Rw’s Reviews > Understanding Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings > Status Update

The author does a very good job of providing background on Tolkien's life, motivations, times and peers. Mr. Ready over-intellectizes every character and scene in the books. I know that the series was more than a fairytale, but Ready has taken all the fun out of the story. I'm glad I didn't read this book before I read the Trilogy. Ready's book reads like a Ph.D. thesis that has been published in book form.

Although the author gives us a fairly good background of Tolkien's life, peers and motivations, I think Mr. Ready has taken all of the fun out of the Lord of the Rings for me. Yes, the books are more than a very long fairy tale, but Ready over-intelectualizes every scene and character in the story.

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