![]() ![]() Tolkien once said the One Ring symbolized the futility of trying to improve the world through force. While many would say the primary message of the story is love-the friendship and loyalty between Sam and Frodo is one of the most enduring relationships in literature-Tolkien’s philosophy on the danger and corrupting influence of power is what underpins the story. One of the reasons I reread Tolkien’s saga is the books speak to me today in a way they didn’t when I was 11, when my favorite scenes involved Legolas and Gimli smiting orcs at the Battle of Helm's Deep (and keeping score). I’ll crack open his books every five or ten years and slip back into Middle Earth like a warm, familiar bath. ![]() My enjoyment of Tolkien never faded over the years, however. That was followed by a thirst for the great authors: Twain, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Shakespeare, Nabokov, and so on. Then came a historical fiction phase-James Clavell’s masterpieces ( Shogun, Tai Pan, and Noble House), Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth, Colleen McCullough's The Masters of Rome series, and even some Gary Jennings. I began devouring books, starting with more Tolkien, and then moving to other fantasies written by Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, and Frank Herbert. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, and the book awakened my mind and imagination in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. For many years as a child I didn’t like to read much, but that changed when I was about 11. ![]()
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