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J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, which forms the bulk of his Middle-earth mythos, probably formed the blueprint for the type of dense, multi-layered universes that comprise so much fiction today. Without Tolkien, you wouldn't have Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Twilight or maybe even The Wire.
The key to the appeal of The Lord of the Rings is the extreme level of care and detail that went into the series. Tolkien didn't just write a few books and turn to other things -- he devoted his life to creating mythologies, histories and languages that would complement his work. And it all started with a little book called The Hobbit.
Great things have small beginnings, and Middle-earth is no different. The Hobbit was the children's tale that set the writer's imagination running wild, and audiences will soon be able to find even more details about their favorite fictional world when The Hobbit: Part 1 is released on Dec. 14.
If you're the type of Tolkien fan who, like most, wants to dissect every little detail they can get, you'll be happy to know you can stream a preview of the movie's soundtrack (via Empire). You won't be able to download the tracks or skip from one to another, but pressing play below will give you over an hour and a half of music to get you in the mood for an unexpected journey.
