Having previously compared the most epic battles from The Green Ember series and The Lord of the Rings, it seems only fitting to compare those from The Tales of Old Natalia and The Hobbit. Naturally this means SPOILERS for Prince Lander & the Dragon War, so proceed at your own risk. This may be the last installment of this little series; even if Sam does get around to writing a Flint and Fay story, I somehow doubt it’ll be on the level of anything in The Silmarillion.

The last battle of the Dragon War-not counting Heather and Smalls collapsing the tomb-and the Battle of Five Armies both take place on and around mountains. Where Tolkien’s heroes protected the Lonely Mountain of Erebor, S.D. Smith’s attacked Dragon Mountain, one day to be known as Forbidden Island. Where the villains of The Hobbit consisted of goblins and wargs, Prince Lander features only dragons joining battle with their opponents. Of course, Sam’s heroes do not encompass different races or species, but are nonetheless a somewhat disparate group of rabbits.

The Drekkers, with their curious customs and mode of speech, seem most fit to be compared with Tolkien’s dwarves. The other rabbits of Lander’s camp, meanwhile, seem more like the Men of Laketown. Blackstar Company, marching from far away to join the fight, well match the wood-elves of Mirkwood. And the Terralains, charging in unlooked for in a moment of dire need, recall to my mind the Eagles of the Misty Mountains.

The arrival of Steadfast seems to most closely match the role played by the charge of Thorin and company. Indeed, the supposed loss of Fleck and Galt with the ship resembles the fall of Fili and Kili. Thorin’s fall is more comparable to the loss of Walters, or even of King Whitson earlier in the book. Likewise, Namoz and his elite fighters parallel the goblin leader Bolg and his bodyguard.

Lander, wielding the starsword, is the obvious equivalent of Beorn, both being virtually unstoppable warriors who bring down the leaders of the enemy forces. Lander could also be seen as a counterpart to Dain Ironfoot, rising fully to kingship after the battle’s end as Dain did. The starsword’s status as an ancient, legendary weapon is reminiscent of Orcrist, the elven sword Thorin acquired during The Hobbit. There’s no indication that Orcrist was used during the Battle of Five Armies in the book, of course. However, like the starsword, Orcrist is placed in a tomb following the climactic battle.