The Roadkill of Middle Earth

by John Carnell

Book Overview

Middle Terra Firma was home to an idyllic countryside and a wondrous variety of fantastical beings and magical inhabitants. It existed in peace and contentment, until the arrival of the creature known... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0029E8HKU
• ISBN13: 9780743434676
• Release Date: December 2012
• Publisher: iBooks
• Length: 66 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Pretty funny

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.