Lord of the Rings - Millennium Collection

For the first time, The Lord of the Rings is presented as a boxed set of seven hardcover volumes, one for each of its six parts plus a seventh volume containing maps and the appendices. Bound in black covers with the distinctive Eye of Sauron design from the original jackets embossed in red and gold foil on each volume. Each book bears Tolkien's originally conceived title -- The Ring Sets Out, The Ring Goes South, The Treason at Isengard, The Ring Goes East, The War of the Ring, The End of the Third Age -- and has been specially typeset for this edition.

Adventures often begin inauspiciously. Robinson Crusoe was on his way to make a bunch of money when he was shipwrecked and abandoned; Lemuel Gulliver was traveling when he wound up on the shores of Lilliput; and Frodo Baggins was enjoying his coming-of-age birthday party when he was dragged into the War of the Ring as Sauron sought the Ring he'd lost.

Tolkien's love of rural England pervades his masterwork. We tend to remember the adventurous parts, but even when Frodo and Sam are stranded on the side of Mount Doom it's gardens and rivers and the Shire that Sam remembers, not swords and fire and goblins. The earthy origins of Frodo's adventures actually set, rather than belie, the tone of these novels.

TheLord of the Ringsmovies give the impression that these are just action-packed fantasy tales. Those elements are present, but Tolkien never glorifies war, and he never loses sight of the fact that we experience hardship, not because there's inherent value in it, but in order topreserve and valuethe quiet country life.

These are excellent adventure stories, of course. Attacks from the Black Riders, the Battle of Helm's Deep, and Frodo and Sam's journey inside Mordor are pure literary adrenaline. And, far from being a tacked-on sequence of small importance, the Scouring of the Shire is both glorious and sad, the perfect ending to a story about the love and preservation of good things.

Readers often ignore or miss entirely the Christian elements of the story. But given the fact that Tolkien was responsible for first bringing critical attention toBeowulf, particularly its Christian elements, and the fact that his essayOn Fairy Storieswas a defense of the Christian imagination, it seems necessary to recognize the Christian symbolism inThe Lord of the Rings.

It's not too much to say that everyone should read these books. Whether you're looking for a rousing fantasy adventure, an homage to courage and nobility, or simply a very good book,The Lord of the Ringsis appropriate. The fight of good against evil has nowhere been so well portrayed, and the reason we fight for goodness has never been so lovingly demonstrated.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviewshere.