Customer Reviews

Quest for Middle-earth

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a terrible book. The writing is poor and stilted. But the scholarship is even worse. It is full of insubstantiated and incorrect claims, and even quotes without citations. This is nothing more than a cheap attempt to combine the interest in Tolkien's works sparked by the recent movies with the "DaVinci Code" conspiracy theory craze. It does a great disservice to Tolkien's legacy. Those who value courtesy to a brilliant and important author and scholar will stay away from this book.

If I could give it negative stars, I would.

It had to happen eventually -- that the Da Vinci Code, Nostradamus, Celestine Prophecy, Mayan Calendar, extraterrestrial, mock-religious, mock-scientific movement would infect Middle-earth and seek to capitalize shamelessly on the success and popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien. Not since Gracia Fay Ellwood's "Good News from Tolkien's Middle Earth [sic]" (1970), with its psychedelic cover and supposedly supernatural photos, have we seen such a bizarre attempt to combine Tolkien with the paranormal. At least Ellwood had the sense to write, "I am not claiming that the work is true history -- only that it is truer than one might think." But Dirk Vander Ploeg's thesis is precisely that -- that "The Lord of the Rings" is, in fact, true history, mystically divined by Tolkien, blah blah blah ... It doesn't help his case that Ploeg is the "owner, editor and publisher of ufodigest.com" (author's website).

I have not read this entire book -- nor do I need to do so. How can I dare review a book I haven't read? Well, what I *have* read is the author's own statements regarding his "research" (located [..]I've also taken a look at the book's official website (which you can find on the press release) and read the posted excepts from the Introduction and Chapter 1. And frankly, it's just awful. A conspicuous absence of citations, one unsubstantiated claim after another, and plenty of outright errors. It hardly deserves response, honestly, but I wanted to warn others away from it. It is *not* a serious study. It's painfully obvious here that the pseudoscience being deployed to serve the author's thesis is just patently ridiculous. A few highlights:

-- "Recent discoveries by archaeologists and historians have found evidence that indicates that elves, giants, dragons and even hobbits once existed on earth."

Balderdash!

-- "Dirk has researched scientific, biblical and historical texts to discover if J.R.R. Tolkien had secret knowledge of earth's early history and if he based the Lord of the Rings on this knowledge."

Double Balderdash!!

-- "If you're a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, Dan Brown, Zecharia Sitchin or Erich von Daniken then you'll love Quest for Middle-earth."

Umm, one of these things is *not* like the other ...

Here's the bottom line. Sometimes you *can* judge a book by its cover ... and its publisher, excerpts, and marketing collateral. The book is obviously self-publishd (by somebody or something called iUniverse-Indigo), and I'm certain it's without the support of the Tolkien Estate, and probably without even their knowledge. Serious students of Tolkien are advised to steer clear. I would have given it zero stars if Amazon allowed that. Caveat emptor.

This is not a good book. The research is poor, quotations are unattributed, and the conclusions are highly questionable. Don't waste your time.

There isn't one reviewer, authors of the negative reviews, that has even read the book. I have personally been attacked, the book has been attacked, all because I suggest knowledge that Tolkien may have had. Please read the reviews that actual book reviewers have written. Writers with reputations and not hate mongers. Attributions are all cited and the opinions are mine. You can argue with my conclusions but not with my thought process. Any Google search will show the bias of these Tolkien gang members. As far as grammer and spelling are concerned, I'm Canadian. Give me a break.Quest for Middle-earth

It is a beautiful cover with an interesting title. Just don't go any further. Academics (and journalists should) appreciate the importance of citations and source material (i.e., primary, secondary, or just plain fanciful) which must be acknowledged to be given serious credibility. This author took an interesting premise on the legends of middle earth but failed to turn up little more than only a dusty clump of very dry earth.

JRR Tolkien wrote that myth and fairy-story must, as all art, reflect and contain in solution elements of moral and religious truth (or error), but not explicit, not in the known form of the primary 'real' world. Author Dirk Vander Ploeg asks in his fascinating book: Quest for Middle Earth whether or not Tolkiens rich tales of Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves and Men were simply products of one mans vivid imagination, or actually based on ancient myths and forgotten legends.

Vander Ploeg does an excellent job with his extensive research into ancient tales of epic battles, gods, kings and mystical beings, especially the similarities of archaic myths between diverse civilizations all across the globe.

For example, did you know that practically every culture have tales of little people that live just out of sight of mankind? Their names may vary from land to land, but they all seem to be the same type of creature no matter where you go.

As well, dragons play a huge role in Tolkien's tales; interestingly, in many ancient civilizations, dragons were either worshiped as creatures of beauty and honor, or feared for their destructive capabilities. Again, was there an actual physical source for these legends? Was there once a time when god-kings, little people, dragons and great heroes roamed the Earth and whose epic deeds have been carried down to us through our collective unconsciousness, myth and legend?

Despite what science tries to tell us, we have no idea where we, as a people, actually came from. Our past is as closed off and unknown as our future. It is nice to think that with each and every one of us, there lies within our blood, our inner selves, a mystic past full of great kings and queens, magical little people, fearsome beasts and great heroes capable chivalrous deeds. Quest for Middle Earth opens our imaginations so that we all can make our own quests, our own search for answers about who we are, where we came from, and ultimately where we are going.

Ancient Mesopotamia reached from Syria to Uruk/Iraq and the goddess Ishtar ruled as "The Lady of the Battlefield". Not much has changed, that area is constantly in the news today. It is diverting to learn of its early history and to trace its mythology down through the ages to tales still repeated in modern times. No scholar writes in a vacuum and the best stories retell history from the foundations of civilization. Mysterious occult secrets are often forbidden and can only be passed on through the symbolismm of mythology which is the origin of our fairy tales. In "Quest for Middle Earth", Dirk Vander Ploeg traces these archetypal scenarios through the days before the Flood to the Mesopotamian Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Trojan, Scandinavian Norse, Irish, Peruvian and Mexican traditions. The author has visited various ancient sites in these areas during his research and relates his first-hand impressions on-site. Vander Ploeg details the influence of the Norse Finnish rune-singer sagas on the Oxford professor J.R.R. Tolkien. The royal bloodline from the heavens is the mythological path through history and through Tolkien. This drama continues today with "The DaVinci Code" controversy. The era when the bloodline lost their right to rule to a power play by the Holy Roman military strategists is covered in the book. Get a refresher course in ancient world history and mythology. Follow the quest which trails the celestial seed through the chain of time linking the golden rings of antidiluvian prehistory to the present day cinematic rendering of Tolkien`s "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

A Book Review for
Quest for Middle-earth
written by Dirk Vander Ploeg

Review by Alexandra Holzer

You are awakened mentally when you begin your reading journey in Quest. The possibility of the author's findings, will lend you inspiration beginning with the famous tale, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The author suggests that perhaps this tale came from a real source. As with many fantasy oriented stories, comes research and ideas bursting of a place perhaps not so foreign after all.

In Quest, the author gives us a detailed view into a vast past of the real chances of an existence spearheading stories like, The Lord of the Rings. Dirk brings us on an historical and intriguingly personal ride, through his explorations and visits to places in time. Thus lending the question of, 'what if?'. He speaks of the bible, it's origins and many Gods written about throughout our history. How J.R.R. Tolkien believed that myth and fairy tales carved a path to religious and moral beliefs.

We learn what Tolkien felt and believed, inspiring you to continue on your own quest of learning more about what Dirk is describing. Every few pages moves you quickly through highlights from a mystical and questionable past, feeding your mind with incredible pieces of information.

Photo's of Dirk's explorations, mythical icons and creatures of the past, leaves the reader with an impression creating a desire to want to know more. From the Holy Grail, King Arthur to Merlin's cave, Dirk brings you right there. The enormous pyramids and paths leading to historical sites such as Stonehenge. His experience filters out, a happening from the past that we can only imagine.

Continuing on about Tolkien's' Trilogy, explains the historical and significant evidence thus supporting many theories such as, Middle-earth's place, which was in the Nordic countries, mainly Finland. Descriptions such as Torre Abbey lend way to it's legends driving further on this journey of 'what if's'.

Using Tolkien's' work, Dirk gives us surfacing possibilities going back and forth with the Gods and temples. It is suggested that perhaps through Egyptians and their depiction of engraved images, flying vehicles existed. Flying through Greek mythology, The Hittite Army reigning in 1380 BCE and then back to the bible.

Dirk finishes with discovery after discovery from archeologists in Iraq to the Elf-Queen and Cleopatra tying it into the Holy Grail again. Relating to the past and it's imprints of existence creating stories like Rapunzel and Cinderella, depicting myths and tales. We come to the end of our journey with Constantine and the Roman Church leaving us with the author's beliefs, feelings and un-concluded conclusions as he feels, the Quest for Middle-earth will never end.

This is an exciting, well-informative, historically weighted magical non-fiction novel. It enlightens us to the possible realms of past existence, lapping over into our present desire and needs for more discoveries. Perhaps answering a few more things of our existence here on earth.


Lady Ambrosia: Secret Past Revealed

This author holds some very interesting views, which add something extra to the material found in other books about Tolkien.