The Lord of the Rings

a perfect saga of 3 parts further divided into 2 parts each(making a total of 6 in case ur weak in mathematics)...the only problem with the book is that it is toooooo long...with the detailed appendices and maps...its like ur going on treasure hunt urself(though in the book,the hobbits r off to destroy the ring)...battles are bloody and the detailing is very good....they should have this book for...more

a perfect saga of 3 parts further divided into 2 parts each(making a total of 6 in case ur weak in mathematics)...the only problem with the book is that it is toooooo long...with the detailed appendices and maps...its like ur going on treasure hunt urself(though in the book,the hobbits r off to destroy the ring)...battles are bloody and the detailing is very good....they should have this book for history instead of the one we read in high school....i guess the real moral i gained out of this book is that size does not matter much and what truly matters is the courage 1 holds within his heart...Hats off to courage, the 4 hobbits and of course JRR Tolkien for writing a fantastic book   hide

Classic fantasy that was named as Australia's favorite book in a poll conducted for a special on ABC Television a few years ago. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings established the template for all modern fantasy novels with this epic tale of wizards and creatures such as orcs, elves, and hobbits. Lord of the Rings cannot be classified as just fantasy or science fiction. Most fantasy...more

Classic fantasy that was named as Australia's favorite book in a poll conducted for a special on ABC Television a few years ago. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings established the template for all modern fantasy novels with this epic tale of wizards and creatures such as orcs, elves, and hobbits. Lord of the Rings cannot be classified as just fantasy or science fiction. Most fantasy novels only have a narrow audience, but Lord of the Rings is so much broader in its appeal. The invented world Tolkien created is so packed with detail, Lord of the Rings has been described as 'comic, homely, epic, monstrous and diabolic.' (Harper Collins film tie-in edition:2001)   hide

Second book for paper

The Lord of Rings is a must read for those who love tales of epic fantasy immersed in descriptive detail. The first book in the Series the fellowship of the ring is the best and the last one, the return of the king, is also good but contains more battle scenes. The two towers the second is good too but slightly boring becuase it has too much descriptive detail and not enough action. However the...more

The Lord of Rings is a must read for those who love tales of epic fantasy immersed in descriptive detail. The first book in the Series the fellowship of the ring is the best and the last one, the return of the king, is also good but contains more battle scenes. The two towers the second is good too but slightly boring becuase it has too much descriptive detail and not enough action. However the whole series is amazing and will transport you to another world: one of Dwarfs and Hobbits and the evil Orcs. If you like this then read the Hobbit, the prequel to the series and just as good.   hide

Phew! Trying to read all three of the LOTR novels in one volume is tough. But it is more than worth the effort. This is still one of the the best stories ever written in the 20th century if not of all time. It is full of action, myth, poetry and language. The epic tone of much of the novel, like The Silmarillion, adds gravitas and excitement to this tale. Everyone who can read should read...more

Phew! Trying to read all three of the LOTR novels in one volume is tough. But it is more than worth the effort. This is still one of the the best stories ever written in the 20th century if not of all time. It is full of action, myth, poetry and language. The epic tone of much of the novel, like The Silmarillion, adds gravitas and excitement to this tale. Everyone who can read should read this book at least once in their life before dying. Heck! Everyone should read this more than once in their life as the themes of hope, love, and friendship will mean different things to people at different times in their life. This is my second time reading LOTR, the last time being in high school, and I have gleaned so much more out this reading than I did the last time. Having said all that, there is one criticism that I must give of this novel. There is a serious lack of character development throughout the novel. Excluding the four hobbits, no one ever really seems to change much from what they were at the beginning of the novel. Even Aragorn, one of the central characters of the novel, stays roughly the same from the beginning to the end. Gandalf doesn't change very much and, aside from switching from enemies to friends, Legolas and Gimli don't change either. Still, this is one of the greatest novels of all time and should be read by everyone.   hide

The first time I read this book was 15 years ago, and since I've read it once every couple of years. It is a book that almost singlehandedly brought the genre of fantasy to the attention of people in a way no book has before or since. Unlike most fantasy books, this was a life's work for a man immensely educated and well read - in contrast to much of the fantasy genre where i feel producing...more

The first time I read this book was 15 years ago, and since I've read it once every couple of years. It is a book that almost singlehandedly brought the genre of fantasy to the attention of people in a way no book has before or since. Unlike most fantasy books, this was a life's work for a man immensely educated and well read - in contrast to much of the fantasy genre where i feel producing books quickly to make money seems more important than the actual content. As he felt the english lacked a mythological tradition in the way of many old civilisations, he created one that was rich and diverse in detail, and gripping in its tales of tragedy and hope. The Lord of the Rings is not an easy read. It's nearly a thousand pages, and is far easier to understand and experience if you also read the Silmarillion - because the Silmarillion sets the scene and mythological background to how this saga plays out. At the same time, it can be appreciated as a standalone saga, because Tolkien sets the scene very well with enough detail to appreciate what is going on while still keeping the story flowing. To sum it up - this is a book (or six, really) without parallel. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but I'd recommend anyone who values attention to detail, gripping storytelling and an epic tale.   hide

THE LORD OF THE RINGS is regarded by many to be the most important and influential work of fantasy of the 20th century. It generated the fantasy novel industry practically single-handedly, inspiring a multitude of novels concerning elves and dwarves on quests to conquer ultimate evil despite overwhelming odds. Although THE LORD OF THE RINGS was originally published as a trilogy, here it is...more

THE LORD OF THE RINGS is regarded by many to be the most important and influential work of fantasy of the 20th century. It generated the fantasy novel industry practically single-handedly, inspiring a multitude of novels concerning elves and dwarves on quests to conquer ultimate evil despite overwhelming odds. Although THE LORD OF THE RINGS was originally published as a trilogy, here it is presented in a single volume, as Tolkien always intended. The Dark Lord Sauron, an utterly evil and powerful being, is stirring again after a long period of dormancy. He will soon dominate all of Middle-earth if he is not stopped. The key to Sauron's defeat is Frodo, nephew and heir to Bilbo Baggins--the hero of THE HOBBIT. The magic ring that Bilbo picked up on his adventures is in fact the One Ring, into which Sauron deposited much of his power. If the Ring is destroyed in the volcano at the heart of Sauron's realm of Mordor, Sauron too will be destroyed. Unfortunately, the longer someone bears the Ring, the stronger grows its ability to corrupt the bearer and those around him. Will Frodo be able to resist the seductive call of the Ring and complete the perilous journey to Mordor?   hide

It's quite overwhelming to see the number and type of accolades this book has received and mind you it does deserve a few of them , but certainly not all. Let's start with what it deserves : 1. Exciting adventure plot .. comparable to the Count of Monte Cristo. 2. Super new-world creation , Middle Earth is huge, varied, fascinating and cohesively woven. And now what it does not...more

It's quite overwhelming to see the number and type of accolades this book has received and mind you it does deserve a few of them , but certainly not all. Let's start with what it deserves : 1. Exciting adventure plot .. comparable to the Count of Monte Cristo. 2. Super new-world creation , Middle Earth is huge, varied, fascinating and cohesively woven. And now what it does not deserve : 1. It is not and I repeat NOT a well written book and waxing lyrical on Tolkien's boring, mixed up style is foolish and sophomoric. 2. It is certainly NOT the greatest work of the 20th century, nay, not even in the top 100 . When there are books like Ulysses, In Search of Lost Time and The Magic Mountain out there it sickens me to hear the LOTR mentioned in that context. In the world there are two types of literature : Great and regular. 'Great' comprises authors like Joyce, Mann, Proust, Faulkner, Dickens, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. 'Regular' consists of authors like Christie, Gardner, Ludlum, Baldacci and all the other bestsellers. The difference is that one set is to be treated seriously and the other to be read for relaxation. There are authors who combine the two types successfully and produce super books like P GWodehouse and J K Rowling. And there are authors who make a jolly good hash of it. And one such author is Tolkien. 3 stars.   hide

I made the mistake when I was 11 of picking up the trilogy, all packed into one book, a little larger than the bible. Tehn my second mistake was to open that book. IT was the hardest struggle of my life and I couldn't just drop the book because I don't know how to stop reading a book I've started unless it's just killing me slowly. The plot of course is rich but the description is even richer. So...more

I made the mistake when I was 11 of picking up the trilogy, all packed into one book, a little larger than the bible. Tehn my second mistake was to open that book. IT was the hardest struggle of my life and I couldn't just drop the book because I don't know how to stop reading a book I've started unless it's just killing me slowly. The plot of course is rich but the description is even richer. So detailed is Tolkien that even the underside of a leaf does not go unnoticed in this man's imagination and a detailed explantion of how many veins there are needs to be typed out before the story can move forward, lest the reader's imagination leave up so crucial a detail. Somehow I made it out of that book alive. The plot wasexcellent of course but the difference between Lord of teh Rings and The Hobbit is kind of overwhelming. Maybe my version had been cut down but there were two different Tolkiens writing the two different books. One was obsessive-compulsive Tolkien. He's not the cool one.   hide