“Leaving now. Watching Twilight fade. Leaving behind what has already become hard memory. Moving forward into nights that new nightmares may yet shatter. When I was younger, I thought, ‘what sort of God would create a being that bled for a week from a wound between its legs, but didn’t die? What sort of God would allow innocents to be born into lives of hate and fear and abuse, then allow them to perpetuate the line?’ Later I added to that list, wondering what sort of God would allow an abomination like Clive Euxideos or Eppie’s father or my own father, to walk the Earth? The answer is obvious. Only a mad God. A god driven insane by the countless eons of darkness it was forced to endure before realizing it had only to utter four simple words... ‘let there be light.’ And in that light, I see what might be a future. And I can almost believe… that it could be mine.”

Mr. Hungerton, her father, really was the most tactless person upon earth,−−a fluffy, feathery, untidy cockatoo of a man, perfectly good−natured, but absolutely centered upon his own silly self. If anything could have driven me from Gladys, it would have been the thought of such a father−in−law. I am convinced that he really believed in his heart that I came round to the Chestnuts three days a week for the pleasure of his company, and very especially to hear his views upon bimetallism, a subject upon which he was by way of being an authority.

Tolkien researcher Michael Martinez shares his knowledge and insights into Tolkien's Middle-earth. The award-winning Parma Endorion Web site has been used by scholars, teachers, librarians, and students from around the world since 1996. Essays cover topics ranging from "What does an Elf do in Aman?" to "Planning the Middle-earth wedding" to "The Wonders of Middle-earth". Martinez is also the author of Visualizing Middle-earth, available as a print-on-demand trade paperback or ebook from Xlibris. This special 3rd edition of Parma Endorion has been updated for eBook publication only, and it includes selected fan artwork from Anke Eissmann and Rich Sullivan.