by J.R.R. Tolkien
The evil forces of Mordor are on the move, and everything depends on the destruction of the One Ring of Power that has fallen into the possession of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
With the guidance of the wizard Gandalf and the support of a company of friends and allies, Bilbo’s nephew Frodo assumes the mission to take the Ring to the one place where it can be destroyed--in the very heart of enemy territory.
JRR Tolkien’s seminal work of fantasy is extraordinary for so many reasons.
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| JRR Tolkien |
There has never been a more comprehensive example of world building, existing at such a level of detail that there are extensive appendices devoted to the history and languages of Middle Earth.
Tolkien developed many of the fantasy tropes that have become cliche in later years.
He can be faulted for spending too much time on the minutiae of his settings, but there is no denying the astonishing breadth of the imagination that is capable of creating such a fully realized milieu.
I am also quite moved by the central conceit of his tale, that in this world where mighty races are contending for ascendance, everything depends on the most unassuming and humble of Middle Earth’s nations, a people untouched by the lust for power, whose simple connection to nature defines them rather than the powerful technologies and magicks of other nations.
This connection allows them to retain their essential goodness in a world driven mad by war, which in turn makes Frodo and his servant Sam the only ones suitable to bear such a soul-corrupting force as the One Ring.
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