Some critique from a friend of mine:
"You have full permission to point out that in the Lord of the Rings, 'Rationality' is not exactly the hat of Mordor. That in fact, Mordor and Mordor alone builds temples, attempts to exert constant and destructive pressure on the natural environment, abuses its workers, fosters hatred and superstition, demands worshipful awe from the masses, and is, much more, a realm of 'magic' than the Elves - who are, on the whole, far more 'scientists' than the folk of Mordor ever were. And, in fact, that the ultimate scientists of Middle-Earth are Aule and Yavanna, both foes of Mordor."
This may be old news to some people, especially the Russian speakers, but I didn't see an article about it here.
In 1999, Kirill Yeskov, a Russian paleontologist, wrote The Last Ringbearer, a 270-page take on Lord of the Rings from the point of view of a medic in Mordor's dying armies who is also a "skeptic and a rationalist." In fact, Mordor represents the forces of reason in this retelling of the story. As a Nazgúl (himself a former mathematician) explains, Mordor is "the little oasis of Reason in which your light-minded civilization had so comfortably nestled." Barad-dur is "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."
The story has been newly translated and is available in free PDF form -- in English and the original Russian. There's a recent review from Salon as well.