Thursday 10 October 2013

The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is a high fantasy tale about a magic ring and the motley crew of adventurers who must destroy the ring in order to save the world. It is well enough written but if you want surprises then look further afield for it appears as if Tolkien has borrowed from just about every modern fantasy author. If you have read any fantasy written in the last fifty years then you have seen all this before. Elves? Check. Dwarves? Check. Wizards? Check. Magic Rings? Check. Wise old Wizard? Check. Boy from humble origins who turns out to be the only person who can save the universe? Check. Valiant knights in shining armour and black black villains? Check.

It is a pity really because it actually is a rather good book.

(On a more serious note - I had to re-reading this classic trilogy because of a very interesting online course I am taking which explores the links between book, film and video game interpretations of Tolkien's masterpiece): https://class.coursera.org/onlinegames-001/class