JRR TOLKIEN'S The Lord of the Rings is an exceedingly well known and loved trilogy that arguably put the genre of fantasy fiction on the map. Few modern day authors have accomplished the depth and scope that is the world of JRR Tolkien. Tolkien published many works including The Silmarillion and The Hobbit but it is the LOTR series that catches the majority of peoples imaginations as masterful and unforgettable.
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy captured my imagination and interest with a fervor that few books ever could or have. It is certainly the only one of a Fantastical nature to have done so. The very depth of Tolkien's world is unrivaled in many respects. It is said that he desired to make an English Folk Tale that was truly English and not stolen from other nations stories as was Arthur and his round table. He seems to have pored his every talent into creating the mythology, including that of language. As a linguist he went further than most authors by actually creating new languages that correspond with the races of men, elves, orcs and other peoples of middle earth within his narrative. For instance, a Tolkien fanatic could choose to learn Elvish is he or she so wished. There are also many other volumes, many of which where published after his death, that go into extensive and meticulous detail about the history and other aspects of the world that he created in The Lord of the Rings and other stories. They remind me some what of The Iliad and like works as regards their scope and detail. I must also say something of his ingenious prose. He produces an expert flow of words that simply lift the text right out of the book and into the imagination, if not the heart itself. There are so many unforgettable passages and keen use of language throughout the books that one can not help but want to read more and more. I find LOTR to be particularly relaxing to me and I even listen to it in the car sometimes as I never tire of the story no matter how many times I read it.
Perhaps some consider LOTR to be a children's story, but whatever the opinion, I heartily recommend the trilogy to any one that enjoys a book that can make the English language beautiful.
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