Rating: 
Summary: Nasty. Vicous. Acidulous. Disrespectful. Wicked. Priceless.
Review: I've read and re-read LOTR more times than I can remember. A few years back, it was my daughter's bedtime story for more than a year - she still has nightmares about the barrow wight! So don't get me wrong - LOTR will always be one of my most treasured reading experiences.But. "Bored of the Rings" is probably the most perfect exercise in satire I've ever read. There's gold on every page - the book is the perfect hinge between the glories of Mad Magazine at its sharpest and the brilliance of the National Lampoon generation to come. Doug Kenney died not very long after this book was published. What a loss! Yes, as other reviewers have noted, you'll laugh harder if you're well-drilled in Tolkien's books and late-sixties commercial, product and political references. Get an oldie like me to explain 'em to you, kids. Don't miss BOTR. Hop a hill, pop a pill, for old Tim Benzedrino!
Rating:
Summary: The Seinfeld of books--ain't none funnier
Review: Its funny, quirky, smart, and people often don't get it. Much like Seinfeld, Bored of the Rings is cajoled and ridiculed by those who call it "stupid". Hmmm... there's an insightful comment. The book is certainly silly, but stupid, no. To understand it today, it will help to have a lot of knowledge of the late 60's/early 70s, be able to understand wordplay, enjoy satire, and not be the kind of Tolkein fan who is like the rabid Star Trek fans who insist on being called "Trekkers" instead of "Trekkies". This is not a book for Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchannan or any other killjoys. It pokes fun at alot of things, Tolkein, politics, drugs, human nature, and of course nose-picking. If you don't see the humor in the knight's creed of: "I will keep my nose clean at all times, and by the most expedient means possible", you won't like the rest of the book. And you don't need to read Tolkein to love this book. What's it about? Not much really, plotwise. Its about laughing.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Parody
Review: I have read through this book upwards of 10 times, and it is still funny. I keep it on my desk and peek at from time to time.It does not take an avid Lord of the Rings fan to love this book, yet LOTR fans can love this book as well. The brand names can be overwhelming, the intensely packed humor makes this a worthwhile buy. While some the jokes are quite obvious, some are not noticed in the first read through. The poems and elvish songs are incredibly funny. Reserve your judgements until you read this book.
"In his hand he carried an ancient and trusty weapon, called by the elves a Browning semi-automatic."
Rating: 
Summary: Narcs on Pigs!
Review: Need a little break from all the horrid seriousness of the day? Then this marvelously inventive parody should hit just the spot. From the hilarious twisted names of Dildo and Frito Bugger, Goodgulf the wizard, Gimlet the dwarf and Legolam the elf to the equally twisted representations of the Boggies in the Sty and the Riders of Roi-Tan and their merino sheep, to the exacting depiction of college life of the Forward, each page will bring a smile, a chuckle, and an outright belly-laugh. I read Lord of the Rings when it was first published in paperback in 1965, and like many others fell totally in love with Tolkien's marvelous sense of language and incredibly detailed world building. When Bored of the Rings came out in 1969, I immediately grabbed it, as I grabbed everything else remotely dealing with Middle Earth. My shekels were well spent in this case, and I always remember some of these perverted alternative scenes whenever I re-read the original. This book follows the plot line of the original very closely, boiling down the original 1200 pages to this book's 150 and managing to cover every major scene, which is quite a feat. Clearly though, as a parody, this book is not a stand-alone. Much of its humor derives from the reader's knowledge of the original. It also helps if you're old enough to remember some of the television commercials of the sixties, as otherwise some of the references in this book will pass over your head. There are also some pokes at certain Presidents, TV series, movies, cultural icons, and the hippie and drug-laced counter-culture of the day. Like many good things, this book is best devoured in small bites, a few pages a day, stopping before your humor-detector collapses from over-stimulation. A great way to relax for a few minutes at the end of the day.
Rating:
Summary: Dont Take It or Yourself Too Seriously
Review: An old and classic work. I read it 25 years ago, and it was showing a bit of age back then. (Which makes me laugh at some reviews claiming this is an attempt to cash in on Peter Jackson's success!) A low-brow parody aimed at males from early adolescence to college age that claims in its own forward to be a cheap rip-off with no literary merit. Not one of the great works of the western world, but I thought it was pretty funny when I was 14 and it still amuses me today. I do worry about those who take Tolkien's so seriously that a parody of it seems like a threat to them along with those who took the time to write one-star negative reviews without actually reading the book. Some people need to get out more!
Rating:
Summary: Outrageously funny!
Review: In this outrageous parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, we get to follow the preposterous antics of an unbelievable group of misfits out to unmake a ring, and destroy an evil power. Goodgulf the wizard leads Frito, Spam, Moxie, Pepsi, Stomper the Ranger (he has many names), Bromosel, Gimlet the dwarf and Legolam the elf across Lower Middle Earth, as they dodge the evil pig-riding Nozdrul, foul Narcs and other baddies, on their way to dark Fordor. As you can tell from the summary above, this book is not to be taken seriously! It is outrageously funny! Can a reader ever forget the four boggies meeting with the wild Tom Benzedrine and his magical lady Hashberry? No! Indeed, hardly a RPG session passes when one of us does not quote from this hilarious tome: "'Then we must head east,' said Goodgulf gesturing with his wand to where the sun was setting redly in a mass of sea-clouds." This book is laugh-out-loud funny, and should be read by every fan of the great Tolkien. I recommend it wholeheartedly!
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious to some, sacrilege to others
Review: Personally, I think this book is hilarious, but I HIGHLY WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT TO TOLKIEN DIE-HARDS! I read the negative reviews of it, and really, you're asking for it if you're a "purist" and read this parody. Believe me, I love "The Lord of the Rings" and I've read it God knows how many times, but I found this book irresistable. The authors brilliantly ridicule the famous series, even skewering the Shakespearean language ("dead they were and yet not so ... their eyes shone like wet mushrooms"), characters (Tom Bombadil and Goldberry=Tim Benzedrine and Hashberry the druggies), the rhymes (O skinny wraith whose fingers are hypodermic needles!), tacky clothes (Gandalf in bellbottoms, Saruman in a red leotard and Glorfindel dressed in cheesecloth) and the names (Eorache daughter of Eorlobe; Benelux son of Electrolux) There is plenty of sharp and wickedly funny wit within this book. However, about 50% of it is a lot of dirty and crude humor that's pretty gross, and sometimes it gets so wild the plot is completely incoherent. Still, I read this so much I managed to memorize the Chant of the Green Toupees and drive my family crazy by reciting it over and over again. I'd recommend this book to casual LOTR fans, people who've read and know the book because otherwise you'll think the authors wrote it in an insane asylum, but definitely not purists and die-hards. If they want to get more Tolkien, they should read the Silmarillion and all of those history of Middle-Earth books.
Rating:
Summary: The Seinfeld of books--ain't none funnier
Review: Its funny, quirky, smart, and people often don't get it. Much like Seinfeld, Bored of the Rings is cajoled and ridiculed by those who call it "stupid". Hmmm... there's an insightful comment. The book is certainly silly, but stupid, no. To understand it today, it will help to have a lot of knowledge of the late 60's/early 70s, be able to understand wordplay, enjoy satire, and not be the kind of Tolkein fan who is like the rabid Star Trek fans who insist on being called "Trekkers" instead of "Trekkies". This is not a book for Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchannan or any other killjoys. It pokes fun at alot of things, Tolkein, politics, drugs, human nature, and of course nose-picking. If you don't see the humor in the knight's creed of: "I will keep my nose clean at all times, and by the most expedient means possible", you won't like the rest of the book. And you don't need to read Tolkein to love this book. What's it about? Not much really, plotwise. Its about laughing.
Rating:
Summary: Beware the Ballhog and Prepare To Laugh Yourself Silly!
Review: This week I would like to review a book that hold a special place in my history. I have read this book more times than any other. When recommending it I tend to start reading it again. This slim volume manages to grasp all of the finer points of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic series and turns them on their heads. The book follows the adventures of Dildo Bugger as he journeys to destroy the ring he carries. From the opening lines of the first chapter, It's My Party and I'll Snub Who I Want To, to Goodgulf's battle with the Ballhog all the way to the final destruction of the ring this book is one of the funniest I have ever read (and that includes The Tick). BORED OF THE RINGS is currently available in a trade paperback edition. If you enjoyed Tolkien's original and have a sense of humor I highly recommend that you locate a copy of this book and read it right away. Your endorphin levels will thank you.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent piece of work
Review: Let me start off by saying that I love the Lord of the Rings and that I had always imagined the stories being made for live action. You can't imagine my surprise when these finally made into production. However, any book, song, movie, etc. can be made fun of, no matter how great or horrible the original is. Parody is just an effort to create a humorous situation. It does not intend to belittle the authors for their hard efforts, nor does it intend to criticize the work. It is there for a laugh. I think this book was vey daring; not many people would have the courage to joke about a book that so many hold in high appeal. The writing is very poetic and written by somebody with a good grasp of the English language. This is an excellent piece of work.
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