This week, the magic of maps in fantasy fiction -- and in Tolkien in particular -- and an introduction to the podcast.

Show Notes

• L Frank Baum's map of Oz
• Robert E Howard's map of the Hyborian Age
• "Celebrating Christopher Tolkien's Cartographic Legacy" (John Crowe, Reactor)
• "What to expect from Amazon's Lord of the Rings show and its Second Age setting" (Devan Coggan, EW)
• LOTRProject
• Stars And Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction
• "After 3 years of trying, Lord of the Rings Online's 'Great Hobbit Run' ends in confused success as a mob of low-level players gets lost inside Mount Doom and decides it's close enough: 'Sauron can kiss my butt!'" (Andy Chalk, PCGamer)
• The Lord of the Rings Online
• Queer Approaches to Tolkien: Essays on the Many Paths to Middle-earth (Robin Anne Reid, Christopher Vaccaro, Stephen Yandell)
• Pity, Power and Tolkien's Ring (Tom Hillman)
• The Tides Of Time, The Tides Of Fate, And The Power Of Song (Tom Hillman, The Journal of Tolkien Research)
• The Atlas of Middle-earth (Karen Lynn Fonstad)
• Maps on Display: Fantastic Worlds Exhibit Coming this Summer! (UW-Madison)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay.

Welcome, and thanks for listening! Shire Reckoning is a new podcast dedicated to the study, discussion and celebration of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The first episode will arrive on Sunday, July 13th, 2025. I hope you can join me!

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

Follow Shire Reckoning on YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Music by Corvus from Pixabay