Book of the Week: ‘The Art of The Lord of the Rings.’

(H/T: @xwraith) And why should you get The Art of The Lord of the Rings, you ask? Five words, my friends: J.R.R. Tolkien’s personal campaign maps. Seriously and for real:

If Tolkien’s nerdy use of graph paper feels like a secret message to future Dungeons & Dragons players, then so does his “Plan of Shelob’s lair.” Tolkien’s map of tunnels stocked with nasties—here, a spider named Shelob—would be right at home in any Dungeon Master’s campaign notes. He even marks the place for a classic dungeon crawl feature: “trap.”

I know people who would invent time travel just to get that map into their younger-version’s eager, shaking hands.  I would myself, if only I trusted time travel. Which I don’t.  …Still, this book. This book.

And so, adieu to Midnight Riot.