First, The Lord of the Rings achieves a singular level of detail and coherence for its imagined world. Not only do we find maps that illustrate the specific geography of Middle-earth, with climates ranging from bucolic farmland to frigid mountains and scorching deserts, but that continent also contains a wide variety of races, each with its distinctive culture, language, and history, ranging from the homey Shirefolk to the majestic elves, from the numerous groups of men to the vicious orcs. Within each of these groups — even the orcs — are multiple subcultures marked by differing attitudes and distinct dialects. As Frodo journeys from the Shire to Mordor, you discover an amazing variety of people and places, all given a sense of reality through careful description that barely scratches the surface of Tolkien's "sub-creation." Remnants of a history long forgotten linger throughout Middle-earth, glimpses of a past far richer than most of the inhabitants can know, and readers get the same sense of the enormity of Tolkien's world through the glimpses he gives of its rich detail.
The sheer exuberance of Tolkien's language, the passionate intensity with which he describes this world, the poetry that infuses the text — both in the numerous songs and recitations and in the prose itself — lend the book an element of charm, magic, and even dread that captures the hearts of many readers. The tone modulates from the simply cheerful bathing songs extolling the joys of hot water to the majestic declamations of the wise and powerful. Tolkien uses language precisely to evoke feelings and images both strange and familiar.
