Welcome to the world's foremost site for the most diehard Lord of the Rings fan. Inside you'll find incredible picture galleries in each character profile, details on cast and characters, trailer downloads, trivia, and much more! I have compiled all of this just for you, my fellow LOTR dude. If you just can't get enough Rings stuff, begin your quest by choosing from any one of the characters to the left of the screen, or any one of the links at the top of this page. At any given time you may click on the logo at the top of the screen to return to this screen.
Good luck. And remember: "Faithless is he who bids farewell when the road darkens..." (by Gimli, son of Glóin.)
Preface by webmaster & creator Ryan Graves:
With
the recent releases of the Oscar-winning cinematic treasures from New Line
Cinemas, the hype and interest in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic saga has been
reinvigorated to such a degree that no movie series ever released will likely
match its intensity.
My own interest in The
Lord of the Rings spans decades. I
remember reading The Hobbit first in junior high school and being
intrigued by it. I remember reading its successor shortly thereafter and being
absolutely spellbound. In fact, to
be fair, “successor” is a terrible misnomer, and in fact a grievous
underestimation of the most captivating fictional work of all time.
The Lord of the Rings reached deep down into my heart and catapulted my imagination into the furthest reaches of Middle-Earth. When I was first given the series in 1989 as a Christmas present, I was simply overjoyed. I could never imagine that an annual pleasure of plunging deep into the realm of Tolkien’s genius would become my ritual. Instinctively when winter would set in, I would reach once more for the enthralling trilogy on my bookshelf and immerse myself in it yet again. I remember burying my nose in the creases of the book and inhaling deeply the sweet fragrance of knowledge. There was a strangely pungent aroma permeating those books, and it wasn’t just ink and paper. It was fantasy. It was imagination. It was awe to me.
I would go on to read that epic story every year without fail, and at this writing, I have read the entire trilogy over 100 times. Timeless passages have imprinted themselves in my memory and I often find myself recollecting and employing them in daily life and conversation. When I heard that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinemas were finally producing the entire opus in all its majesty and in, deservedly, three individual films, my heart leapt. “Well, it’s about time,” I thought. And simultaneously I was filled with all kinds of hopes and fears, anticipations and dreads, hoping that the visual deliverance of such a grand oeuvre would prove to meet all of my expectations. My brother will attest that prior to the midnight-screening on the day of the release of the first film, I was drooling. And he will also attest that throughout the length and breadth of the film, my jaw was a permanent fixture on the floor. Even at points where I knew where the story would go, such as when Gandalf plunges down the “bottomless” pit under Khazad-dûm after the fiery Balrog (and to his seeming death below), I was seized with emotion. I knew full well Gandalf would not die, yet I honestly shed tears seeing that dramatic scene brought to life so powerfully. In each successive movie, I was brought to tears at some point, realizing the length and breadth the director went to realize Tolkien’s visions onscreen. I will never forget the most powerful moment of the saga, when Samwise speaks words of hope to Frodo, and then lifts and carries him up the mountainside. I still get chills just thinking about it.
Tolkien’s story, long ago, had wrought such immeasurable havoc on my preconceived notions of the standards of quality literature…I was unprepared at least, and blown away at best, for what rich treasures lay in his writing. From the onset of the story at Bilbo Baggins’ party to Sam’s return to Bag End after the departure at the Grey Havens, it held me so enthralled. It would be impossible for me to sum up how much this entire story means to me: I don’t really know what it is. Has each published book been soaked in a vat of magic? Have the stories been so laced with ingenuity as to inflict the conscience with addictive fervor? There is, indeed, naught, that can adequately explain what this story means to myself and so many million more readers worldwide. For the Tolkien fan, this is sacred. It is drenched with meaning. It is real. It is a tour de force, an awe-inspiring immersion, a belonging to something genuinely nourishing.
There is, actually, nothing “fantasy” about The Lord of the Rings. I found myself believing that it actually existed, somewhere, sometime. I was not so much saturated by its imaginative scope as I was convinced of its literal presence in the pages of history. Gandalf could have been one of my great ancestors, for all I cared: all I wanted was to read it, shake my head in awe, and turn back to page one and start again. And I have done so for many years now. There is nothing else that has even touched the depth of his work, slaved over for several decades with true grit and passion.
If you have in fact never completely read this epic tale, I invite you to separate, at the onset, what you have known about fact and fiction. Imagine for a moment that you could go back through a time portal to the same earthly plain that we live on today. I remain absolutely stalwart in my assertion that if you pinpoint your coordinates and time-plotting correctly, you will set yourself down in Bag End…or at the pinnacle of Orthanc…or by the dark, sad waters of Lake Nurnen in Mordor. You will converse with hobbits, orcs, the Dark Lord, elves and wizards. Your heart will tremble at the doom-doom in the vast caverns of Moria, beat with adrenaline as you fly on the back of Gwaihir the Windlord, and leap with joy at the crowning of Aragorn.
No matter who you are, where you are, what you are…Middle-Earth will hook you - I guarantee it. It hooked me, and I have devoted the recent few years of my life to melding some of Tolkien’s “lost” passages into his original work. (Copies can be found on the "Downloads" page, but please read the remainder of this "disclaimer" here.) Along with this, I have painfully and cautiously integrated my own residential perspective of Middle-Earth in various other passages that I felt belonged. An avid and die-hard “re-“ reader of LOTR will notice and hopefully appreciate them from the get-go. Let me also express from the onset that these added passages of my own are in no way intended as “corrective”, replacement, or stemming from a notion that “he should have done it this way.” On the contrary, Tolkien himself expressed in his forenote that there were some errors that were glossed over (which I have fixed, as per his desire, I’ll wager). Some of these errors were pointed out by his son Christopher Tolkien in his excellent biographical works like The Treason of Isengard and The War of the Ring. Tolkien’s son paid close attention to his father’s notes and painstakingly researched the behind-the-scenes sculpture of LOTR. If there are as many true “ringsgeeks” out there as I believe there to be, most of them will catch the changes rather fluidly. However I am not omnipotent or flawless by any stretch of the imagination; doubtless there will inevitably remain some minor errors that hopefully do not confuse or distract. When I found the unedited text of all three books available online and began this journey, it was, by no means, precision at the outset. I undertook therefore to correct a plethora of errors, but doubtless have not caught every single one.
In terms of additions, they have emanated only from a profound love of this work, in which I deeply desired to be a participant. I desired to take my own little time-travel and join Tolkien at creation. To be part of something so infinitely wondrous was probably never my right: however Tolkien dared me to be daring and to stretch my imagination.
I decided to take him up on that challenge.
It was quite practical, really. For example, there is an invaluable piece of history in the chapter “The Quest of Erebor” (in Tolkien’s book, Unfinished Tales) that involves Gandalf’s summary of events preceding the adventure of Bilbo Baggins that patently factored into the steps leading up to the War of the Ring. I simply incorporated this as a “hindsight is 20-20” perspective in The Return of the King, Chapter VI, “The Designs of Wizardry.” I have found this piece of the grand puzzle to be unavoidable in my assembly. I subsequently could not then subtract Samwise’s storytelling account as recaptured by Christopher Tolkien, from the last chapter of the trilogy, “The Grey Havens.” It remains such a beautiful segment of a continuing story, I restored it after Sam’s return home.
Aside from that, there are narratives which serve as a follow-up to references made at some point earlier in one or another book. I simply hammered out scenes, much, I felt, as Tolkien would have: scenes that compliment and do not distract. Scenes that provide a more rounded picture of the saga and that bring to conclusion prior said references. Faramir’s talk with Frodo after the war of the ring, “laughing at old grief”, and Gandalf’s conversation with Frodo about Gwaihir after the Council of Elrond, are two prime examples of these.
That, in short, is what Tolkien does: he spawns genius. And while my short interjections will fall dreadfully short of Tolkien’s brilliance, they are intended more as a form of partnership in something wonderful. That was my sole aim in this endeavor.
Doubtless, however, there will remain those purists who consider themselves as inexorably allegiant to the original work, and who may dispute my contribution at every turn. For that I commend them, and to them I would say that they are certainly welcome to their opinions, which I must respect. However I can assure whoever picks up this, my collection, that it is because of a mutual appreciation for the sacredness of the original text that I treated this project reverently and carefully. All in all, my compositions represent but a minute fraction in the mammoth amount of beautiful narrative and do not appear to be intrusive, speaking as objectively as possible.
I have also, after weighty consideration, elected not to include the Appendices or the Family Trees in this collection, simply due to the apparent reality that though they are supplemental in nature, they are not a continuation of the flowing river of narrative Tolkien scribed. As for myself, I get lost in the story, not in the supplements. This is entirely my own opinion and will doubtless be subject to criticism, nevertheless, it is the option I have chosen. However, I have preserved the Tale of Years for those who enjoy timelines, which reflect the healthy chronological adherence Tolkien employed in his structure.
I have at diverse times attempted to structure out a continuing story that carries forward the ending of this trilogy. However I have painfully found out that such a project is beyond me. My literary scope and creative prowess, as good I have been told they are, are no match for J.R.R. Tolkien’s. I have therefore attempted to unite my creativity with his through this very heartfelt project, which has truly been a labour of love. Not to imply any sort of spiritual “possession,” but in a way, since his passing in 1973, I have always felt that some of his spirit passed into me, as that was the year of my birth, and I have always felt a kinship with the dreams, vision and fantasy he bequeathed to me through The Lord of the Rings.
Those who have enjoyed the recent series from New Line Cinemas as much as I have will also enjoy the pictures captured from various scenes interspersed through the movies, now embedded in each of the three books. All in all, may this newest release of a timeless classic continue to amaze and inspire you to no end, and hopefully, Tolkien’s vision will not be impaired by mine. For my part, in this introduction and in the closing epilogue after The Return of the King, I have striven to articulate just how much this marvellous author and wondrous story mean to me. May you, the reader, feel it as deeply as I have, for many years to come
Again, may Tolkien's rich works inspire and delight you to no end. Please feel free to download complimentary copies either of his original works or my expanded versions, all available on the "Downloads" page. It is because of his unflappable genius that this web page, a tribute to him, has been created by this little Lord of the Rings addict, me
P.S., don't forget to check out my Personal Pics page!
Sincerely,
Ryan Graves
President, IstariMedia
Seattle, Washington