Authored by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings is a very famous work of fantasy fiction and is an extremely popular epic novel. The story continues as a sequel to another fantasy novel written by Tolkien, “The Hobbit”. The novel is an extensive work which has compiled and written in a very creative and imaginative way. It was written in between the years 1937 and 1949 and most part was completed by Tolkien during the Second World War.
The novel is divided into 3 volumes having the titles, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, ‘The Two Towers’ and the ‘The Return of the King’ in a sequence. The book has been reprinted on numerous occasions and has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. It has been translated into several languages and it one of the greatest works of fiction in the 20th century.
The title of the book is a reference to the chief dark power in the book, the dark lord Sauron. The story starts with the creation of 9 rings for the men ruling upon the earth, 7 for the dwarf-rulers who stay in their halls of stone and 3 for Elven-kings. Besides these, there is one ring created by Sauron in his dark land of Mordor that rules over all other rings. Another species of living beings in this imaginative world of Tolkien is the Hobbits. Four Hobbits, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merry and Pippin get involved in the war of the ring. Sauron had been defeated in the past but the ring had other plans and it survived somehow. The time comes when the ring starts to plan its journey to go back to its master as the shadow of Sauron still reigns over Mordor. Surprisingly, the ring is inherited by Frodo from his uncle Bilbo Baggins. Gandalf the Grey, a wise wizard senses the dark times that are approaching and spots the ring with Frodo. He sends Frodo on a journey to Mordor to destroy the ring where it was created. But it’s an almost impossible task in which Frodo seeks helps from Sam who goes with him till the end. He is also assisted by Gandalf, Aragorn, who is the heir of Gondor, Legolas, the Elven Prince, Gimli, the representative of Dwarves and Boromir, the son of the current ruler of Gondor. Sauron is defeated after a lot of chaos and blood-shed created by him. The combined armies of kingdoms in the middle earth including Rohan and Gondor, led by Aragorn, Legolas, King Théoden of Rohan, Gandalf and Gimli fight with the armies of Sauron in a deadly battle of survival. With the slightest of hope to defeat and destroy Sauron completely which are kept alive only by Frodo, the armies of Rohan and Gondor challenge Sauron by arriving at the Black Gate, the gate that leads inside Mordor. This is the last war which is fought between the good and evil in which the evil side has an edge. At the same time, Frodo is very close to destroy the ring and succeeds in his mission and it destroys Sauron, his armies and everything in Mordor.
Written in a manner which keeps the reader enticed to the book and a fantastic execution of the plot has contributed significantly in the popularity of the novel. Tolkien has created a whole new world of fantasy which has been acclaimed by readers all around the world. The Lord of the Rings is indeed an epic novel rightfully considered as one of the all time best sellers.
