Great advice--just what I was looking for. Thanks.
One of my (few) complaints about the Lord of the Rings is that Sauron as a character wasn't explored enough, but that was probably deliberate so Tolkien could let the reader build his/her own protrayal of what ultimate evil would be like personified. By the way, I have nothing to do this weekend. Any suggestions?
j/k... :-)
Read the Silmarillion.
It's such a pleasure to have an attentive student 8-)