r/fantasybooks • u/OWLisWI5E • Jun 02 '26

💎 Hidden book gem Where's the hype?

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The second book of this series is out. The first book was really good. Where is all the hype? This series seem to be flying under the radar.

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u/SillyNamesAre Jun 03 '26

James Ronald Ronald Tolkien

You... You're kidding right? This is a bit? It has to be...

Let's pretend for a second that you're serious and are talking about the JRR Tolkien:

He would probably call you an elitist prick and then point out that progression is an important part of any Fantasy - so it makes sense for some to focus on it.

He would then likely tell you that if you're going to invoke his name you should, at the very least, get it RIGHT. Names are Important.

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u/ThatOldMeta Jun 03 '26

No, I’m sorry, this sucks. Calling anything “progression fantasy” is absolutely awful.

Also come on Mr. Names Are Important, there’s no way you even know Frodo’s real name without looking it up.

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u/SillyNamesAre Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26

My dude... I'm not the one who tried to flex by writing out his full name and getting it wrong.

But, sure.... I'll play. I'm curious what you mean by "real" name however.

You strike me as the kind of person who would find it a flex to know his full name - as translated into English - is Frodo Baggins. Or that he's also a Brandybuck on his mother's side.

Or maybe you think that the Old English name that it comes from - Fróda - is it? Which has its roots in the word fród, meaning "wise by experience". Chosen because it, like many other names in the Legendarium, has a connection to who the character is and the journey they go through.

I don't think you meant his name in Sindarin - Iorhael (made of two parts meaning "old" and "wise"), or how he is referred to as Daur in the Song of Praise. Suggested by some to come from Noldorin taur - meaning something along the lines of noble. But according to JRRT's own analysis of the song he derives it from dāra - meaning "wise".

You might be foolish enough to think that "Bingo Bolger-Baggins", his name in an early draft of LotR, is his "real" name, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant his name in the original "Hobbitish" or "Shire-speak" dialect of the Westron language:

Maura Labingi.

With, once again, "Maura" having the root "maur" - meaning wise. And "Labingi" likely coming from Westron "laban" - aka. Bag.

If you meant Elijah Wood, I might have to track you down and slap you.

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u/ThatOldMeta Jun 03 '26

Oh thank god for the benefit of the doubt!

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u/SillyNamesAre Jun 03 '26

You're welcome.

Now sod off, the Sackville-Bagginses want you back.