The Lord of the Rings
By JRR Tolkien

1178 pages

Reviewed by Christine Spatara
April, 2018

The Lord of The Rings, JRR Tolkien's famous trilogy published between 1954 and 1955, is perhaps one of the best-known fantasy adventures in English Literature. Comprised of three books: The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, follows the adventures of Frodo, a young hobbit, who inherits a ring through no wish of his own and embarks on a treacherous journey with three of his friends that will save Middle Earth. With the help of the grey wizard, Gandalf, and fiercely protected by Aragorn and Boromir, men from the kingdom of Gondor as well as a dwarf Gimli and the Elven Prince, Legolas Greenleaf, they fight the evil orcs of the Evil Lord Sauron as well as the white wizard Saruman who has betrayed his kind to join Sauron, The ring had been forged by Sauron centuries before to control Middle Earth but it had been lost in a battle. Now Sauron is back to regain his power and control by retrieving the ring. It is Frodo's destiny to destroy the ring by throwing it in the fire of Mt. Doom.

The story is a fantasy and as such, so intricately contrived that sometimes you feel poor Frodo is caught in a dream and yet there are so many layers and themes to this, that is is no wonder it took Tolkien more than twenty years to write. The books have been made into three movies, beautifully crafted and directed by Peter Jackson, and are a must see especially if you don't want to read all three volumes.

The Lord of the Rings can be called a precursor to Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and all other blockbuster super-hero movies that have become an addiction to current society. You have only to ask yourself "why?". Why are we so taken with Superman, Wonder Woman, Thor, Captain America, and all other Guardians of the Galaxy? Tolkien fought in World War Ⅰ and he witnessed death and heroism first hand and so he penned the fight between good and evil. We want the hero to win and save mankind from the evil Sauron. We are still seeking a Superhero to protect us and make us feel safe.

Note: I am reading Tolkien as one of the Oxford Fantasists. I am studying them as part of a literature course I will be taking in Oxford in July. Thus, my interest in Tolkien. For anyone interested in history, this particular group of writers/professors called themselves the Inklings. They met weekly at a local Oxford pub to read each other's works, and support each other's writing.