The Roadkill of Middle Earth [Hardcover]

John Carnell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2001

A humourous send-up of J.R.R Tolkien's classic fantasy characters, in the same vein as Terry Jones and Brian Froud's Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Journal and Bored of the Rings (Ballantine). It rumbles through the meadows and back roads of Middle Earth, flattening anything, and anyone, unlucky enough to cross its path. No one is safe, be they wizard, dragon or Hobbit, and no one can stop this engine of destruction as it tears across the countryside. Is it a monster? A wild beast? Or just some trucker who took the wrong exit from the New Jersey Turnpike? Well, if the title The Roadkill of Middle Earth isn't enough of a clue, author John Carnell will provide all the necessary information in this loving parody of Tolkien.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Carnell is the bestselling writer of the graphic novel adaptations of three of the four books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy: the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Life, the Universe and Everything

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: I Books (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743434676
• ISBN-13: 978-0743434676
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,368,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty funny, November 28, 2001

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Roadkill of Middle Earth (Hardcover)

I hated Bored by the Ring and was anticipating a good spoof of LOTR, one of the best-beloved books in history. This book is far more original and entertaining, thouhg some parts of it fall a little flat.

In the land of Middle Terra Firma (to avoid copyright infringements I imagine *wink*) "only the very wise and very foolish dared travel the black highway [...] that along this highway a mighty dragon called Smof plied its evil trade." (Opposite page, an enormous eighteen-wheeler with teeth and flames is about to mow down a wizard, Randolf Shortshanks, who "had long since swapped sorcery for saucery") Smog is driven by the Dark Rider (think a Black Rider with a roadmap) and mows down anything in front of it.

But from the Shyer come the Halfwits (ha!) and a team is sent out to save... whatever: A wizard, a dwarf, four Halfwits, an Elf and a Warrior were chosen. "Badly were they equipped, for there was a mighty shortage of useful things like magic cloaks and broken swords..."

Footnoted more heavily than a Terry Pratchett book, this book has a lot of wit and cuteness. It's far more effective than the dated, we-wanna-shock-you "Bored of the Ring". Names like "Borrownomore" and "Halfwits" are hilarious!

The problems? Well, some of the pages fall flat; I also was a bit surprised that after several prose-y pages, we get the ending in poetry. And the numerous illustrations are not the best that one could have hoped for. They would have fit better in a humorous children's book -- realistic caricatures would have worked better for this book, like the hilarious cover. It's also quite short.

It's hardly flawless. Nevertheless, if you're a Tolkien fan you may want to pick up this cute little book and get some honest laughs.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this book!, April 25, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Roadkill of Middle Earth (Hardcover)

Middle Terra Firma is a land of wizards and warriors, and elves and furry-footed Halfwits. And one day death comes to Middle Terra Firma in the form of a semi named Smog, whose mission seems to be nothing but flattening anyone who crosses his path. A wizard, a dwarf, four Halfwits, a prince, an elf and a warrior set out to battle the Lord of the Tower of Tarmac-adoum, but their incompetence may just be their downfall.

This 62-page book is arranged in the form of one page containing a small amount of text to one page of mediocre illustration. The story is haphazard and disjointed, with no real beginning and no real end. Being a fan of Bored of the Rings, I was expecting more of this book than I got. It's not a graphic novel, just a book with lots of illustrations, but they are neither well drawn nor particularly humorous. (The one on the cover is the only decent one.) What little humor there is is in the form of someone getting run over, but as you might expect, this begins to pall very quickly.

Looking for a funny parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings? Look elsewhere! I bought this book, and am very sorry that I wasted my money. Don't buy this book!