内容简介
Karen Wynn Fonstad's THE ATLAS OF MIDDLE-EARTH is an essential volume that will enchant all Tolkien fans. Here is the definitive guide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring. Authentic and updated—nearly one third of the maps are new, and the text is fully revised—the atlas illuminates the enchanted world created in THE SILMARILLION, THE HOBBIT, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Hundreds of two-color maps and diagrams survey the journeys of the principal characters day by day—including all the battles and key locations of the First, Second, and Third Ages. Plans and descriptions of castles, buildings, and distinctive landforms are given, along with thematic maps describing the climate, vegetation, languages, and population distribution of Middle-earth throughout its history. An extensive appendix and an index help readers correlate the maps with Tolkien's novels. This atlas is the most complete and authoritative guide to Tolkien's world containing seperate two color maps and exlplanatory text relating to Tolkien's works.
作者简介
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) is the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.
精彩书评
The publishing world is full of Tolkien spinoff products, some trivial and ephemeral--but some, like this thoroughly researched atlas, are genuinely classy. Karen Wynn Fonstad is a qualified geographer and cartographer who first mapped Middle-Earth in 1981 and has since added much new detail based on those endless volumes of drafts, abandoned passages, alternative versions, and laundry lists published since Tolkien's death. She fills in gaps and details in the familiar Third Age maps from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, goes back in time to map Middle-Earth's First and Second Ages, and reconstructs the route and timescale of every important journey in the stories. There are local maps of key places like the Mines of Moria, Lothlorien, Isengard, Minas Tirth, the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and the volcanic Mount Doom. War maps cover the saga's notable battles, up to the hopeless last stand at Mordor gate and the tiny later skirmish known in Shire records as the Battle of Bywater. Thematic maps show Middle-Earth's distribution of climate, geological features, vegetation, people, and (most importantly to Tolkien) languages.... It's all done tremendously seriously and would make a fine gift for enthusiastic Tolkien fans, except that they'll have bought it already. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. The publishing world is full of Tolkien spinoff products, some trivial and ephemeral--but some, like this thoroughly researched atlas, are genuinely classy. Karen Wynn Fonstad is a qualified geographer and cartographer who first mapped Middle-Earth in 1981 and has since added much new detail based on those endless volumes of drafts, abandoned passages, alternative versions, and laundry lists published since Tolkien's death. She fills in gaps and details in the familiar Third Age maps from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, goes back in time to map Middle-Earth's First and Second Ages, and reconstructs the route and timescale of every important journey in the stories. There are local maps of key places like the Mines of Moria, Lothlorien, Isengard, Minas Tirth, the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and the volcanic Mount Doom. War maps cover the saga's notable battles, up to the hopeless last stand at Mordor gate and the tiny later skirmish known in Shire records as the Battle of Bywater. Thematic maps show Middle-Earth's distribution of climate, geological features, vegetation, people, and (most importantly to Tolkien) languages.... It's all done tremendously seriously and would make a fine gift for enthusiastic Tolkien fans, except that they'll have bought it already. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk - ( )Tolkien loved maps and geography played a great importance in his books. In the paperback revision of a hardcover that is out of print, cartographer Fonstad here details that aspect of these stories. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. ? (Library Journal )
前言/序言
探寻奇幻世界的宏大叙事:经典史诗与架空世界的编年史 本册精选集汇集了多部具有里程碑意义的奇幻文学作品,旨在带领读者沉浸于由想象力编织而成的、宏大而错综复杂的架空世界之中。我们摒弃了既有的地理志或地图集的形式,转而专注于那些塑造了现代奇幻文学的叙事核心、深刻的人物塑造以及史诗般的冲突。 本卷收录的文本,跨越了从古典神话重述到高魔力斗争的广阔领域,它们共同构成了一幅关于权力、牺牲、友谊与对抗黑暗势力的全景图。每一部作品都代表了特定时代奇幻文学思潮的顶峰,展现了作者们如何巧妙地运用复杂的社会结构、独特的文化习俗和引人入胜的魔法体系,来构建一个既陌生又令人信服的“第二世界”。 第一部分:远古的起源与王权的兴衰 本部分深入探讨了那些奠定西方奇幻文学基石的叙事母题:失落的王国、被遗忘的预言以及英雄的艰难崛起。 1. 《巨龙的挽歌:失落的亚特兰蒂斯之谜》 这部作品并非关于任何已知的中土世界的地理详述,而是聚焦于一个完全虚构的、在时间洪流中沉没的伟大文明——亚特兰蒂斯。作者构建了一个具有高度发达的、基于水晶能源的社会,该社会在自我毁灭前,留下了关于宇宙秩序和元素控制的秘密文本。 叙事围绕着最后一位亚特兰蒂斯大祭司的后裔展开,他必须在现代世界中追寻散落的符文碎片,以阻止一次即将到来的“虚空潮汐”。故事的重点在于哲学思辨:技术进步与精神道德的平衡,以及文明如何因傲慢而走向衰亡。书中对亚特兰蒂斯城市的建筑风格描述极为详尽,运用了大量关于几何学和声学在魔法构建中的作用的理论,这些细节展现了作者对早期乌托邦思想的深刻理解。例如,对“共鸣之塔”的描写,它不仅是能量的汇聚点,更是社会阶级的象征。 2. 《铁王座的阴影:科尔多瓦王朝的三十年战争》 与传统的英雄史诗不同,本书着重描写了权力斗争的残酷现实和政治权谋的复杂性。故事背景设定在一个充满中世纪欧洲色彩的架空大陆——埃雷多尼亚。核心冲突在于三个血亲家族为了争夺“铁王座”而进行的旷日持久的战争。 本书的特色在于其人物的灰色地带。没有绝对的善恶之分,每位君主、骑士和密探都有其不可告人的动机和痛苦的抉择。作者对军事战略的描绘细致入微,包括攻城战的工程学、外交谈判的艺术,以及间谍活动对战局的决定性影响。其中关于“鹰巢堡”攻防战的章节,被誉为战争叙事中的典范,它详细分析了后勤保障、士气维持以及地形利用如何决定最终的胜负。本书探讨的主题是:在权力面前,荣誉是否只是一种奢侈品? 第二部分:魔法体系的深度构建与异种族的共存 本部分将焦点从人类的政治斗争转移到对魔法本质的探索,以及不同智慧种族间复杂的关系网。 3. 《缚灵者手记:以太流与符文语言学》 这是一部侧重于“硬核”魔法理论的著作。它系统性地阐述了一种名为“以太流”的宇宙能量模型。作者并非简单地赋予角色施法能力,而是将其塑造成一门需要严格训练和深刻理解的学科。 手记中详尽解释了七种基础以太流的性质、它们如何被特定心智模式(即“施法者”)捕获和塑形,以及禁忌魔法(如“时间扭曲”)的原理和潜在的反噬。书中包含了大量的图解和公式,试图用一种近乎科学的方式来解构魔法。例如,对于“位面锚定”技术的阐述,需要通过精确计算星辰位置和精神集中度,才能在物质世界中短暂地撕开裂隙。这里的“符文语言学”部分,深入分析了上古文字与现实结构之间的内在联系,说明了为何某些词语本身就蕴含着改变现实的力量。 4. 《低语森林的住民:林地、山脉与河流的盟约》 本书专注于描写非人种族——特别是森林精灵(Silvanesti)和山脉矮人(Khazadrim)——的社会结构、历史矛盾和相互依存关系。它超越了传统的奇幻刻板印象,展现了这些种族内部的文化张力。 对于林地精灵,作者细致描绘了他们对自然循环的近乎宗教般的服从,以及他们对工业化扩张的深深恐惧。他们的社会等级制度是基于与古树的“生命连接”程度来划分的。而山脉矮人则被描绘成一个极度重视工艺传承和矿物学知识的族群。他们与地底深处的远古存在有着秘密的契约,这契约既是他们财富的来源,也是潜在灾难的导火索。本书的高潮在于一次罕见的“三族议会”,讨论如何应对一种正在侵蚀森林边缘的“锈蚀瘟疫”,揭示了不同种族在生存危机面前,如何放下历史宿怨,形成脆弱的同盟。 第三部分:对“英雄之旅”的解构与重塑 本部分收录的作品开始反思传统的英雄叙事模式,探讨命运的不可抗拒性与个体自由意志的抗争。 5. 《最后的吟游诗人:被遗忘的圣战与历史的修正》 这部作品以一个流浪说书人的视角展开,他毕生致力于收集和记录那些被官方历史所抹去或扭曲的事件。故事的主线围绕着一场被称为“圣战”的古老冲突,但吟游诗人发现,关于这场战争的“真相”与被世人传颂的英雄事迹截然相反。 核心人物是一位被誉为“光明使者”的英雄,但吟游诗人通过搜集民间传说、被流放者的日记和敌对文明的哀歌,揭示出这位英雄实际上是利用了某种黑暗力量来达成目的,并最终背叛了其誓言。本书的价值在于其元叙事结构——它探讨了历史是如何被权力书写和维护的。书中穿插了大量被作者创作出来的“民间歌谣”片段,这些片段充满了地方色彩和民间智慧,与宏大的官方记载形成了鲜明的对比。 6. 《梦境守卫者:迷失的维度与精神领域的探险》 本书将叙事空间从物质世界拓展到了纯粹的心灵领域。主角是一位“梦境守卫者”,他的职责是进入那些因过度使用精神魔法而濒临崩溃的个体(或整个文明)的集体潜意识中,修复破碎的“心智结构”。 与专注于战斗和魔法对决的奇幻作品不同,本书的冲突是内在和心理层面的。主角必须面对被压抑的恐惧、集体创伤和逻辑悖论。作者构建了一个极其抽象但又逻辑自洽的梦境维度,其中时间可以倒流,物理定律可以随意更改。对“心智瘟疫”的描述尤其令人不安,它不是一种病毒,而是蔓延的绝望和自我怀疑,能让整个社会停止运作。本书是一次对认知边界的深刻探索,它挑战了读者对“现实”本身的理解。 通过这六部精心挑选的、涵盖了政治、哲学、魔法理论与文化人类学的作品,本选集旨在提供一个丰富而多维的奇幻文学景观,展示叙事者们如何利用想象力的力量,去构建那些比我们自身世界更具意义和深度的宇宙。每本书都是一座独立的殿堂,诉说着不同的起源、不同的斗争,共同编织出现代架空叙事的壮丽画卷。