The Lord of the Rings – book review
In The Lord of the Rings, the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, pits nobility and courage against treachery and deceit in a fantasy world of wizards, halflings, elves, trolls, orcs and fallen angelic beings. According to Wikipedia, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best selling novels ever written:
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien… Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling novels ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.
The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien’s mastery of English and his attention to detail, have won over the public imagination and interest.
What is the message of the epic power struggle between the forces of good and evil, that is depicted in The Lord of the Rings?
The Ring of Power
The plot of The Lord of the Rings revolves around the quest to destroy the One Ring of Power.
The One Ring is the most powerful of all the rings of power, and was cast by Sauron the Dark Lord, a sinister angelic being. He created the One Ring in order to control those who wore lesser rings. Sauron created this amalgam of angelic power and corporeal gold, using the volcanic heat at the core of Mount Doom.
If the Dark Lord regains the One Ring, the power that he gains will allow him to enslave the free world. On the other hand, if the One Ring is destroyed, then the Dark Lord too will be destroyed, and his evil kingdom will fall.
However, the One Ring can only be destroyed by being thrown into the lava of Mount Doom.
Paradoxically, this poses an impossible task: The closer the bearer of the One Ring comes to Mount Doom, the greater the power of the ring grows. As its power grows, the One Ring subverts the mind of its bearer, and makes them desire the power of the ring for themselves.
Hence, no normal person can destroy the One Ring.