4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Alot Of Material Here!, Aug 28 2006
By A. McDonald "A. McDonald" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Realm of the Ring Lords: The Myth and Magic of the Grail Quest (Paperback)
This book begins with a look into Tolkien's books and the relationships to distant history. Information and the process of the author's thoughts drift to linking the Ring lord culture into a roller coaster ride through almost every distant european and middle eastern culture. Lots of this material is well presented and factual. Some is also conjecture on the author's behalf. All is well presented and adventureous to read.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Fails to deliver on the title, Nov 21 2006
By Commentator - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Realm of the Ring Lords: The Myth and Magic of the Grail Quest (Paperback)
Waste of money. Gardner is resting on his laurels. There is so much that could be done with this title, but it was not. Instead we get a recital of stuff already said elsewhere not particularly related to the extensive lore which Tolkien drew upon. Way too little to do with the Realms of the Ring Lords, as if he was knocking off a book to exploit the popularity of Tolkien.
Pity, I was expecting more.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Realm of the intriguing, Sep 5 2009
By Meadow Greycastle "Leslie G-W." - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Realm of the Ring Lords: The Myth and Magic of the Grail Quest (Paperback)
This as a well researched and notated book with clear explanations of a very complicated subject. Gardener's "Realm of the Ring Lords" takes the reader on a journey beginning in Transylvania, Egypt and ancient Sumeria and arriving in the modern Western world, with frequent stops through the UK, France, Germany and many other European and Asian stops along the way. This book details how the tales of fairies, dragons pixies, gnomes, and elves all derive from the same source: a specially bred race of people called the nephilim who rose to prominence thousands of years before Christ and left their imprint on cultures all around the world. The author demonstrates how legends of the Grail, the Lord of the Rings, stories of the Elven-home and so on, are all inextricably linked and, ultimately stem from the same sources, being different tellings of, and using different symbols to, tell the same stories.
Of great importance to me in a work of this kind, which challenges many long held belief systems and "authorized history", is a good list of sources. Laurence Gardner delivers in this respect as well, not failing to back up his claims with a lot of other sources the reader can refer to. While I don't necessarily agree with all that Gardener states, I can say that he makes many valid points that shed new light, and make room for new ideas about, many of the concepts that people take for granted in every day life and society.
For anyone interested in dragons, fairies, gnomes, vampires, werewolves; pixies, elves, mermaids, swan-maidens and grail knights and The Lord of the Rings, you can find many interesting answers here. For lovers of history, culture and linguistics, this book is a treasure trove. However, if you're looking for a fantasy-fiction story or some sort of continuation of Tolkien's Middle Earth, this is not the place to find it.