"A triumph of Western literature."

"A watershed in the timeline of fantasy fiction."

"Will set the standard for all works of its kind throughout history."

All the above are words which have NOT been used to describe "Bored of the Rings", the infamous parody written by the Harvard Lampoon which not only had the temerity to satirize one of the most revered and seminal works in the entire history of fantasy fiction, but also the ability to do so with remarkable skill and economy. Weighing in at only 160 pages, it manages to do an admirable job in touching on many of the major plot points in Tolkien's 1200+ page "Lord of the Rings", all the while, cramming more jokes per page than you're liable to find in any other book of its kind--indeed, than in any other book that's ever been written. It's cover to cover funny, even if much of the humor contained within it is dated, containing political and cultural references (to hippies, to Harold Stassen, and to various product names ), which are contemporary to the year it was published, (1969. ) Despite this, time has not dulled the edge of its rapier wit. There's still plenty of things in this book that modern Tolkien, fantasy, and folklore fans will appreciate and laugh at. Hard.

Here is a scan of the copy of the book I own, which happens to be a first printing of the first edition. That papery thing with the numbers on it that you see floating above and to the left of the flying Nozdrul is not a part of the design. It's the original price tag...($1.95.)

Now there are those of you out there that may think (or might have heard) that BOTR is a savaging of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but I want to personally assure you that nothing can be further than the truth. The very first thing that comes across while reading this book is that the authors are fans of Tolkien. That they've read his works several times and have developed a fond feeling towards them. Indeed, it would take a devotion of truly Geekian proportions to be able to write a parody that is this dead-on with all its little satirical jabs and in-jokes. No matter how irreverent the authors may get, no one can say that they don't have a deep respect for their source material.

The second thing that comes across while reading this book is that the authors are certifiably insane. And that this work is ultimately and unutterably, a cheap attempt to cash in on the whole Tolkien phenomenon, a fact which the authors Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney themselves admitted to in an official statement printed on the back of the first edition of the book:

A STATEMENT FROM THE AUTHORS ABOUT THIS LAMPOON EDITION

"This paperback edition, and no other, has been published solely for the purpose of making a few fast bucks. Those who approve of courtesy to a certain author will not touch this gobbler with a ten foot battle lance."

So now you know pretty much what the book is all about, and if you've a desire to learn more, feel free to peruse the contents of this webshrine, where you'll find an excerpts section, a fanart section and various and sundry other BOTR-related bric-a-brac. You'll even find a section which tells you where to buy this book if, heaven help you, you should feel inclined to do so.

If you don't wish to stay here and see what this webshrine has to offer, I've provided an escape hatch in the form of this link, which will take you to the main splashpage of my website collective. Yes, it's a move designed purely for the sake of shameless self-promotion on my part, but one which I feel is truly in keeping with the shamelessly self-promoting spirit of the Bored of the Rings novel itself.

Click the above ring to return to the BOTR Main Page