The Last Ringbearer
This, then, was the yeast on which Barad-Dur rose six centuries ago, that amazing city of alchemists and poets, mechanics and astronomers, philosophers and physicians, the heart of the only civilization in Middle Earth to bet on rational knowledge and bravely pitch its barely adolescent technology against ancient magic.
From Kirill Yeskov, The Last Ringbearer. I hadn’t heard of it before today, I’ve only just dipped into it. But I know Tolkien pretty well, and so far I’m not cringing.