Bored of the Rings (BOTR) is a short satirical novel by Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney based on The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), a long, non-satirical novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. It was first published in 1969 by Signet for the Harvard Lampoon.
The novel is a fairly close parody in terms of its general plot, but is filled with cheap gags (e.g. the palantir as a Magic 8-Ball etc.), a lot of bad punning (especially for names), unsympathetic and cowardly characters and dated 1960s references.
The Signet first edition cover, which parodies elements of the LOTR paperback cover by artist Barbara Remington [1], was drawn by Michael K. Frith. William S. Donnell's hilarious parody map of Middle-Earth subsitutes Tüdor for Gondor and Fordor with Mordor.
Notable characters from Lower Middle Earth include:
- Goodgulf Greyteeth, the good wizard; "a discredited Rosicrucian" and "a 32nd Degree Mason and Honorary Shriner" (Gulf Oil slogan)
- boggies (hobbits)
- Dildo Bugger of Bug End (dildo, bugger)
- Frito Bugger (Fritos, a corn chips brand)
- Spam (SPAM, a food brand)
- Moxie Dingleberry (Moxie, a soda pop brand)
- Pepsi Dingleberry (Pepsi, a soda pop brand)
- Stomper, or Arrowroot, son of Arrowshirt (Arrowshirt, a brand of men's dress shirt)
- Gimlet, son of Groin (Gimlet cocktail and Groin)
- Legolam ("leg of lamb")
- Bromosel (Used to be an indigestion relief product)
- Eorache ("ear ache")
- Tim Benzedrine (Benzedrine, a stimulant drug popular during the 1960s) - referencing both Tom Bombadil and former Harvard professor Timothy Leary.
- Goddam ("God damn")
- Sorhed, the evil wizard, ruler of Fordor. ("Sore head", "four door")
- Serutan the wizard of Isinglass - (Serutan was the name of a laxative product; the product name is simply "Natures" spelled backwards
- Isinglass, a substance used in clarifying wine (see Isinglass).
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