Bored of the Rings

A Parody

By: The Harvard Lampoon

Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

A quest, a war, a ring that would be grounds for calling any wedding off, a king without a kingdom, and a furry little "hero" named Frito, ready - or maybe just forced by the wizard Goodgulf - to undertake the one mission that can save Lower Middle Earth from enslavement by the evil Sorhed.

Luscious Elf-maidens, 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. For everyone who has delighted in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy masterwork - or anyone who's just looking for a good laugh - Bored of the Rings is the "all-in-one-volume" comic extravaganza that will convince lovers and haters of fantasy that they've finally experienced it all, and that they'll never need to read another fantasy parody again.

©1969 The Harvard Lampoon (P)2012 Tantor

Abridged and a brilliant story

Absolutely top shelf (the one with the plastic potted plants they hide the heavy duty cleaners behind). The reader only adding to the joy, whimsy and debauched pleasure of the writer’s fevered mind. To all readers, and particularly those who found the original long form of the tale to be needlessly filled with filler, settle in and savor this satire.

Dated, but brings up fond memories.

This probably isn't for anyone under 40. But if you read this when you were a kid or you read the original books before they were movies you will probably chuckle a bit here. The performance is top notch.

Okay, we GET it!

The narrator does a fun job of creating imitation Peter Jackson voices for Harvard Lampoon’s raunchy and dead-on Tolkien parody, but here, we have the Anniversary Edition reprint, that felt it had to footnote every single parody reference that might seem outdated since the early 70’s: if Frodo, Sam Gamgee and Gandalf become “Frito”, “Spam Gangrene” and “Goodgulf”, the authors helpfully remind new readers that these are jokes about snacks , canned meat, diseases and gasoline…Yes. Thank you. Got it. In the book, the reader can skim over these intrusions, but here, the narrator must read each one to constantly stop the flow of the humor for the obvious, and the result comes off maddeningly condescending. [Note: “Condescending” means talking down to people.]

Amazing

The narrator is phenomenal and brings to life this already hilarious book. The updated material is likewise funny.

About as Good as I Expected

Silly, sophomoric, and about as good as I expected. BoTR is an OK parody of Tolkien’s epic LoTR series from the madmen behind your favorite Chevy Chase movies.