I'm glad you enjoyed it! I still haven't had a chance to read any other than my own, though I do have the best of intentions...

Good points re: the temptations of the ring. That seems to be Glaucon's point (the character in Plato's dialogue who describes that ring) - few of us are so moral that we'd act justly if no one would catch on. I can only imagine Sauron's ring would be harder to deal with.