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Tracking Hobbits Through Space...
© Michael Martinez
Dec 31, 1999
Well, okay, they're not exactly hobbits. They're norbits. You know how Terry Brooks rose to fame and fortune by writing The Sword of Shanarra? You remember Bored of the Rings? How about Dennis McKiernan's Iron Tower Trilogy? Well, except for the fact they are all influenced (strongly or weakly) by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, they have nothing to do with this subject.
What those books share in common with Pat Murphy's latest novel, There and Back Again, however, is the fact that they are based (in whole or in part) on Tolkien's work. These stories are not set in Tolkien's world. Rather, they are new versions of the old tales.
I recently finished reading There and Back Again and I loved it. Murphy has taken a classic children/adult's story and turned it into a modern SF adventure that will please most Tolkien fans and just plain old SF lovers. I find the story refreshing not so much because it's new but because it seems to revel in good old-fashioned adventure writing. There seems to be too little of that classic SF style in today's books. Murphy brings starfreighter loads of classic style to There and Back Again.
Like Tolkien, she is not afraid to bring the readers directly into the book by including us in the narrative. The author speaks to the audience every now and then just to explain things, so the story doesn't become overwhelming and get out of hand. Although a survey of children found that these parts of The Hobbit were the least interesting for them, many adults have admired Tolkien's style, and Murphy definitely shows she can tell a story the way the old masters did.
Although the feel of There and Back Again is very Hobbit-like, parents should read the book once for themselves before reading it or giving it to their children. There are a couple of passages which deal with mature subject matter. The story has also been updated with some modern themes some parents may not feel are appropriate for their younger children. These concerns aside, it's a great story that will undoubtedly grow in popularity through the years.
The adventure begins with Bailey Beldon, a Norbit, scooting around the asteroid belt in a steam-powered rocket. Beldon's people are the distant future's version of Tolkien's old world Hobbits. Although not quite as small as Hobbits, the Norbits are a mostly stay-at-home, don't-go-adventuring kind of people who tend to think of travellers as eccentric. Nonetheless, a few of them are induced to take off every now and then an explore the wider galaxy (which is a wild and dangerous place).
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The copyright of the article Tracking Hobbits Through Space... in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish Tracking Hobbits Through Space... in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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