Aki, Charlie, and Anto return with Jeff LaSala to geek out over Tolkien’s legendarium and his upcoming book, The Silmarillion Primer. Jeff shares his excitement—and apprehension—about presenting Tolkien scholarship in front of seasoned experts, which began after his in-depth blogs on Tor.com (now known as Reactor) were discovered, earning him an invite to speak at a Tolkien conference. It was there he connected with a small university press, opening the door to publish his primer. Jeff explains how his book aims to demystify The Silmarillion’s dense mythos, from Valar feuds to elven genealogies, giving newcomers an approachable guide to Tolkien’s world without sacrificing depth. Expect hot takes on The Lord of the Rings, fantasy’s evolution, and the joys (and headaches) of unpacking Tolkien’s sprawling history.

👉 Read Jeff’s blog inspired by this talk here: “On Remaking Myths: Tolkien, D&D, Medusa, and Way Too Many Minotaurs” on ReactorMag.com

👉 Learn more about Jeff on his website: jefflasala.online/about/

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Keywords: Jeff LaSala, The Silmarillion Primer, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, First Age, Númenor, Valar, Morgoth, elves, elven lineages, Tolkien scholarship, Tolkien fandom, university presses, small press publishing, overcoming fear of public speaking, Second Age, Beleriand, fantasy mythology, The Hobbit, guides to Tolkien’s works, War of Wyvern, Mythmoot, Signum University, Corey Olsen, Patreon, The Signum Collaboratory, Christopher Tolkien, the legendarium, The Keep on the Borderlands, The Caves of Chaos, Children of Ilúvatar, Fred Rogers, the Rings of Power series, A Chance Meeting, Elfwood website, Richie Procopio, StokerCon, Balticon, and DirtyMagick Magazine.Enigma by Kevin MacLeod is licensedunder a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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