Bored of the Rings by The Harvard Lampoon

Still, I am sure that many will love this book, both those who are Tolkien fans and others who enjoy a good parody. I choose not to recount much of the narrative, as the book seems to have continued on that fantasy-based adventure and did not modernise it enough for me to have a strong handle on things. As this (thankfully) short quest continues, fans of the original series will find parallels and new differences to make them laugh, though I suspect that a dislike of the foundational books left me rolling my eyes and injecting only the odd snicker at some one-liners. Lower Middle-Earth is in danger of being enslaved by Sorhed, though Frito has been handed a less than flashy ring to help protect him.

Along the way, they encounter numerous heroes and villains, all of whom possess monikers of present-day items or concepts and whose bumbling presents a true Hobbit-esque adventure. The story centres around Dildo (how poignant a name) and his nephew, Frito, who are sent on a mission by the illustrious wizard, Goodgulf. With that, I entered the world of Lower Middle-Earth. Beard and Kenney open with the admission that they are not trying to fill the shoes that Tolkien left, but prefer to write something satirical for their own amusement. So, in choosing this parody, I hoped to open my eyes up and be able to laugh at some of the silliness of the highly-successful three box set that it seems everyone has read and enjoyed. I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy with gritted teeth when asked to do so by someone and found myself celebrating the end. Please, gasp now and shun me as you go to fetch all the rotten eggs and tomatoes you can carry. I will be the first to admit, Tolkien is not for me. Turning to this piece by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney, I felt that I might be in good hands. Not one to turn to the classics, I wanted to select a novel that may accentuate a book I read and did not entirely enjoy, while also not choose a parody that had been flogged to death. In selecting a literary parody for a recent book challenge, I found myself struggling a great deal.

Bored of the Rings by The Harvard Lampoon