The Lord of the Rings
A Christian can be forgiven for not reading
the Bible--heck, it's a pretty big book after all. But
there's no salvation for a fantasy fan who hasn't read the gospel of the genre, J.R.R.
Tolkien's
definitive three-book epic, The Lord of the Rings (encompassing The Fellowship of the
Ring, The
Two Towers, and The Return of the King), and its charming precursor, The Hobbit. That many
(if
not most) fantasy works are in some way derivative of Tolkien is understood, but Lord of
the Rings
is so universal that everybody from George Lucas to Led Zeppelin has appropriated it for
one
purpose or another.
A children's story at heart (originally written for Tolkien's own kids), The Hobbit
doesn't match the
complexity (or the renown) of the series to follow. But the book rightly holds its own as
a classic,
the sweet if simple predecessor to the most-loved epic in all of fantasy. The title
character, Bilbo
Baggins, is an unlikely hero, comfortably accustomed to his cozy hidey-hole and six meals
a day.
But fate intervenes in the form of the powerful wizard Gandalf and a motley band of
dwarves, who
shanghai Bilbo into a wild and dangerous quest. The crew falls from one frying pan to the
next,
narrowly escaping all manner of trolls, spiders, orcs, and wolves, as all the while these
trials
transform Bilbo into a skilled, resourceful adventurer. A fun, engaging read for all ages,
The Hobbit
is worthwhile on its own merits. But its role as a primer for the Lord of the Rings cycle
makes it
required reading for every fantasy afficionado. (Fans of Lord of the Rings looking for a
true
must-read companion to that trilogy should check out The Silmarillion, which provides the
essential
background history of Middle-Earth.)
Not just revolutionary because it was groundbreaking, Lord of the Rings is timeless
because it's the
product of a truly top-shelf mind. Tolkien was a distinguished linguist and Oxford scholar
of dead
languages, with strong ideas about the importance of myth and story and a deep
appreciation of
nature. His epic, 10 years in the making, recounts the Great War of the Ring and the
closing of
Middle-Earth's Third Age, a time when magic begins to fade from the world and men rise to
dominance. Tolkien carefully details this transition with tremendous skill and love,
creating in Lord of
the Rings a universal and all-embracing tale, a justly celebrated classic among classics.
--Paul
Hughes