37 Lord of the Rings Memes from the Depths of Middle-Earth (June 27, 2024)

John Summers • Contributor

Jun 28, 2024 12:00 AM EDT

Have you ever though about the insane risk JRR Tolkien took when he wrote "The Lord of the Rings"? We are talking about a guy that wrote a successful children's book about a cute little creature that goes on adventure to help some dwarves reclaim their home from a dragon. Most (if not all) authors would have followed that with a second children's book about the same hobbit going on a different adventure; but not Tolkien.

The man spent the next 14 years writing a 1,500-page book in a completely new genre that he invented. It was intended to be sold alongside a second book, "The Silmarillion," which functions as an appendix to the main book, outlining the 3,000-year history and five different languages he developed while writing the main book. That is absolutely insane! Who does that? I'll tell you who—no one! Not before him and not since.