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I am thinking about elves in so many stories. Not cute elves, but scary elves. Do you like them? After dragons, they are my favorite kind of characters because they all have huge personalities. Of course, there are dark elves as well as the helpful ones. But good elves can also be scary.
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My favorites:
The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
The Hobbit by Tolkien
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Elves and the Shoemaker
The Elfin Ship by Blaylock
Detective Strongoak and the Case of the Dead Elf by Terry Newman
Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis and Hickman
The Deed of Paksenarrion series by Elizabeth Moon
The Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist
The Nine Kingdoms series by Lynn Kurland
Harry Potter by Rowling…House Elves
Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fionavar_Tapestry
The lios alfar or Light Elves, live in Daniloth, a beautiful land in the northwest corner of the land which they have of necessity wrapped in a confusing mist as protection from Maugrim and others who wish them evil. Notable lios alfar of the past include Lathen Mistweaver who wove the sheltering mist, and Ra-Termaine, killed by Maugrim at the Bael Rangat. Present-day light-elves include Brendel, a lord of his people, and Ra-Tenniel, their king. The lios alfar are Maugrim's bitterest foes, "most hated by the dark, for their name is light."
Lists:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/28823.Books_With_Elves_NOT_Faeries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Middle-earth Elves
Poems and Songs:
http://www.iment.com/maida/tv/lordoftherings/poemsandsongs.htm
Do you hear the voice of Nimrodel?' asked Legolas. 'I will sing you a song of the maiden Nimrodel, who bore the same name as the stream beside which she lived long ago. It is a fair song in our woodland tongue; but this is how it runs in the Western Speech, as some in Rivendell now sing it.' In a soft voice hardly to be heard amid the rustle of the leaves above them he began:
An Elven-maid there was of old,
A shining star by day:
Her mantle white was hemmed with gold,
Her shoes of silver-grey.
A star was bound upon her brows,
A light was on her hair
As sun upon the golden boughs
In Lorien the fair.
Her hair was long, her limbs were white,
And fair she was and free;
And in the wind she went as light
As leaf of linden-tree.
Beside the falls of Nimrodel,
By water clear and cool,
Her voice as falling silver fell
Into the shining pool.
Where now she wanders none can tell,
In sunlight or in shade;
For lost of yore was Nimrodel
And in the mountains strayed.
The elven-ship in haven grey
Beneath the mountain-lee
Awaited her for many a day
Beside the roaring sea.
A wind by night in Northern lands
Arose, and loud it cried,
And drove the ship from elven-strands
Across the streaming tide.
When dawn came dim the land was lost,
The mountains sinking grey
Beyond the heaving waves that tossed
Their plumes of blinding spray.
Amroth beheld the fading shore
Now low beyond the swell,
And cursed the faithless ship that bore
Him far from Nimrodel.
Of old he was an Elven-king,
A lord of tree and glen,
When golden were the boughs in spring
In fair Lothlorien.
From helm to sea they saw him leap,
As arrow from the string,
And dive into the water deep,
As mew upon the wing.
The wind was in his flowing hair,
The foam about him shone;
Afar they saw him strong and fair
Go riding like a swan.
But from the West has come no word,
And on the Hither Shore
No tidings Elven-folk have heard
Of Amroth evermore.
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The voice of Legolas faltered, and the song ceased. 'I cannot sing any more,' he said. 'That is but a part, for I have forgotten much. It is long and sad, for it tells how sorrow came upon Lothlorien, Lorien of the Blossom, when the Dwarves awakened evil in the mountains.'
'But the Dwarves did not make the evil,' said Gimli.
'I said not so; yet evil came,' answered Legolas sadly.
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The Hobbit by Tolkien
https://middleearthreflections.com/2017/03/13/elvish-poetry-in-the-hobbit/
The final song in The Hobbit we hear from the Elves is a traditional lullaby. Beautiful and evocative in imagery, it is another example of fine Elvish art:
Sing all ye joyful, now sing all together!
The wind’s in the free-top, the wind’s in the heather;
The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
And bright are the windows of Night in her tower.
(Hobbit, p.343)
More songs and poems here:
http://tolkien.cro.net/talesong.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elves_in_fiction
Pratchett’s take on elves was not good: (I have not read these books)
The books Lords and Ladies and The Wee Free Men are about an encounter with "the fair folk". Pratchett describes them like this:
Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.
Elves are bad.
— Lords and Ladies
See the poll for more books with elves and add your favorites, too. If you don’t like fantasy stories just scroll down and talk about your books.
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