The Return Of The King

The Lord Of The Rings

(1955)

J.R.R. Tolkien

Finished Reading: 06.2009

Sauron, the unpopular and non-elected dictator of Middle Earth is defeated when the hobbits Frodo and Sam sneak past the Orc Party of Mordor and carry the Ring of Power at last to a dark cave deep within Mount Doom. There, Gollum and Frodo struggle on a treacherous cliff to possess the ring for their own before the former falls to his death clutching his precious and one of Frodo's fingers with it, for the finger could not let go. Just as Sauron lost a finger in a similar struggle of old when the ring was first taken from him by Isuldor, Frodo is parted with the Ring of Power only at the struggling desire of another. All attempts to take the ring by force end in doom. Gollum falls into the bowels of Middle Earth where both he and the ring are gloriously un-made.

At this event, Sauron is destroyed in the tower of Barad-Dur, which is where he is hiding. The Eye is extinguished. I have trouble with this ending, as throughout the Lord of the Rings series, Sauron (the name-sake of the books) is not encountered in the first person or bodily except as a footnote of ancient lore. The Dark Lord remains in the Dark Tower gazing about Middle Earth with his Fiery Eye Telescope, trying to see what he can see, as he bides his time and gains strength for his final war to defeat all that oppose him. Somehow he didn't see this coming. Not so scary now, are you? He meets his end remotely, afar off in a tall tower and does not get to fight his foes face to face, rather he relies on armies of Orcs and evil mercenaries to do his fighting for him.

Perhaps Sauron was not fully transfigured to his former glory, and these events of the War of the Ring came to pass too early for his liking. If given more time, would Sauron have descended from his tower to march across Middle Earth among his legions of soldiers? Would he have ten fingers or nine? Is his power not now in physical strength but only in the mental persuasion of the weak towards his will?

According to ancient lore, Sauron was parted from the Ring (along with his favorite finger) on a battlefield, so he once had a physical presence and the ability to battle. What would Frodo have encountered had he made for the Dark Tower instead of Mount Doom? If Frodo used the ring for his own rather than destroying it in the fire as instructed by Gandalf, would he have had to battle with Sauron, head to head (or head to eye)? Ring Bearer vs. Ring Maker?

All I'm saying is that Sauron is a wimp for not coming down from his high tower. He is defeated by a mear Hobbit eyelash.

The Two Towers

The Lord Of The Rings

(1954)
J.R.R. Tolkien

Finished Reading: 05.2009

So many plot lines and seemingly unrelated adventures populate this volume that I cannot begin to comment on the whole of them. There are more great tales told within than would seem to fit between two covers . Thrust into action and left gasping in suspense at the end, the reader of the Two Towers notices it to be better written than its predecessor volume; describing great battles, dangerous treks through high mountain passes, and hairy encounters with an unimaginable variety of foes. The stench of defeat is common in the nose and darkness looms far across Middle-Earth. Hope is but a four letter word that isn't even on the ballot.

One storyline follows Treebeard the Ent, he of the ancient humanoid/treenoid race, older than any other creatures that exist this day in Middle-Earth. Treebeard and his gang of tall, slow-moving, slow-talking tree-like creatures, are very wise and have lived peacefully throughout the long centuries in the stuffy Forest of Fangorn, mostly just standing around like trees do. Treebeard lives a solitary life, but one day meets the hobbits Merry and Pippen who have wandered into the forest to escape deadly pursuit by Orcs. Treebeard is angered into fighting an epic battle with Saruman because that dark lord has cut down his precious trees. Orcs and their sharp axes are not looked kindly upon by quiet Ent eyes. Chuckling, I am reminded of the Lorax, who "speaks for the trees!" in Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, but that is another matter save their matching awesome mustaches.

While Treebeard might welcome the Lorax into his gang, he has companions with such names as Skinbark and Quickbeam, also ancient Ents. Along with the very forest itself, the strong Ents stride into Isengard and destroy the city by ripping it apart block by block. Every evil in it is driven out save the dark tower of Saruman which stands amongst the rubble in the now still waters from the dam that was broken. Saruman looks down panicing and seems rather feeble, having been beaten up by a bunch of trees and all.

It takes a very long time to say anything worth saying, and we do not say anything unless it takes a very long time to say, and to listen to. Do not be hasty.

The Fellowship Of The Ring

The Lord Of The Rings

(1954)
J.R.R. Tolkien

Finished Reading: 04.2009

The first of the highly epic fantasy trilogy, I am watching the corresponding movie adaptations after reading each book. Admittedly, this is my first time reading the series, though I had seen the movies when first released eight, seven and six years ago, so Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen are Frodo and Gandalf for me, and there isn't anything I can do about it and that fiery red eye is watching at me.

If a plot summary is even appropriate, it would start by stating that Frodo Baggins is a wee hobbit with big feet, a gentle half-sized creature resembling a human, living in a land of round doors in earthen homes, a place called the Shire. He comes to be in possession of a simple gold ring with cryptic markings revealed only by fire, the bearer of which wields great and horrible power while wearing the ring on his finger. It also makes him disappear, which is scary for both he and those around him. Frodo must journey to the place where the ring was made, for only there can it be destroyed - the dark land of Mordor. Along his journey he has the help of various friends of different sorts: men, wizards, elves, dwarfs, hobbits and female elves too. Together they form the Fellowship of the Ring (well, not the female elves), the likes of which has never been seen. Their quest is great and dangerous as they travel through beautiful mountainous lands and majestic cities, meeting foes and friends along the way to the ominous Mount Doom (scary drums in the distance).

Tolkien has created a high descriptive, highly involved world with its own creatures, languages, fonts and even a fold-out map which is glued to the back cover as a guide for the reader. The third book (to be reviewed later) contains appendices and indexes on the background and history of the characters and creatures we encounter in the story. The comprehensiveness is enormous.

The Fellowship of the Ring starts us in the lands from which the main characters come from. Frodo and the hobbits are of the Shire, and it is here that the story unfolds, in the middle of an 111th (elevendy-first) birthday party, of all things. Along the way we pass through glimmering Rivendell and shimmering Lothlorien, home to the beautiful elves and their girly blond hair; and then through the dark mines of Moria, home to the hearty dwarfs and their scraggly beards. The evil forces are largely unknown to most of the Fellowship at this point, though they encounter the persistent and sinister black riders and herds upon herds of disgusting orcs waving swords and shooting arrows. Sauron's fiery eye is watching, and Saruman is looming in lands unknown.

My favorite character is Gandolf the grey, an old wizard and the primary guide to Frodo. He is very wise and wields magical powers, but he seems to hold back and is unsure of his abilities, appearing not to be as powerful as one might think a wizard should be, which keeps him mysterious. He is thoughtful and caring, loving and good. He sacrifices himself to save the others from the Balrog, a beast evil enough to finally test Gandolf's powers in the shortest epic battle sequence that I have ever seen, though it takes place on a grand stone arch bridge hewed from the very living stone. He is cast into the darkness of the fiery underground pit, and there is much sorrow, but the story continues with two more volumes!