Customer Reviews
excellent to be sure - By: bairdie, 05 Aug 2008 
this book, a collection of poems & short stories i came across simplyin the attempt to gather as much tolkein as i could to myself, has quickly & completely replaced the LOTR & the silmarilionin my esteem, & is certainly the equal of the hobbit. the first story is perhaps the most light hearted, & an excellent example of tolkeins indoubtable powers as an author; it is, however excellentin its own right, a story that palesin comparison to what follows. the adventures of tom bombadil, leaf by niggle & smith of wooton major are truly beautiful, haunting pieces; each time i have read themin the short time ive owned the book they have genuinly moved me, they are disquieting, honestly strange, haunting & so utterly amazing that they are simply beyond comparison. these stories have genuinly changed me, though i cannot quite understand how.
I have not read this version, but I have all the stories in other anthologies. - By: Bruce Wilson, 30 Mar 2007 "Leaf by Niggle" is the closest JRRT ever came to true allegory, & is something of a spiritual autobiography. The tree that Niggle tries to paint but keeps being distracted by details represents his Middle Earth Legendarium, particularly the Silmarillion; Mr. Parish represents his 'secular' responsibilities as a professor, husband, father, citizen, etc. The Journey is, of course Death. The Workhouse is Purgatory. The valley with the tree is the Earthly Paradise, & the land beyond the mountains is Heaven.
"Farmer Giles of Ham" on the surface seems to be a pleasant Midaeval adventure tale, but there are subversive elements to it. In this sort of story one expects the Brave Knight to be the hero; however,in dealing with the dragon the King & his Knights are worse than useless, & the person who is able to take care of the matter is a fat, redheaded farmer who doesn't like tresspassers.
"Smith of Wooton Major" is also semiallegorical, with smithcraft standingin for JRRT's professional obligations as a professor at Oxford (in which his son Christopher followed his father's footsteps, as Smith's son became a blacksmith, too.) Some of the images are odd & disturbing, but beautiful, too.
The miscellaneous poems are great fun. Some, of course, refer to his private mythology; many had appearedin different formsin various magazines & private printings over the years before they were assembledin this anthology. "Princess Mee" is a retelling of the Narcissus story; "The Shadow Bride" is evocative of several old myths, including Persephone, but doesn't quite fit with any of them. "The Hoard", although using tropes from Norse & Celtic mythology is, essentially, an antimaterialist statement--the gold, silver & precious gems that are taken from the earth cause nothing but misery, corrupting everyone who comes to own them; peace comes only when they are returned to the earthin the old King's tomb. "The Sea Bell" & "The Last Ship" are to be read together. Both the speakerin the first poem & Firielin the second have a vision of another world that stands over against our own--a world of enchantment & beautyin contrast to our mundane existance; the speakerin "The Sea Bell" tries to snach & cling to that other world, & so looses the good of both that world & this, while for Firiel it is enough for her to know that it exists. (Neurotics build castlesin the air, as the old saying goes, while psychotics try to livein them.)
The two poems about the Manin the Moon are expansions of two nursery rhymes, allegedly the original forms thereof, & great literary fun. Of the two poems about the trolls, one is from LOTR & the other fits well into it as it refers to placesin the Shire. Of the two animal poems, "Oliphaunt" & "The Cat", both are great fun, & the latter is one of the best cat poems I know (more about that below.) "The Mewlips" is a creepy-fun piece, good for a Hallowe'en recitation.
"The Cat", although it seems like a simple little animal poem, is a lot more. The Roman poet Horace said that a poem "beginsin delight & endsin wisdom", & this is a perfect example. "The fat cat on the mat. . " contains about the first rhymes a child learns to make, but the poem ends--after a description of various large felines (lions, leopards) ends: "Far now they be/and fierce & free/and tamed is he;/but fat cat/on the mat/kept as a pet/he does not forget." When you put aside considerations of size, long hair or short, striped spotted or solid, a cat is a cat is a cat; the most pampered housecat is a miniature leopard, & the fiercest tiger is a great big kitty.
"Farmer Giles", "The Hobbit" & to a great extent "The Lord of the Rings" are all the stories of small, ordinary people who are placedin extraordinary situations, where they find that they are a lot braver & cleverer than anyone (including themselves) thought they were capable of being. This refers back, I think, to JRRT's WW I experience; he was an officerin a Birmingham-area militia; the menin his company were farmhands, factory workers, shop assistants, schoolteachers, bank clerks, college students--very ordinary young men, thrown into an extraordinary situation; they found themselves doing all sorts of things that they never expected to do--some of them wonderful, many of them horrible, but all of them outside of their normal sense of what should be. The three stories above are all like that. "The Cat" comes into it thus: your ordinary Englishman who might be teaching school or workingin a bank or keeping a shop probably has among his ancestors Norman crusader knights, Viking longboatmen, Celtic & Saxon warriors, & perhaps even Roman legionnaires, & the spirit of those ancestors, although deeply buried, under the proper circumstances can come out.
More class from the genius - By: David Bolton, 15 Mar 2007 
If some people (and i understand this truthfully) find the likes of The Silmarillion & to an extent Unfinished Tales a bit hard to digest, then Tales from the Perilous Realm is a great alternative.
A selection of four short stories basedin & around a land called Faerie that are inclusive of old faithfuls (the Hobbits) & a rather mean old dragon or wyrm, a strange painting that...I've said enough i dont want to wreck the plots.
Though considered short stories these four works of literary art are surprisingly in-depth. Of course they are by no means as in-depth as the likes of LOTR, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion & Unfinished tales but what a delightful addition to your library.
I read with horror that somebody referred to these as 'childrens stories' to which i feel a little aggrieved. Sure these stories are ideal for younger readers, what with the easily digestible plots. There is nowhere near as much 'Elvish language' to confuse people. However that is not to say that these stories cant be enjoyed by older readers...I am 20 yrs old & will undoubtedly re-read with the same pleasure & stimulated imagination when i reach 60 as i have at this age. If you find yourself enjoying this little selection then i recommend Roverandom.
For the price & the quality that it brings Tales from The Perilous realm shoud be great addition to anybodies bookshelf.
Tales From the Perilous Realm - By: L. L. M. Almenningen, 07 Feb 2005 I don't understand why the Tales has been called a collection of children's stories (asin alexcapel's review). As an adult - middle aged - & a voracious reader of anything to do with fantasy, these short stories had a sense of depth & perspective that I seldom findin children's books.
I have to say that my favorites were "Leaf by Niggle" & "Smith of Wotton Major". I was profoundly affected by both of them. Tolkien manages to insert moral points without seeming to preach from a pulpit.
"Farmer Giles of Ham" had an interesting twist to it. Here again Tolkien treads the fine line of morals superbly. I have to say that the poems on Tom Bombadil were disappointing. I was expecting something that went further back into history. Something that told me where he was from & what he was. But, then, that is how stories are. Authors often take me where I have not expected to go, & thank God for that.
A superb read.
Wonderful - simply charming. - By: Mr. D. Walker, 05 Jan 2005 Gives a high quality airing to some of Tolkien's lesser known works. 'Leaf by Niggle'in particular is quite a surprise for those who only know The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings - superbly performed by Alfred Molinain the lead role.
'Smith of Wootton Major' is another enchanting tale of the realm of faerie & the 'Adventures of Tom Bombadil' is essentially the chapters of the Lord of the Rings most usually dropped from dramatisations (The Old Forest & Barrow Downs). Well, the BBC Radio & both film versions have skipped over it anyway. The USA radio version did cover it, but that production is best forgotten.
Only 'Farmer Giles of Ham' is a little bit below par, with Brian Blessed giving his usual booming performance & a sligthly irritating dog.
But all-in-all this is an essential item for any Tolkien fan & any lover of good stories, well told.
