Chris Smith

Chris Smith was born ten years after the first edition of "The Lord of the Rings," read the book the year "The Silmarillion" was published, sold thousands of copies of Tolkien's works as a bookseller for many years, and was appointed editor of Tolkien's work the year the first phase of Peter Jackson's film trilogy began. His research for writing the book "Weapons and Battles of Middle-earth" took him to America and New Zealand, the country that became the Middle-earth of the silver screen. There, he interviewed all the key figures of the films' creative team, such as Alan Lee, John Howe, Richard Taylor, Christian Rivers, the team of artists and armorers at Weta Workshop, and, of course, Peter Jackson himself. Tolkien's vision served as the structural material of the book, while their inspirations and creations were the plaster that holds and covers it. Chris Smith lives in Kent with his partner and two cats, and dreams of a world without weapons and wars.