[ book tip by Tom Reershemius ] A thousand years ago, the people of Middle-Earth forged the rings of power, magical rings that gave the bearer power to rule over his people; they gavee nine to the proud kings of men, seven to the dwarf-lords under the mountains and three to the gracious elves of the woods. However, one ring was forged in secret by the Dark Lord Sauron, the lord of the dark land of Mordor, and it had the power to rule the whole of Middle-Earth. For hundreds of years, the power of the Ring weakened the lands of Gondor, Rohan and Anorien, until they were almost defeated. But in a last effort, the people of Middle-Earth who opposed Sauron formed a joint army, lead by Isildur, the king of Gondor. They fought against the forces of Mordor bravely, but they could not win against the powerful Ring. As the battle drew to an end, even Isildur collapsed, and Sauron himself prepared to deal the blow that would kill the King. But then, something remarkable happened; Isildur swung his sword one more time, and he cut off Sauron's hand, which bore the Ring, causing his blade to shatter. And in that instance, Sauron disappeared, and his armies fled not to be seen again for a long time.

Isildur picked up the ring, and was surprised that it was white-hot, and had markings around the sides of it. In fact, they were words, and read as follows: 'One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them'. The ring slowly cooled, and the markings faded. Isildur kept the Ring, but it had a mind of its own, and Isildur soon died, and the Ring vanished, not to be heard of again for a thousand years....

When Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire, feels that he is getting old, he retires to Rivendell, where he remains with the Elves, and leaves most of his possessions to Frodo, his nephew. These include an old ring of plain gold, brought back from his travels. But the wizard Gandalf fears that the Ring, which, if worn gives the bearer the power to vanish, might be more than just an old trick, and indeed, it turns out to be the legendary One Ring. And as if that wasn't enough, Frodo finds out that if Sauron gets the Ring, he will return to full power. Along with fellow hobbits Sam, Pippin and Merry, Frodo travels to Rivendell to learn what to do next.

The only way to hinder Sauron from getting the ring is to destroy it, but the only way to destroy it is by throwing it into the fires on Mount Doom, where it was created. But Mount Doom is in Mordor, and so Frodo sets off, accompanied by Sam, Pippin, Merry, Gandalf, Aragorn (a Ranger from the north), Gimli (a dwarf), Legolas (an elf) and Boromir (the son of the steward of Gondor). But in doing so, they encounter many dangers, like Wraiths, Goblins, Orcs and a Balrog, a demon of Fire....

The first in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

[ Favourite quote ] "I will take the ring," said Frodo, "though I do not know the way."

[ book info ] Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship of the Ring. (Book language: English)