Tom Bombadil – the terrible secret?

I’m a life-long Tolkien fan, but not one that bemoans the adaptations for the films – different perspectives can be stimulating.

So  Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil  was really interesting – thanks to my son for drawing my attention to it.

I don’t agree with the interpretation of Tom Bombadil as an evil force and don’t think Tolkien intended this either (nor does the writer). I saw Bombadil as a wild force, completely unconcerned with other people, and to be honest I didn’t really miss him in the films. But fantasy is about ‘what-ifs?’ and this post develops one of the great ‘what-ifs?’ of all time (Lord of the Rings) along a new direction (for me at least). It’s intriguing to consider this speculation and the comments it generated. And though I’m not convinced, it is a clever and very convincing argument.

Imagine what it would be like to discuss this with Tolkien himself over a pint of beer whilst sitting in front of a log fire…