The One hundred and forty-second Roving Ranger

Life and Works

Another scientific find has been named after a Tolkien character - Bolg amondol (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Phys.org; see original research article (Si apre in una nuova finestra).]

Events & Shows

‘The Uses of Fantasy’–Zen Cho Lecture Recording now availabl (Si apre in una nuova finestra)e [Tolkien Lecture, Oxford]

For all events check out the International Tolkien Fellowship (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [FB] and the Tolkien Guide Calendar (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Scholarship & Fandom

Dimitra Fimi has J.R.R. Tolkien and James Joyce (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Doubtfulsea has To horse! (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

David Bratman has a few thoughts (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on Sørina Higgins’ Mythbusters.

Stephen C. Winter has “I Wonder What Sort of a Tale We’ve Fallen Into?” Sam Gamgee Continues to Think About His and Frodo’s Experience (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Robin Reid has the Studies in Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) flyer for the upcoming series. [Substack]

Merchandise & Franchise

Lord of the Rings Online announces the full closure of its old 32-bit worlds at the end of August (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Massively OP]

The Mount Vernon Merchants’ Association (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is using Bilbo Baggins’ Birthday (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to drum up business. [Facebook]

Elevenses in Maine (Si apre in una nuova finestra) might actually be opening. [Instagram]

New Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum film will be shot in NZ, set for 2027 release (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [NZ Herald; paywall]

Inter alia

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is getting a fifth and final season (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [The Verge]

Someone turned (almost) all of Terry Pratchett’s stories into a rotating book (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Youtube]

The 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction has announced its shortlist (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part I (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Bret Devereaux]

Andrew Higgins has Ghor: A New Star Wars Art-Language (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Substack]

How to Market a Genre that Doesn't Exist: Simak's THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE TALISMAN (1978) (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Stratofanatic]

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According to German law I have to inform you all links to enterprises, artists, products etc. are [unpaid advertisements.] Some purchase links may earn me a small commission from Blackwell's (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Bookshop.org (Si apre in una nuova finestra), or Genialokal (Si apre in una nuova finestra), the (independent) bookshops of my personal trust (one with a Tolkien connection!)

If you are interested in my other Tolkien-related work please have a look:
The Tolkienist Blog (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Bluesky (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Threads (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Mastodon (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

As this is 2025 I would like to note that this newsletter is 100% human-made, curated by me, Marcel R. Bülles. This also holds true for everything I write with my blog and here at Steady. Also, the average time of curating this newsletter ranges from 12-16 hours for the bi-weekly edition and 6-8 hours for the weekly one.