# What changes would you have suggested for the Lord of the Rings novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [February 19, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changes-would-you-have-suggested-for-the-lord-of-the-rings-novel/959782 "2022-02-19T14:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changes-would-you-have-suggested-for-the-lord-of-the-rings-novel/959782/101 "2022-02-27T19:30:00Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > (But I love Marryat and Forester.) As do I! And Pope now and then. Tastes vary. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changes-would-you-have-suggested-for-the-lord-of-the-rings-novel/959782/102 "2022-02-27T20:28:05Z")
I tried the Master and Commander series last year, and only made it a few books in. Didn’t care enough about the 2 main characters, and the technical sailing descriptions were more than I desired. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changes-would-you-have-suggested-for-the-lord-of-the-rings-novel/959782/103 "2022-02-27T22:53:04Z")
Gee. I love LOTR (basically memorized it as a preteen), also the Aubrey Maturin novels despite a loathing of boats, AND 19th century Russian novels. Makes me happy to think of three things in a row that I like. So rare. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changes-would-you-have-suggested-for-the-lord-of-the-rings-novel/959782/104 "2022-02-27T22:56:57Z")
Honestly, I would have urged Tolkien to delve even more deeply into the history and significance of the places and people he wrote about. Not a popular idea, I know. But I might have kept most of the singing out of it. Most, not all. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changes-would-you-have-suggested-for-the-lord-of-the-rings-novel/959782/105 "2022-03-01T22:25:48Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Honestly, I would have urged Tolkien to delve even more deeply into the history and significance of the places and people he wrote about. Not a popular idea, I know. I suspect some people would argue that’s exactly what he did in The Silmarillion and the various Unfinished Tales of the Second Age. This isn’t the exact same thing, but I’ve always struggled a little with the way the land is massively reshaped through the first and second ages. It’s very difficult to find any meaningful geographic continuity between the people who populated a region in the Second Age versus those we get to know in the Third Age. The fact that he wrote as much as he did about the various battles and kingdoms in the north and west but next to nothing about those in the east and south is a problem. Of course as with all things fantasy you can fanwank this if you want, but if you want to indulge in the true “world building” you can’t really get around it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changes-would-you-have-suggested-for-the-lord-of-the-rings-novel/959782.md?page=5)