The C.S. Lewis Book Club

Rohan rides to Gondor's aid — and Gondor's own Steward has already given up.
In this episode, Dan and Alex walk through Book V of The Lord of the Rings (the first half of The Return of the King), tracing Pippin's oath to Denethor and Merry's to Théoden, Aragorn's challenge to Sauron in the palantír and his ride down the Paths of the Dead, the siege of Minas Tirith, the pyre, the charge of the Rohirrim onto the Pelennor, and the feint at the Black Gate.
Along the way: amdir and estel, Tolkien's two words for hope, and why Aragorn was raised under the second one as a name; Denethor and Faramir as the same mind turned to opposite uses, and what logic becomes when it isn't aimed at virtue; the Paths of the Dead as a study in decisiveness, with Gimli bargaining himself all the way to the rear of the company; Théoden's deliberately unglorious death and the shame he says he has escaped; the palantír as a machine for telling the truth in exactly the place it will do the most harm; and Éowyn, who wins everything she rode to the Pelennor for and finds it doesn't satisfy her.
They also touch on Lewis on the sorrows of all the world arriving every morning, the Oyarsa's diagnosis of Weston in Out of the Silent Planet, Puddleglum against the Green Witch, Ghân-buri-Ghân and the trust that plain speech buys in a single conversation, a recording of Tolkien himself reading the charge of the Rohirrim, and what it means that the hands of the king are the hands of a healer.
The last stretch is the one Alex spends the whole episode talking himself into: whether Éowyn's arc is a story about a woman escaping her role, or a story about a soul refusing its allotment, and what that reading asks of men and women now.
Next episode: Book VI of The Lord of the Rings, the second half of The Return of the King.
Got comments, criticism, or corrections? Email or send a voice memo to ⁠bookclub@mountainair.media⁠.
Timestamps
00:00 — Intro
00:04 — Housekeeping: listener mail on Lewis, Tolkien, pleasure and suffering
00:07 — Obliquity: why happiness has to be a byproduct
00:09 — Arwen, Éowyn, and how a good story commandeers your sympathies
00:14 — Book V summary
00:17 — Themes: what is greatness, and the traditions of our fathers
00:21 — Lewis on vulnerability and on the sorrows of all the world
00:24 — Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and going to bed with death
00:26 — Break / The Theo Show
00:29 — Pippin as our way in, and Tolkien's digressions
00:32 — Merry among the Rohirrim: conspicuously not useful
00:35 — Denethor and Faramir: logic without virtue
00:38 — Pippin and Bergil: talking to children as peers
00:41 — Aragorn and the palantír: identity and what it's for
00:43 — The Paths of the Dead: decisiveness, and Gimli at the rear
00:49 — Ghân-buri-Ghân and the trust of plain speech
00:52 — Everyone you meet has their own epic
00:54 — "It's all just...": labels, and Saruman of Many Colours
00:58 — Morning counsels are best
01:02 — Break / Losing Like a Winner
01:04 — Tolkien reads the charge of the Rohirrim
01:08 — The joy of battle and the right use of truth
01:12 — Amdir and estel: the Athrabeth
01:17 — The Ring of Barahir
01:19 — Stewardship that looks backward
01:21 — The hands of the king are the hands of a healer
01:24 — Théoden's unglorious death
01:30 — The palantír, half-truths, and the modern news
01:33 — Which way, Western woman?
01:39 — Allotment, family, and speaking in ideals
01:46 — Outro

Frodo and Sam press on toward Mordor — and pick up an unlikely guide. In this episode, Dan and Alex walk through Book IV of The Lord of the Rings (the second half of The Two Towers), tracing Frodo and Sam's journey through the Dead Marshes, their capture of Gollum, the encounter with Faramir in Ithilien, and the road toward Shelob's lair.
Along the way: why Tolkien's refusal to write allegory makes these characters feel more real than any parable; the "fall without hope of spring" and Nietzsche's slave morality; Frodo's true motives for sparing Gollum; Faramir as the moral center of the story (and why the films undersell him); the ethics of lying to an enemy; and Sam's reflection on what it means to be "landed" in a story rather than choosing one.
They also touch on the weight of names (Sam, the Gaffer, and Treebeard), C.S. Lewis's Perelandra and The Great Divorce, and what it looks like to be the loyal second character rather than the hero.
Next episode: Book V of The Lord of the Rings, the first half of The Return of the King.
Got comments, criticism, or corrections? Email or send a voice memo to bookclub@mountainair.media.
Timestamps00:00 — Intro00:03 — Housekeeping: Pippin and the palantír00:04 — Book IV summary00:06 — Themes: why these stories aren't sensational00:14 — Slave morality & "a fall without hope of spring"00:22 — Break / The Theo Show00:23 — The Gaffer's insults & the power of names00:34 — Faramir vs. Boromir00:45 — Break / Telling the Truth00:47 — Faramir continued: honesty and lying to evil00:55 — The fall of Gondor01:00 — Sam on adventure and heroism01:07 — Outro

Boromir is Slain! The orcs capture Merry and Pippin and march in haste to Isengard. Aragorn, Logolas and Gimli attempt a hopeless pursuit on foot, only to find the remains of the orc host slaughtered by the Riders of Rohan, but clues of the hobbits’ escape lead the trio into Fangorn Forest where they reunite with Gandalf, resurrected after his fall in Moria. The four companions go to Edoras where Gandalf releases King Theodin of the bewitchment of Saruman. They ride to Helm’s Deep to aid the Rohirim in the defense against the onslaught of Saruman’s armies, while the Ents march on Isengard. Rohan is successfully defended, and Isengard is overthrown.

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*SPOILER ALERT!* If you haven’t seen the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, or read the first chapter of The Two Towers, there is a spoiler in this episode of something in the movie that in the books happens later. Not likely any of you are as fresh to this story as Dan, but still, fyi…

Book 2 Summary: Frodo awakes in Rivendell. A council led by the Elf Lord Elrond decides that the One Ring must be destroyed, and having shown his resilience to the Ring’s evil power, Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to the Mt. Doom where it was forged and the only place where it can be unmade. A fellowship of 9 companions is formed and accompanies Frodo on this quest. Shortly into their journey, the fellowship reluctantly passes through the ancient and deserted Dwarven Mines of Moria where they are besieged by orcs and a Balrog, an ancient demon of Shadow and Flame. In the ensuing battle, Gandalf confronts the Balrog, allowing the rest of the fellowship to escape Moria, but in so doing, falls into the abyss. The remaining fellowship seeks refuge in the Elven realm of Lothlórien. They are welcomed by Lady Galadriel, who bestows gifts and blessings upon them. The journey continues by boat down the River Anduin to the Falls of Rauros, where compelled by treachery, Frodo breaks from the fellowship accompanied only by Sam. 

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Dan and Alex begin a new adventure in The Lord of the Rings!
Summary of Book 1:
Gandalf the Wizard has discovered that the magic ring the hobbit Frodo Baggins has inherited from his older cousin Bilbo is no ordinary trinket; it's The One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron. Frodo accepts the task of delivering the ring to Rivendell where wiser and more powerful allies might work out its destruction before it can be reclaimed and Sauron rise again to his former power. Pursued by the Dark Lord’s sinister agents, Frodo and his small band of loyal friends make the dangerous journey, but not without incident or a fair amount of strange help.
But Dan and Alex mostly talk about Tom and Goldberry...as they should.
Next episode will cover The Fellowship, book 2.

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