Lord of the Rings

John R. R. Tolkien

1957

The verse

'Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie'

drives the actions of the Hobbit Frodo Baggins and his companions. They are his fellow Hobbits Samwise Gamgee, who wanted to see elves but had little idea of the dangers he would face; Meriadoc (Merry) Brandybuck, a cousin to Frodo and Perigrine (Perry) Took, another cousin of Frodo, both young and eager for adventure. Along the way the four Hobbits are joined by two Men; Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the destroyed Kingdom of Arnor, and Boromir, eldest son of the Steward of Gondor; an Elf, Legolas son to the King of the Wood Elves, the Dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin, companion to Bilbo when he found the Ring and Gandalf the Wizard.

Frodo had been given a ring by his uncle when Bilbo decides he's had enough of Hobbits. A simple ring, a plain ring bearing no inscription or gem. But when he places it on his finger he finds it has a miraculous property; he disappears from mortal sight.

The Wizard Gandalf, known to the Hobbits as a purveyor of fire-works, is in reality a Wizard of mighty powers and as Bilbo, then Frodo seem to have lives beyond the normal for Hobbits he becomes concerned and he disappeared from view for a couple of decades.

When he re-appears on Frodo's front doorstep, he has a tale of Darkness and Evil from an Age of the World long past.

Almost as soon as the tale is done Frodo screws up the courage to dedicate himself to the Ring's destruction.

Gandalf councils that his first destination should be the House of Elrond Half-Elven and there take council of the Master of the House. He also advises that Frodo not go alone, but he should go secretly.

After a while, the Hobbits decide that they can no longer wait for the re-appearance of Gandalf and they strike out into the wild lands that surround their homeland...

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This is a collection of six books bound into three (or a single) volumes that chronicle the actions of Frodo and his companions as their quest to destroy the Ring gets caught up in the ending of a Great Age and the beginning of a New Age, the founding of a new dynasty from the ruins of the old.

The death of Magic and the passing of the Elves and other even stranger people.

There is Treachery and Redemption, Cowardice and Heroism, Love and Hatred.

It is quite easy to see why this book was voted Book of the Century at the end of the last century, though some people were less than delighted to learn of this. There are many fantasy books that have taken elements of The Lord of the Rings and done things with them. There are even some that are good but these are unfortunately very rare.

Read the original and appreciate Tolkien's Masterwork!

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