The Best Reads to Get Hyped for ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’

It’s a big day for Tolkien nerds, goblincore bbs, and Stephen Colbert. Tonight, after years of cloaked development, Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will take viewers back to Middle-Earth—or at least, a version of it. “Everything that is happening in this TV show is happening in the Second Age, roughly 6,000 years before Peter Jackson’s trilogy takes place,” Don Marshall, one of TikTok’s leading Tolkien creators, tells VICE. “From what I’ve seen from the first two episodes [in advanced screenings], it’s trying to stand on its own. And I think that’s a good thing.” As Tolkien-Tok’s self-proclaimed “obscure Lord of the Rings facts guy,” Marshall boasts over half-a-million followers on the platform (to say nothing of his *chef’s kiss* “Yeet Isildur” T-shirt), and he agreed to help us brush up on our lore knowledge before the first episodes drop. 

The Tolkien legendarium is phat, no question about it—but the Professor gives us relatively little information about the time in which Amazon’s ambitious 50-hour series takes place. “The Third Age we see in Jackson’s trilogy is basically post-apocalyptic ruin,” Marshall explains, “[everyone] is trying to fight to survive. The Second Age is like Rome in its prime. The technology is better, the weaponry is better, the arts, the culture—everything.” 

That means we’re crossing our fingers for ent wives, tall Númenorian zaddies, and drippy mithril ‘fits. We’re ready to watch Galadriel curb-stomp an ice troll, and wait with bated breath for Celebrimbor to (respectfully) fumble the bag. Marshall also recommends getting involved in the more “positive parts” of the Tolkien community to prepare for the show, stressing that you don’t necessarily have to read all of Tolkien’s dense books to get hyped. “There are plenty of creators keeping the fandom alive,” he says, and they’re teaching Elvish, talking about expansive fantasy, and even leading legit university courses on Tolkien. 

That being said, nothing tickles our fancy more than the words, Shall we read each other The Hobbit appendices tonight? And while our lower back Tengwar tattoo hasn’t aged a day, we do want to brush up on the geography, languages, and cultures of Tolkien’s universe before reaching for our Fire Sticks. Whether you’re new to the fandom or a longtime lover of LOTR books, here are our favorite art books and reads to get hyped for the show. 

Amazon’s show will probably bring us into a Pangea-esque version of Arda, which is the world in which Middle-Earth is located—and it’s just one of a few stunning, drama-filled land masses from Tolkien’s brain. “This book contains so much more than just maps,” one Amazon reviewer writes about this extensive atlas. “It has the layouts of major structures, maps that show the different armies with how many soldiers they have, and so many other details.”  

Look, we’re not saying Númenor is the Las Vegas of the Second Age, but it was certainly the place to be. The Fall of Númenor will take readers into the ill-fated island kingdom of Aragorn’s ancestors, where everyone was just as hot as Viggo Mortensen and confronted by the seductive powers of a sexy, shapeshifting Sauron. That’s right, folks. Canonically, Sauron was a hard swipe right. Pre-order this read to get even deeper into the drama. 

We really don’t need another tramp stamp written in Dwarvish runes, but, also, yes we do. There’s no better party trick/winter hobby/pick-up line than knowing a bit of Elvish, and Ruth S. Noel’s guide is a fun, lightweight subway read about all fourteen of Tolkien’s invented languages. 

You know John Howe, even if you don’t think you do. If you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings books and films, you’ve seen his drawings in both the books and as conceptual art for Jackson’s original trilogy. Don Marshall confirmed that the GOAT is back to work on The Rings of Power, and A Middle-Earth Traveler is a beautiful collection of his work. In the words of one reviewer, “Traveler is described as a ‘walking tour’ of Tolkien's world, and indeed it does resemble the sketchbook of an artistic wanderer who delights in capturing quick images of the landscapes and people he observes.”  

Did you know the Professor himself dabbled in the arts? Tolkien painted some very charming watercolors of Bag End, Rivendell, and all the other places we’d rather be right now, and they’ve finally been united in this expansive coffee table book.  

When John Waters said, “If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck 'em!” he was def talking about The Silmarillion. This is the Tolkien nerd’s equivalent to the Old Testament, because it’s filled with all kinds of ancient drama about Sauron’s even shadier boss, Morgoth, and lots of elves being dicks to each other. “The first 26 Chapters are all [about the] First Age,” Marshall warns, “Tolkien only has about 40-ish pages in it about the Second Age.”  Still, he says, “The Silmarillion can inform the rest of the performance.” Plus, it’s a definite flex to have on your bookshelf. 

Novaër, jabronis. Happy watching and reading. 

Stream the ‘The Rings of Power’ on Amazon Prime tonight at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, and then visit Don Marshall’s YouTube channel to join his ‘The After Power Hour’ live stream discussion.   

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.