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Apr 12, 2009

Manny rated it:

Unsubtle, gross, stupid, mechanical, but quite often funny. My favorite line, which I often quote when hungry:

"This better be food, 'cause I'm gonna eat it"

And I liked Deus Ex Machina Airlines too. And the introduction. And the Council of Elrond, where Frito suggests just dropping the Ring down a storm drain, or pawning it and losing the ticket.

OK, OK, I admit it - there is a lot of amusing material.

10 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 12, 2008

Jen rated it:

Tolkien's works were sacred and beloved in my family when I was growing up, and this Harvard Lampoon lampoon of the trilogy was outright HERESY--*hilarious* heresy, that is.

The Harvard Lampoon was the late 1960s precursor to National Lampoon (of "Animal House", "Vacation" and "Van Wilder" fame). Those boys at Harvard turned over every character, rock, and tree in Tolkien's universe, and exposed their lewd, gross, and satiric underbellies. Really, it's a More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2007

Thomas rated it:

A thorough sendup of Tolkien's classic trilogy. Character names alone will crack you up. (After awhile you'll struggle to recall the real ones.) But I really enjoyed the points when the writing logic became childishly simple: "It started to rain, and they all caught colds." Still makes me laugh.

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2008

Chris rated it:

Ahhhh.... the sweet, sweet scent of true comedy.

The first time I read this, I nearly soiled myself laughing. As with all comedy, repetition kind of diminishes the effect, but there are still laughs to be had. Just from the beginning, when Dildo Bugger throws a party for the gluttonous freeloaders of the Sty, and the foists his Magic Ring off on his hapless nephew Frito, you know things can only go wacky.

The folks at Harvard Lampoon did a brilliant job here, warping the ch More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2007

Rob rated it:

Perhaps my all-time favorite work of satire. Frito Bugger, a boggie from the Sty, is charged by his uncle Dildo and Goodgulf Greyteeth, a stage magician, to sneak the Ring of Power beyond the clutches of the Dark Lord Sorhed and the evil wizard Serutan and to destroy it in the hellish Zazu Pits of Fordor. This tale offers plenty of belly laughs for Tolkien aficionados and neophytes alike. Every beloved character of the Fellowship is reduced to a grotesque caricature who nevertheless gains the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 06, 2009

bookczuk rated it:

Clever, but probably more fun if you actually really liked the original books. I must confess, that while I liked The Hobbit, I got a little fed up with the actual Ring books- Frodo was always saying "I know what I must do". I think the subtitle should have been "Seven guys take a long hike". The movies, though, did capture me. I think that tolkien was just a little too verbose for my tastes at times. Oh well.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Josi added it

'Bored of the Rings' quite honestly does have its funny moments. It's evident that the writers do indeed know how to write amusing satire. Unfortunately, true to their foreword, they don't bother proceeding thusly much beyond the first chapter, and even that is pushing it. Classic moments like Spam pocketing Frito's mithril-coated spoons are far outnumbered by rather crude brown--and occasionally, sexual--humour. Because why bother writing a *good* parody, when you can fill a few pages with chea More...

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Feb 26, 2011

Mike rated it:

I almost gave this book a 5, and I may yet go back and alter the start count before completing this review. It's definitely worth at least a "4.5".

I first read this book when loaned a copy by a high school friend. Yes, I had read "The Hobbit" and the three volumes of "The Lord of The Rings" before picking up this slim, but powerful volume. As soon as I read it, I ordered two (yes, two) copies of the book from a long-since gone bookstore. Since that day More...

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Jun 30, 2007

Ha·t'ej rated it:

I read this a million years ago and in actual fact it may not be all that good, but it alternatively entertained and freaked me out so...yeah, I'd recommend it. The scene where the 9 are unable to cross the bridge into the equivalent of Rivendell because they haven't got the toll fare is pretty hilarious...or was when I was like 15. Maybe still is.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 20, 2011

Joseph rated it:

I was first introduced to this book in the early seventies, at the age of 11 or 12, by my Mom. She was reading it and laughing outloud. In the beginning, I mostly remember laughing at the fart and other bodily function jokes. After I managed to romp through the Lord of the Rings a few years later, and I knew the original story, I grew to love the parody even more. It's only gotten better as I learned more history and American culture. What 12 year old knows who Eugene McCarthy was? Through More...

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Dec 26, 2008

Charles rated it:

I have an earlier edition. I thought it was profoundly boring.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2008

Ed rated it:

Funny, but uses very similar jokes throughout the book. I've been told that this was a must read for Lord of the Rings fans, not necessarily the case.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 14, 2008

David rated it:

This is, by FAR, the WORST attempt at cheap satyr I've ever even heard of. Two words best describe how terrible this book is:

Dildo Buggins.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 20, 2009

Gary rated it:

In a conversation last night I was reminded that I read this book many, many years ago, during my adolescent "Mad Magazine" phase. I'm not sure I would recommend it now, and I feel somewhat ashamed to admit that I liked it. But it is pretty funny in a Harvard Lampoon kind of way. If you choose to read it, be forewarned. (It's full of all kinds of naughtiness.) By the way, did anyone actually subscribe to Mad Magazine? It seemed like these were just around (at friend's houses or at the More...

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Jan 05, 2011

Suna rated it:

The thing to do is not read this in one go: You get worn down by the puerile jokes.

Don't get me wrong, puerile jokes are great, they are big and they are clever; in this book they are interspersed with clever clever Latin puns, philosophical references, mild social commentary and silly sex jokes, but I found myself becoming slightly desensitized to them after a while.

So, leave it next to the toilet, read a page or two for the odd snort and grin and all will be well.

More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2008

Robert rated it:

The Harvard Lampoon, Bored of the Rings (Signet, 1969)

With the recent release of the first film in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkein, it seemed like the perfect time to give Bored of the Rings a re-read. The Harvard Lampoon folks turn their attention to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and send it up with their usual blend of dead fish, toilet humor, Wizard air fresheners, third-grade satire, and fat, cheap cigars.

No doubt legions of Tolkein fans are offended by this book's More...

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Jan 02, 2012

Carl rated it:

Juvenile, silly, ribald, and witty, this parody of "Lord of the Rings" hits the proper tone of loving mockery that prevents it from being total sacrilege to Tolkien fans. Though many cultural references are dated, the authors capture Tolkien's cadence and style accurately. There are a multitude of funny lines done in a serious manner. It's a quick, fun read capable of inspiring both knowing chuckles and eye-rolling vehemence from those who love the Tolkien classics.

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Jun 26, 2010

Steven rated it:

I first read this when I was a sophomore in high school and thought it was the most hilarious thing I had ever read. But I was a VERY naive sophomore and all of the raunchy sexual humor went completely over my head. When I picked it up again in college, I was appalled and disgusted.

What a pity that such genuine genius for humor and parody had to be so contaminated.

I would not recommend this book.

0 comments like

Nov 09, 2011

Rich rated it:

This is one of the single funniest books I've ever read! I originally read it while I was a freshman in high school and it was literally the first book I'd ever read that I was belly-laughing uncontrollably while I was reading it (and mind you, belly-laughing for me, even back then, was not a safe thing to be around). As a parody, as a satire and as a simply funny story, this book has had more influence on letting me grow my own peculiar sense of humor than almost anything else I've ever read or More...

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Apr 06, 2011

Blah rated it:

I've read this book more times than I care to say. It doesn't seem to hold up to re-reading, or perhaps it's funnier to the adolescent mind than to my nearly post-sophomoric 37 year-old sensibilities.

I do recall thinking it was a riot of a read when I was younger though! There are some real laugh-out-loud moments, but not as many as I had recalled.

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Apr 06, 2011

Brett rated it:

I've read this book more times than I care to say. It doesn't seem to hold up to re-reading, or perhaps it's funnier to the adolescent mind than to my nearly post-sophomoric 37 year-old sensibilities.

I do recall thinking it was a riot of a read when I was younger though! There are some real laugh-out-loud moments, but not as many as I had recalled.

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Jan 15, 2012

Deborah rated it:

It's a parody/spoof; if you don't like Mad magazine or anything by National Lampoon -- don't read it. There are some really funny moments. I am a huge Lord of The Ring fan and suggest reading it in spurts versus wading in to read as a novel and getting numbed to all the humor. Then again, at time I first read, I had friends that seriously were offended because LOTR was such a holy grail for them that this book was almost sacreligious. I suspect Tolkien would get it.

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Apr 11, 2011

Brittany rated it:

For a parody novel this one was actually pretty good and super funny. I'm a fan of LOTR and I could even laugh at it. Now could I say that for every fan, no but its worth the try of reading. It has flaws I will say that but still gives a good laugh for a 160 page book full of jokes of all kinds and has this strange concotion of "Thats funny" moments to "What The Hell" moments.

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Aug 03, 2011

Steve rated it:

As somebody that thinks that Lord of the Rings is an overrated pile of cods-wallop I thought I would really enjoy a book that poked fun at it: wrong. There are a few things that I have enjoyed less than reading this book - amoebic dysentery combined with a cough, root canal work at the dentist and a good hefty kick in the bollocks, for example - but it is a close run thing. In short, this book is a dot above the 'i' in the word shit!

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Jan 08, 2010

Maya rated it:

This book is pretty much a parody of The Lord Of The Rings. Frito and his faithful friend Spam travel far and wide to destroy The Ring. They run in to some hippies who give them "magic beans" that's my favorite part. They travel to destroy the horrible ring that is constantly bringing Frito constapation. In the end they use the Golem parody as ballast to weigh the ring down.

This book is so purely odd that I don't think they have any problems at all. However I would have to More...

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Sep 29, 2011

Prospero rated it:

This is the absolute height of wit when you're seventeen. I remember reading passages aloud to friends and all of us laughing so hard that we hurt. Many, many years later and it's still amusing but not nearly as droll. If you're able to channel your inner pimply faced adolescent while reading this, you too will be ROTFLYAO.

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Aug 26, 2008

Justin rated it:

Bored Of The Rings is hilarious. I read this maybe eighteen or nineteen years ago and I’ve been carting it around with me ever since. I’m glad I did and I’m glad I decided to read it again. You don’t necessarily have to be a Tolkien geek to appreciate the humor, though a familiarity with The Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy is more or less mandatory. I think the fact that this book was published in 1969 means some of the references and in jokes are lost on us Generation X-ers and you More...

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Nov 12, 2009

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

Okay first, I love the Lord of the Rings.

Now, I enjoyed this book, mostly for it's witthy humor which unfortunatly is often buried amid a lot of off color strained attempts at humor. Still I give it a 3 as it will give you some genuine laughs especially if you are familiar with the trilogy.

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Jun 23, 2008

Katie rated it:

This book absolutely skewers Tolkein perfectly; it's even too long, while the original is too short. So why do I love it, when I treat the original like my Bible? Aside from the fact that it makes me laugh till I drool, even after all these years, I don't know. Because unlike most parodies, it's artful and lighthanded? Because the people are like little mirror-image character studies of Tolkein's? Because it even has poetry that parodies Tolkein's? Or just because of the long list of nasti More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 03, 2009

Doug rated it:

This book changed the course of my writing life (which never really got off the ground...but that's another story.) It is incredibly silly, though significantly more crude that I can palate in my old age. Is a wonderful parody. I just wish it wasn't so full of crap.

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