Now, it’s certainly true that many people have been fascinated with studying it, but that’s equally true of many thought exercises, such as the rules and background of the Pokemon card game, or crossword puzzles. They are the overlooked, the forgotten about, the race that is casually discarded and considered insignificant in the wider world. There is something about the alluring world of elves, dwarves and old magic which has proved exceptionally popular, working on the imagination both as an enthralling adventure story and, at a deeper level, as ’a comprehensive counter-myth to the story of the 20th century’ (Independent).

The Lord of the Rings: (Deluxe single-volume illustrated

Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. The Fellowship of the Ring begins with the Shire and winds its way through the barren lands that lie on the way to Mordor. The Folio Society has only released 1,000 numbered copies of this new limited-edition The Lord of the Rings book set. This believable and immersive quality is amplified by the way the names, languages and histories of cultures and characters are deftly threaded into the work, and by the way the themes echo half-remembered stories from our own world.

R. Tolkien, the reclusive, pipe-smoking Oxford don, was in the vanguard, and so great was his achievement that his name became virtually synonymous with the literature of fantasy.

Alan Lee (illustrator) - Wikipedia Alan Lee (illustrator) - Wikipedia

This exquisite three-volume set is presented in a silver-blocked slipcase (lined with a hidden illustration) with a new art print exclusive to this edition and a pair of maps drawn by Christopher Tolkien, printed together and presented in a cloth-covered case.It’s the best I can do, though I know many goodreads users share my difficulty when reviewing this book. As for the Elves, we have several gorgeous women Elves: Arwen and Galadriel, but both are asexual (at least until Arwen weds Aragorn) despite provoking deep reverence in Merry, it remains platonic and more of a one-sided infatuation. Nature in LOTR is a living, breathing thing and critical to the success of the mission: without the Ents, the Battle of Isengard would certainly have not been such a definitive defeat for Sarumon (another reason why he attacked not only Hobbits but trees as well in his Scouring of the Shire). However, this dynamic leads to an even more suspenseful and action loaded plot than just one evil fraction united in darkening the world forever. In fact, Tolkien's translation of Beowolf is still a reference for scholars of Old English even today.