Thanks for posting a logline on the “Lord of the Rings”? epic trilogy.? The trilogy has been in my “gotta logline” queue for some time.

I have two concerns about the logline.

1] Taking the logline at face value, that is, as if I know nothing about the books, I don’t see a clear causal relationship between “their world is never safe…” and “a dark lord seeks to cover the land in darkness.” That is, if Frodo destroys the ring, it’s not clear that the dark lord will be unable to “cover the land in darkness” — whatever that means. The brand of evil in the ring could be destroyed and the dark lord could continue to “cover the land in darkness”. The two do not seem to be causally linked.

2] It seems to me that the inciting incident is the dark lord discovering that the ring he covets is located in the shire of the Hobbits. When and how does Frodo become aware that the “ring is never safe while his magic ring exists”? Frodo does not seem to be aware of the significance of the ring, the evil power it possesses. When he inherits the ring from his uncle, does he commence his quest because of he knows about the evil power it possesses?

No, he puts it away; he has no fear of the ring, no urgent need to destroy it.

Then Gandalf discovers that the dark lord has found out where the ring? is. Now,? not only is fate of Middle Earth in dire jeopardy, so is Frodo’s life.?? The jeopardy and stakes are global and personal. Gandalf tells Frodo he must undertake destroy the ring and here’s how.

Even then, while Frodo does what he is told, it does not seem to me that he is fully aware of the ring’s evil power. At that stage of the story, he’s just dutifully doing what he has been told to do.? The full awareness develops during the course of his journey.

So here’s my take:

When a dark lord discovers the whereabouts of a ring with the power to rule Middle Earth, its humble owner must undertake a perilous journey to the volcano where it was forged in order to destroy it.

(37 words)

fwiw