Category Archives: Books

The Last Ringbearer – Final Thoughts

Yesterday I finished the massive apocryphal novel The Last Ringbearer  which retells the War of the Ring with the premise that everything you learned from The Lord of the Rings  is  the victor’s propaganda.

Man, I really enjoyed this book!

To the terror of many a Tolkien purist I enjoyed this book much more than I enjoyed The Lord of the Rings.While to book is not without it’s flaws, towards the middle the plot becomes quite tangled with a vast cast of characters working on wildly different agenda. In its themes, the love of reason and science over magi and superstition, it’s commitment to competence over heredity and lineage, and it’s steadfastness to the reality that wars make monsters of us all, this tale spoke to me and many of my core philosophies. Written by Kirill Eskov a Russian scientist who started with his dissatisfaction at Tolkien’s geography and geology he explored his own world building albeit via revisionist version of Tolkien’s grand construction. I found Eskov’s interpretation of the likely type of interaction between immortal Elves and mortal men much more ‘realistic’ than Tolkien’s smug and wise benefactors. It was quite amusing that in many ways the author painted the Elves, their methods, and their motives much like the Communists that rule the USSR.

Depending on how deeply beloved The Lord of the Rings  is to you will be the principal factor in how much you may enjoy this novel. There are those, and I an no way disparage these people, who adore tales of the ‘chosen ones’ like Aragorn who is who is destined to be out unquestioned ruler by right of birth, or who despise the reveal of Rey’s parentage in The Last Jedi  because she comes from no noble bloodline but I find such ideology    at odds with my passion for equality and that brings The Last Ringbearermuch more inline with my commitment that all persons can be great or greatly evil and that the heroes and villains lie within us all.

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The Last Ringbearer

Upon my sweetie-wife’s recommendation I have begun reading The Last Ringbearer. A 1999 fantasy novel the central conceit of the book is that because history is always written by the victors to make the victors look good that events of The Lord of the Rings  as told in that set of books is quite untrue. The Last Ringbearer skims over the events of the war of the ring, providing context and removing Elvish propaganda and then commences with the heroic struggles to avert the coming domination of the world by the unearthly elves.

Yes, if you are a lover of elves then this book is very far removed from what you are likely to enjoy. Also if you secretly dream of being a wizard then this too is not a book for you, nor if you long for the strong hand of a king, born to rule over you with his divine right. This book is truly for those who love freedom, the freedom of thought, the freedom to live without bending the knee to supernatural and un-chosen rulers, and most of all, the book if those who love science.

Told from the point of view of a Human and Orc who have escaped the destruction of Mordor’s armies and then joined by a lord of Gondor disgusted by the war crimes of the elves, they embark on a quest that will removed magic from the world and allow the learning and science of men to flourish.

I haven’t yet finished the novel and it may fall apart by the time I do but for the moment I am thoroughly loving this ride. As heretical as this statement may be for someone who has played Dungeons and Dragons  for more than 30 years, I like The Last Ringbearer  much more than I like The Lord of the Rings.

Unauthorized in the English language world, and I do not begrudge the Tolkien estate in protecting their intellectual property, The Last Ringbearer  is available as a free download from numerous sites and best thought of as professionally executive fan fiction.

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