- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; Hardback (Latest Edition) edition (20 Jan 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575099593
- ISBN-13: 978-0575099593
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 11.4 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 457,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
First published in 1969, Bored of the Rings quickly became a cult book for its relentless, slapstick pastiche of The Lord of the Rings. Gollancz's 2001 edition marks the first appearance in Britain and in hardback.
Authors Beard and Kenny carry irreverence cheerfully beyond the borders of good taste. For some, it's a hilarious antidote to uncritical worship of Tolkien. For others, it's outright blasphemy. You choose...
Here's the formula. Take the rough plot of The Lord of the Rings. Give everyone daft names: Bilbo Baggins becomes Dildo Bugger, Sauron is Sorhed, and the hobbits Merry, Pippin and Sam are now the boggies Moxie, Pepsi and Spam. Make them all cowardly, dumb, self-serving and/or insane. Cram Middle Earth with droll American brand names, some now rather dated...
Bored of the Rings lurches drunkenly through Tolkien's narrative, scrawling graffiti on noble citadels and firing off gags with such machine-gun speed that something hits the funny bone on almost every page. A warning: "The halberd has fallen! The fewmets have hit the windmill!" A doom-laden prophecy: "Five-eleven's your height, one-ninety your weight, you cash in your chips around page eighty-eight."
Some pokes at the original are quite shrewd. The tiresomely lyrical Tom Bombadil mutates with hideous plausibility into dope freak Tim Benzedrine: "Toke-a-lid! Smoke-a-lid! Pop the mescalino!" Tortuous arguments about the disposal of the Ring are neatly condensed to: "'Alas,' explained Goodgulf." (Guess who?)
Cheap laughs abound despite occasional misfires. Even the map is chuckleworthy. But as the US paperback jacket warned, those who revere Tolkien "will not touch this gobbler with a ten-foot battle-lance". --David Langford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
300,000 copies sold in since 2001!
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First Sentence
When Mr Dildo Bugger of Bug End grudgingly announced his intention of throwing a free feed for all the boggies in his part of the Sty, the reaction in Boggietown was immediate - all through the messy little slum could be heard squeals of 'Swell!' and 'Hot puppies, grub!' Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
When Mr Dildo Bugger of Bug End grudgingly announced his intention of throwing a free feed for all the boggies in his part of the Sty, the reaction in Boggietown was immediate - all through the messy little slum could be heard squeals of 'Swell!' and 'Hot puppies, grub!' Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Need a little break from all the horrid seriousness of the day? Then this marvelously inventive parody should hit just the spot. From the hilarious twisted names of Dildo and Frito Bugger, Goodgulf the wizard, Gimlet the dwarf and Legolam the elf to the equally twisted representations of the Boggies in the Sty and the Riders of Roi-Tan and their merino sheep, to the exacting depiction of college life of the Forward, each page will bring a smile, a chuckle, and an outright belly-laugh.
I read Lord of the Rings when it was first published in paperback in 1965, and like many others fell totally in love with Tolkien's marvelous sense of language and incredibly detailed world building. When Bored of the Rings came out in 1969, I immediately grabbed it, as I grabbed everything else remotely dealing with Middle Earth. My shekels were well spent in this case, and I always remember some of these perverted alternative scenes whenever I re-read the original. This book follows the plot line of the original very closely, boiling down the original 1200 pages to this book's 150 and managing to cover every major scene, which is quite a feat.
Clearly though, as a parody, this book is not a stand-alone. Much of its humor derives from the reader's knowledge of the original. It also helps if you're old enough to remember some of the television commercials of the sixties, as otherwise some of the references in this book will pass over your head. There are also some pokes at certain Presidents, TV series, movies, cultural icons, and the hippie and drug-laced counter-culture of the day.
Like many good things, this book is best devoured in small bites, a few pages a day, stopping before your humor-detector collapses from over-stimulation. A great way to relax for a few minutes at the end of the day.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased the original print of "Bored Of The Rings" from Forbidden Planet in London some 17 years ago. Fans of the Great Work will love it, as will newcomers who have seen the films but not yet read the book. Bored of the Rings is a well-executed genuine parody that stands by itself. While it bases itself on and pokes fun at a similarly named book, it is well-executed and extremely entertaining. Miss this re-print at your peril. PS, Dune fans should check out National Lampoon's "Doon". Fancy a beer?
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is great!! I love Lord of the Rings but this book is just so funny. The name changes in relation to the names in the book are hilarious and there is plenty more inside. Well worth a read!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The antidote to Lord of the Rings.
I read LOTR once a year, then this immediately afterwards.
The book depicts Lower-Middle Earth as a commercialised dump and its inhabitants as having pretty much every... Read more
The book depicts Lower-Middle Earth as a commercialised dump and its inhabitants as having pretty much every... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Desk
Good laugh
If you are a fan of the lord of the rings you will see the funny side of this book! Good laugh.
Published 6 months ago by A. lacey
Yeah, a bit funny but ultimately just silly schoolboy humour
Barcode: 9780575073623
I started reading this around the same time i read the actual Lord of The Rings Trilogy which obviously is pretty essential to 'getting' this book... Read more
I started reading this around the same time i read the actual Lord of The Rings Trilogy which obviously is pretty essential to 'getting' this book... Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2008 by L. Green
Outdated
Firstly, it must be noted that this book was written some forty years ago. Four decades back the expectations of humour were quite different. Read more
Published on 17 May 2007 by Mr. G. Battle
The Original Parody!!!
This is of course, the original parody. Well, that's what I think. This hilarious book spawned many parodies but this is the most funniest. I read this in under a day. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2006 by Bungus Malone
Outrageously funny!
In this outrageous parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, we get to follow the preposterous antics of an unbelievable group of misfits out to unmake a ring, and destroy... Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2005 by Kurt A. Johnson
A dull, tedious little book
I was bought this book as a Christmas present and sincerely wish that my friend had saved his money. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2005 by Me
Not Impressed
This book was profoundly weak. The author tries to create humour in the hackneyed style of introducing one absurdity after another, creating a torrent of utter, meaningless... Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2004 by Chris Kruger
Undeniably Clever
Ive read the books more than once, Ive seen the films. But I was still swept back into the world which nobody can fail to fall in love with. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2004 by aceadrian
Absolutely Bleedin' Marvellous!
As soon as I saw the featureless area of the Bored of the Rings Map labelled "The Flat Mountains", I was hooked! Read more
Published on 26 May 2004 by Cartimand
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