As a contribution to a-if not the-polemical area of Tolkien studies, The Ring and the Cross is commendable not only for looking at both sides, but also for reflecting those many shades in between where most opinions fall. The collection's civility and single-volume format more than likely belie the true friction and disparity of opinions on its topic, but the willingness to publish together is at least a willingness to engage one another, and that can never be a bad thing. Mythlore To a reader who is more a Tolkien fan than a Tolkien scholar, Kerry appears to have been successful in both his aims... This book will be enjoyed by most of those who don't mind prospecting for literary nuggets in broad fields of scholarship. Touchstone: A Journal Of Mere Christianity Not only does the collection capture the theological traditions and complexity of Tolkien's written world, The Ring and the Cross further promotes the cross-pollination of religious studies and literary criticism, aptly showing both disciplines more than merely interrelated. Indeed, what The Ring and the Cross demonstrates is that the theological underpinnings of a literary work are indispensable to thoroughly responsible criticism. In the case of Tolkien's chef-d'oeuvre, if Kerry's diagnosis of contemporary Tolkien scholarship is correct- that 'all signs seem to indicate that Tolkien's writing will continue to provoke, inspire, and provide rich food for thought about its relation to religions and spirituality generally, and Christianity in particular.'-then The Ring and the Cross should continue to carry the Ring into even deeper recesses of religion-literary criticism. The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts
