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Bored of the Rings: A Parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings [Paperback]

Harvard Lampoon , Henry Beard , Douglas C. Kenney
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (261 customer reviews)


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Book Description

July 1, 1993
A quest, a war, a ring that would be grounds for calling any wedding off, a king without a kingdom, and a little, furry "hero" named Frito, ready - or maybe just forced by the wizard of Goodgulf - to undertake the one mission which can save Lower Middle Earth from enslavement by the evil Sorhed...Luscious Elfmaidens, a roller-skating dragon, ugly plants that can soul-kiss the unwary to death - these are just some of the ingredients in the wildest, wackiest, most irreverent excursion into fantasy realms that anyone has ever dared to undertake.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written in the gloaming of their college days, just before they started National Lampoon, Douglas C. Kenney and Henry N. Beard wrote Bored of the Rings. It's dated--references to Nixon, drugs, and consumer products circa 1969 crowd every page--but darn it, Bored of the Rings is still funny nearly 30 years later: "'Goodbye, Dildo,' Frito said, stifling a sob. 'I wish you were coming with us.'

'Ah, yes. But I'm too old for that sort of thing now,' said the old boggie, feigning a state of total quadriplegia. 'Anyway, I have a few small gifts for you,' and he produced a lumpy parcel, which Frito opened somewhat unenthusiastically in view of Dildo's previous going-away present [the ring]. But the package only contained a short, Revereware sword, a bulletproof vest full of moth holes, and several well-thumbed novellas with titles like Elf Lust and Goblin Girl..."

Place yourself in the hands of these professional humorists: you won't be disappointed.

About the Author

The Harvard Lampoon was essentially Douglas Kenney and Henry Beard. They wrote BORED OF THE RINGS when they were students at Harvard. They then went on to form tTHE NATIONAL LAMPOON, a satirical institution in the '70s. Kenney died in 1980. Beard lives in the Hamptons in the USA. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Roc Trade; 51 Anv edition (July 1, 1993)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0451452615
  • ISBN-13: 978-0451452610
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (261 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Humble Servant  |  43 reviewers made a similar statement
The writing here is extremely clever and the satire is wickedly effective. Brian Libby  |  21 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 48 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 4 stars if you were born after 1970 September 2, 1999
Format:Paperback
It was in order to read and enjoy this book that I first read "The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. One of my high school buddies, now a struggling author, was tossed out of English class for laughing out loud while reading this book during class. I read it in 1974, and remember laughing out loud frequently. [Unfortunately, LOTR and BOTR led to the Dungeons and Dragons(tm) role playing games, which cost me points off my GPA in college. ] Here it is, 25 years later, and rereading this book made me chuckle with delight. My kids want to read whatever it was that made Daddy laugh, so I have promised them that when they have finished Tolkein's books, which are good, clean heroic fantasy based on a variety of Western Literary archetypes, that they can read this short and humorous spoof.

The book has not aged as well as it might have, since it has many pop culture references from the late 1960's/early 1970's. Back then, drugs were "cool," writing dirty passages was a daring/shocking assault on the perceived prudery of American society, the anti-establishment theme was still a vibrant part of American culture, and National Lampoon was becoming a very funny (albeit sohpomoric) magazine. Cultural norms change, and some contextual humor will be lost to the current generation. All that notwithstanding, BOTR is a great spoof of LOTR and an integral part of any Tolkein collection.

For those of you offended by a spoof of JRR Tolkein's trilogy, including the indignant 8th grader, I challenge you to write a parody of the LOTR for Generation X. You will find that it takes great love for a work to spoof it successfully. Example: Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail movie, a spoof of the most beloved legendary figure of English culture. I suspect there are a lot of sharp wits out there who could equal, or even better, the original spoof and in so doing make a whole new generation laugh without losing their affection for the LOTR. I for one would love to see a Generation X spoof of Lord of the Rings.

Laughter is good for you. . . so read this book.

Was this review helpful to you?
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Despite a background in literature I actually remember very few lines of verse, but amongst those committed to memory are the lines: "We Boggies are a merry folk/who like to eat until we choke/loving all like friend and brother/and hardly ever eat each other" (which is followed up a chorus that repeats the word "gobble" a whole bunch of times). "Bored of the Rings," the Harvard Lampoon parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," was written by Douglas C. Kenney and Henry N. Beard at the end of the Sixties, right before they went off into the real world to found "The National Lampoon" and at a time when the Trilogy was required reading for fans of fantasy.

Of course, it goes without saying that much of what you will find in here will be grossly offensive and that if you are not well versed in Tolkien's Trilogy then the story of the ring that was given by Dildo Bugger to his nephew Frito, who then embarked with his servant Spam, his friends Moxie and Pepsi, Goodgulf Grayteeth the wizard, Stomper the ranger (a.k.a. Arrowroot of Arrowshirt), Bromosel, Gimlet the dwarf and Legolam the elf across Lower Middle Earth to the dark land of Fordor is not going to make much sense. For that matter you had better be well versed in the drug culture of the Sixties and the political machinations of Richard Nixon to get all of the references (I just realized: we need an annotated edition of "Bored of the Rings"). Even if you have seen the movies and recognize the lady Hashberry, you still need to have read the books to know who Tom Benzedrine is in the grand scheme of things.

My favorite scene are when the Ballhog shows up and when Goddam and the ring meet their final fate. This is a lengthy parody, necessitated by the size of the work that inspired this insanity. Despite the low-brown humor involved with the playful names, there is some college level sophistication to the parody as well. However, if you consider Tolkien to be sacred text, then do not go anywhere near "Bored of the Rings" because you will be grossly offended (and probably several other types of offended as well). I will still maintain that the wicked sense of humor here is inspired by an affection for Tolkien's work, but understand that there will be those who dismiss that idea.
Was this review helpful to you?
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I remember very few lines of verse, but amongst those committed to memory are the lines: "We Boggies are a merry folk/who like to eat until we choke/loving all like friend and brother/and hardly ever eat each other" (which is followed up a chorus that repeats the word "gobble" a whole bunch of times). "Bored of the Rings," the Harvard Lampoon parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," was written by Douglas C. Kenney and Henry N. Beard at the end of the Sixties, right before they went off into the real world to found "The National Lampoon" and at a time when the Trilogy was required reading for fans of fantasy.

Of course, it goes without saying that much of what you will find in here will be grossly offensive and that if you are not well versed in Tolkien's Trilogy then the story of the ring that was given by Dildo Bugger to his nephew Frito, who then embarked with his servant Spam, his friends Moxie and Pepsi, Goodgulf Grayteeth the wizard, Stomper the ranger (a.k.a. Arrowroot of Arrowshirt), Bromosel, Gimlet the dwarf and Legolam the elf across Lower Middle Earth to the dark land of Fordor is not going to make much sense. For that matter you had better be well versed in the drug culture of the Sixties and the political machinations of Richard Nixon to get all of the references (I just realized: we need an annotated edition of "Bored of the Rings"). Even if you have seen the movies and recognize the lady Hashberry, you still need to have read the books to know who Tom Benzedrine is in the grand scheme of things.

My favorite scene are when the Ballhog shows up and when Goddam and the ring meet their final fate. This is a lengthy parody, necessitated by the size of the work that inspired this insanity. Despite the low-brown humor involved with the playful names, there is some college level sophistication to the parody as well. However, if you consider Tolkien to be sacred text, then do not go anywhere near "Bored of the Rings" because you will be grossly offended (and probably several other types of offended as well). I will still maintain that the wicked sense of humor here is inspired by an affection for Tolkien's work, but understand that there will be those who dismiss that idea.

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Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny
I thought this book was hilarious. People take Lord of the Rings way too seriously. I loved the original, too, but give me a break those that seemed so offended by this.
Published 1 month ago by KWun
2.0 out of 5 stars bored
This parody gets old fast. After the first ten pages you get the ideal and the jokes are stale. Blah
Published 1 month ago by tom boswell
5.0 out of 5 stars Not for those not born to the 60s and 70s
An excellent parody of Tolkien. But you will not understand most of the terms if you don't know the era - not that you needed to have been a druggie, but you would have heard the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Heck
5.0 out of 5 stars Standard Harvard Lampoon Buffoonery
If you like the sophomoric humor of Harvard Lampoon, you'll love this satire on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Read more
Published 2 months ago by BD King
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny book
I purchased this for my daughter and she liked it. She enjoys writing parodies and as a LOTR fan I thought she would enjoy a laugh. Seller is easy to work with, very pleasant.
Published 2 months ago by Sharon Settlemyre
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for Tolkien fans
Still holds up as one of the best and funniest satires on Tolkien around. Irreverent and hilarious, nothing is spared in this clever romp through the Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy.
Published 2 months ago by Robert L. Sheremeta
5.0 out of 5 stars My original went AWOL.
I have been trying to locate a reasonably priced copy of this book for years - literally! Finally, after 43 years, they have reprinted it!!! Read more
Published 2 months ago by W. Abraham
2.0 out of 5 stars Bored of the book...
I was expecting so much more from the Harvard Lampoon- "Nightlight" and "The Hunger Pains" were both rolling-on-the-floor hysterical. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Monique Summerfield
5.0 out of 5 stars And Frito tunred into a carrot....
I loved this book the first time I read it. I bought it for my son for Christmas. I could hear him reading the book in his room- he was howling a perfect hristmas gift- he... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Vincent P Tescione
4.0 out of 5 stars A shamed to admit
Read this thirty years ago. Cracked me up then and cracked me up now. Good stuff.
Four more words required.
Published 3 months ago by Mn
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