For those of you who are fans of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, you’ll be interested to know about Kirill Yeskov’s unofficial story of the LOTR from the point of view of the Orcs. Yes, this is the story of The Ring told by the losing side. Yeskov’s book was published in Russia in 1999 and bootleg translations have circulated for years. But last year, Yisroel Markov translated The Last Ringbearer into English with clarity and verve. You can download a free copy here. Laura Miller’s “Middle-Earth According to Mordor” also contains some interesting analysis. If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, The Last Ringbearer is worth reading. And next week, the expanded versions of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy will be shown at your local Regal theaters. Order your tickets now!
Never heard of it but it sounds fascinating, sort of like ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD.
You’re right, Jeff. THE LAST RINGBEARER has that alternate story feel to it. The Tolkien estate’s legal staff prevent this kind of material from being published in England and the U.S.
I have recently translated another famous work by the same author, Kirill Yeskov, called “The Gospel of Afranius” (easily found online), I hope you might find it interesting too!
Bogdan, I will certainly check out THE GOSPEL OF AFRANIUS! Keep up the Good Work!
This sounds very interesting indeed. I’m checking the library for it right away. Oh, it won’t be in the library, will it? Sigh. Okay, I’ll DL it and try to read it on screen, though I hate doing that.
BTW. the expanded versions are 2/3 of the way through in some locations, shown on Tuesday nights. There are no showings in Oregon (??) so I’ll be skipping it.
I printed THE LAST RINGBEARER out, Rick. It’s 219 pages!
Plenty of showings in Manhattan and around New York City, of course, but since I’ve already missed the first two parts…maybe next time.
Good luck with the knee op tomorrow, George.
Thanks for the good wishes, Jeff!
An amazing book. Do note that there is now a second edition of the free English translation with much smoother English (here: http://ymarkov.livejournal.com/280578.html)
Simon, thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.
Hello,
I’ve just come across your Forgotten Books #122 blog of June 24, 2011 about a Russian writer’s retelling of the Lord of the Rings. Recently I saw this article in the US online news magazine Salon about another Tolkien-inspired satirical piece that’s also been posted online. Which to my surprise is rather good (the piece I mean, not the article). I thought it might be of interest to you:
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/28/gandalfs_room_was_a_mess_the_lord_of_the_rings_retold_from_the_perspective_of_rivendells_housekeeper/
Fred White
Fred, thanks for the link! I’ll check it out.