very tasty honey!" I hope this means Beorn's bees are in!
Dwalin Balin Kili Fili Dori Nori Ori Oin Gloin Bifur Bofur Bombur Thorin
Orcs are mammals!
"Don't laugh at the Dwarves because they will mess you up." — Dean O'Gorman (Fili)
Want to chat? AIM me at Yami Liokaiser!
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Elessar
Valinor
Sep 5 2013, 12:54am
Post #7 of 18
(1028 views)
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I think the goblin bit was just a rehash to be honest. The rest of the book was pretty cool.
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DwellerInDale
Rohan
Sep 5 2013, 1:20am
Post #8 of 18
(1011 views)
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This time I'm serious about NOT seeing the second trailer, or any "sneak peeks" such as they had for AUJ-- they were way too spoiler heavy.
The DOS Annual doesn't have much in the way of major spoilers, though, so if you can't resist and take a peek, it'll be OK
Don't mess with my favorite female elf.
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Ardamírë
Valinor
Sep 5 2013, 1:36am
Post #9 of 18
(1020 views)
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Since Tauriel is the captain of the guard, I'd think she'd have to be a pretty skilled warrior in most areas. I think, though, that a pair of daggers would qualify for "skilled swordfighter". It does in my book anyway.
'Twas in the Land of Willows that I heard th'unfathomed breath
Of the Horns of Ylmir calling - and shall hear them till my death.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Sep 5 2013, 3:30pm
Post #11 of 18
(932 views)
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Ch-ch-ch-changes from the book
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Thanks for posting the link! Most of the spoilers have already been discussed in a previous thread, but some things caught my eye that I don't remember being brought up before: - Lake-town was "devastated by Smaug when he drove the Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain" and is now "a dying, rotten town". Hmm, that doesn't quite sound right to me. Could they be partially confusing Lake-town with Dale? Or is this another change from the book?
- Tauriel is a "skilled swordfighter" in addition to being an archer. That's interesting, I only remember seeing her with a bow and pair of daggers. Will she wield a sword at some point?
- Bard is "a bargeman from Lake-town." Is this in addition to being a soldier, or is his profession being changed for the movie?
- Interesting that the Goblins have their own page, and distinct from the Orcs. Does this mean we'll be seeing them again in DoS (I can't imagine how), or is this just recycled material from AUJ?
- Apparently the Orcs have a "very long lifespan." A possible nod to Bolg's apparent longevity in the books?
- "Beorn keeps bees and makes very tasty honey!" I hope this means Beorn's bees are in!
Tolkien described Lake-town as reasonably prosperous even before the demise of Smaug, so that is definitely a Peter Jackson alteration.
If Tauriel's fighting knives are anything like the pair that Legolas wields, I would almost count them as short swords.
I generally assumed that Bard was a citizen-soldier and that he probably had some sort of profession during periods of peace other than a guardsman.
I wish there was a better close-up of the page describing Tauriel. I can't read it properly as it stands.
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Sep 5 2013, 3:36pm)
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DwellerInDale
Rohan
Sep 5 2013, 4:16pm
Post #12 of 18
(905 views)
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...that I just bought 3 days ago, I can get a good resolution of the Tauriel page. The text reads:
Tauriel is another Mirkwood Elf and head of the King's Elven Guard. Tauriel is a warrior to be feared and reckoned with. An amazing archer and a skilled swordfighter, she's not someone you would want to cross. Not if you wanted to keep your head on your shoulders!
The next part reads:
Tauriel doesn't always follow orders and is very headstrong. When Thranduil orders all of the Elves to stay in Mirkwood after Bilbo and the Dwarves escape, she ignores him and rushes off to follow them to Lake-town.
And the last part:
She is quite unlike other Elves. Tauriel doesn't understand why Thranduil decided to forbid the Wood Elves from becoming involved in what was happening in the rest of Middle-earth, and she also doesn't seem to share the usual Elven dislike of Dwarves.
Nothing much we didn't know before. The "swordfighter" bit that confused some readers was obviously written to make a "cute" alliterative sentence ("amazing archer, skilled swordfighter"). Her edged weapons are her two golden daggers.
Don't mess with my favorite female elf.
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Darkstone
Immortal
Sep 5 2013, 4:35pm
Post #14 of 18
(911 views)
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re Lake-town:
Smaug did devastate Lake-town economically:
The rotting piles of a greater town could still be seen along the shores when the waters sank in a drought.
-Chapter 10, A Warm Welcome
re Bard:
“You are always foreboding gloomy things!” said the others. “Anything from floods to poisoned fish. Think of something cheerful!”
-ibid
Sounds like the typical complaints of a river bargeman.
******************************************
“That hobbit has a pleasant face,
His private life is a disgrace.
I really could not tell to you,
The awful things that hobbits do.”
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burgahobbit
Rohan
Sep 5 2013, 5:15pm
Post #15 of 18
(876 views)
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I've already decided to do that Dweller
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No second trailer, no TORn spoilers, and above all no TV Spots! Those are the real killers for me; Bilbo's speech, Thorin and Bilbo's hug. Basically a one second shot of every important event in the movie. There was barely anything new in the film for me!
Now when tv spots come up while I'm watching a football game or something I may peak a few times, but I will try to look away (and plug my ears). I'm also not sure if I can manage to escape the second trailer. I will certainly try, but that will be a real tough one. But if we stick together, "and we're clever and careful, I believe that it can be done."
"I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I’m afraid, and he gives me courage.” - Gandalf the Grey.
"Do not be afraid Mithrandir, if ever you should need my help, I will come." - Lady Galadriel.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Sep 5 2013, 7:51pm
Post #16 of 18
(865 views)
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I didn't really expect a detailed biography of Tauriel from the Annual, but I was hoping for a bit more. Well, there are more comprehensive books yet to be released. Of course, we were originally told that Tauriel was going to represent the perspective of the more common Wood-elves as opposed to the Sindar nobility such as Thranduil and Legolas. Now we find out that she is anything but typical. *sigh*
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Sep 5 2013, 7:52pm)
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Sep 5 2013, 8:03pm
Post #17 of 18
(862 views)
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re Lake-town:
Smaug did devastate Lake-town economically:
The rotting piles of a greater town could still be seen along the shores when the waters sank in a drought.
-Chapter 10, A Warm Welcome
Tolkien never actually said that the old Lake-town had been devastated by Smaug--although that is as good a guess as any. In fact, Esgaroth profitted from the expansion of the swamps that swallowed the Great East Road since that meant the growth of traffic by river. Tolkien wrote that the town was still thriving even if it was now less than it had been when Dale was still wealthy and powerful.
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
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Darkstone
Immortal
Sep 5 2013, 8:46pm
Post #18 of 18
(878 views)
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Tolkien never actually said that the old Lake-town had been devastated by Smaug--although that is as good a guess as any.
Yes, Tolkien loves ambiguity:
…and there had been an earthquake or two (which some were inclined to attribute to the dragon-alluding to him chiefly with a curse and an ominous nod in the direction of the Mountain).
-Chapter 10, A warm Welcome
Ambiguity is nice when telling in a book, but when you're showing in a film you're going to have to make a decision as to whether Balrogs had wings, whether Legolas' hair was dark or fair, and what shape were Elven ears.
In fact, Esgaroth profitted from the expansion of the swamps that swallowed the Great East Road since that meant the growth of traffic by river.
Versus the decline in traffic by land.
The marshes and bogs had spread wider and wider on either side. Paths had vanished, and many a rider and wanderer too, if they had tried to find the lost ways across.
-ibid
Zero sum?
Tolkien wrote that the town was still thriving even if it was now less than it had been when Dale was still wealthy and powerful.
Yes, but still quite a come-down from “wealthy and powerful” during "the great days of old":
They still throve on the trade that came up the great river from the South and was carted past the falls to their town; but in the great days of old, when Dale in the North was rich and prosperous, they had been wealthy and powerful, and there had been fleets of boats on the waters, and some were filled with gold and some with warriors in armour, and there had been wars and deeds which were now only a legend.
-ibid
The situation is quite complicated and ambiguous. I can see where Jackson might want to cut to the chase and say "The dragon did it" so he can move on.
******************************************
“That hobbit has a pleasant face,
His private life is a disgrace.
I really could not tell to you,
The awful things that hobbits do.”
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... so far, at least ... I can't wait till December! 
