The Lord of the Rings

Those who have been longtime connoisseurs of Tolkein's work The Lord of the Rings will appreciate this latest and updated reprint in the original fashion and vision of the author. Few fantasy authors have graced us with such an engrossing microcosm to escape to. The only qualm some will have to bear as a part of its nostalgia is the way Tolkien's work reads: despite vivid and complex imagery, it...more

Those who have been longtime connoisseurs of Tolkein's work The Lord of the Rings will appreciate this latest and updated reprint in the original fashion and vision of the author. Few fantasy authors have graced us with such an engrossing microcosm to escape to. The only qualm some will have to bear as a part of its nostalgia is the way Tolkien's work reads: despite vivid and complex imagery, it at times sounds like a history text book in execution. Aside from that, the work is still a joy for diehard fantasy readers. if you can't imagine yourself reading this book - primarily out of fear that you will be an uber geek if caught holding it - then by all means purchase the volume edition of this work, complete with the Hobbit, the definitive prequel to the saga and also a unique story all its own.   hide

This book looks intimidating at first glance. However, it is an absolute classic that fewer and fewer people today are taking the time to read. It is a laborious process, but I am enjoying reading it simultaneously this summer along with the Septembers of Shiraz by Sofer. I found similarities between the two, not in length, content, narration, or style, but in perspective. Both books embrace a...more

This book looks intimidating at first glance. However, it is an absolute classic that fewer and fewer people today are taking the time to read. It is a laborious process, but I am enjoying reading it simultaneously this summer along with the Septembers of Shiraz by Sofer. I found similarities between the two, not in length, content, narration, or style, but in perspective. Both books embrace a huge collection of characters as being part of the whole. As chapters progress, they switch between characters. This style gives the reader a realization of many simultaneous occurances in different places and broadens the reader's perspective. Each character's actions are crucial to the plot and set up systems of cause-and-effect, interacting directly and indirectly with each other. I highly recommend this book!   hide

A smattering of singing quasi-humans that drones on for a mind numbing 1216 pages. With all due respect to starry eyed children swooning over the Sunday-morning-cartoon type good vs. evil duality and critics swooning over the revival of the heroic epic, I am less than impressed with the novels both individually and collectively. Tolkien's affinity for linguistics is impressive, but showcasing it...more

A smattering of singing quasi-humans that drones on for a mind numbing 1216 pages. With all due respect to starry eyed children swooning over the Sunday-morning-cartoon type good vs. evil duality and critics swooning over the revival of the heroic epic, I am less than impressed with the novels both individually and collectively. Tolkien's affinity for linguistics is impressive, but showcasing it by inserting page long chunks of singing imaginary languages detracts from the narrative more than it adds to its authenticity. For all the nigh universal praise of Tolkien's originality, I must disagree that elves, goblins, wizards, and magic rings are hallmarks of original thought. Did I mention that it drones on? It takes far too long for the lovable midget protagonist to simply walk over a hill or go to sleep. As for the revival of the heroic epic, there is a reason why most people opt to sparknote the Beowulfs and Ulysses of the world.   hide

When Tolkien said the book is too short, it is easy to assume he was speaking with tongue in cheek; easy, that is, until one reaches the end of the book and sees the various Appendixes. There is enough additional information here about hobbits and the "Second and Third Ages" to make it clear that the author might easily have added another thousand pages to the tale. Perhaps, given...more

When Tolkien said the book is too short, it is easy to assume he was speaking with tongue in cheek; easy, that is, until one reaches the end of the book and sees the various Appendixes. There is enough additional information here about hobbits and the "Second and Third Ages" to make it clear that the author might easily have added another thousand pages to the tale. Perhaps, given Tolkien's prodigious imagination, he truly did feel the book to be too short.The story could have been pared down in places without really losing much. Sometimes it seems to take forever for Frodo (the primary character or "hobbit" in the tale) to simply walk over a hill or go to sleep. That complaint aside, it must be hastily added that this is a truly wonderful sword-and-sorcery tale, otherwise beautifully told. A wonderful book for lovers of fantasy fiction. That's "book" because The Lord of the Rings is not three books, as many assume, but one book in three parts (each part originally published separately). It is in fact the sequel to The Hobbit.In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (not Frodo) comes away with a magic ring that, put on the finger, makes one invisible. That was the extent of its power until Tolkien sat down to write "The Lord of the Rings". Now we learn that this particular ring is the ring that binds other magic rings and creates, for the holder of the "One Ring", the ultimate power over all the world. It is, in other words, the ring of rings, and it is now sought by an evil force that has been searching for it since its loss many years prior to Bilbo's finding it.The Lord of the Rings opens with Bilbo celebrating his "eleventy-first" birthday. Bilbo is now well over one hundred years of age. He chooses this birthday to pass on the ring (which he has had in his possession since finding it) to Frodo, his heir. In doing so, it is Frodo that becomes the central character of the novel.Shortly thereafter, the sorcerer Galdalf the Grey appears with vague warnings about the approach of evil and the power of the ring: "...All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening....The enemy still lacks one thing to give him strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance, break the last defenses, and cover all the lands in a second darkness. He lacks the One Ring."The ring Frodo how holds must be destroyed yet it is indestructible, so what is to be done? It can be destroyed, it turns out, only one way: by throwing it into the depths of Mount Doom. The quest is set, Frodo (and others, in particular another good hobbit named Sam) must set off to destroy the ring. Many dark forces will try to stop him and take the ring from him along the way.The first danger is the "Dark Riders" (the Ringwraiths) who are suddenly patrolling the highways and byways out of Hobbiton. Frodo no sooner sets off then he is in danger of his life: "The hooves grew nearer. They had no time to find any hiding-place better than the general darkness under the trees; Sam and Pippin crouched behind a large tree-bole, while Frodo crept back a few yards towards the lane. It showed grey and pale, a line of fading light through the wood. Above it the stars were thick in the dim sky, but there was no moon....The black shadow stood close to the point where they had left the path, and it swayed from side to side. Frodo thought he heard the sound of snuffling. The shadow bent to the ground, and then began to crawl towards him."The true saving graces of this book are the astounding imagination of the author and, by his wonderful writing ability, the realization of that imagination. Despite its great length, the book manages to hold the reader's attention and, in parts, is quite gripping. (Stripping away some excess would have made this a legitimate page-turner.) It is a book replete with dozens of wonderfully imaginative characters and creatures, many of which no doubt helped spawn other tales that carry similarities to this one (such as the Star War series). It's easy to see why it is a fantasy classic, or as some would have it, the fantasy classic.Those readers ready to sit and read the more than one thousand pages will, for the most part, be enthralled except for those rather long-winded parts where you'll say "get on with it". For those others not quite ready to assume the "massive undertaking" of reading the book, you will no doubt enjoy the movie(s) that will do the paring down that the book could have benefited from. The book is, when all is said and done, an amazing achievement.   hide

These books are brilliant from beginning to end, and that the movies were made so close to the storyline is a miracle. The story is about a young hobbit and friends that have to take a master ring to Mordor to be destroyed. Bilbo Bagins found the ring long ago in a cave it is the Master Ring that Sauron had created to rule over all the other rings he had created, but Sauron was defeated and...more

These books are brilliant from beginning to end, and that the movies were made so close to the storyline is a miracle. The story is about a young hobbit and friends that have to take a master ring to Mordor to be destroyed. Bilbo Bagins found the ring long ago in a cave it is the Master Ring that Sauron had created to rule over all the other rings he had created, but Sauron was defeated and killed 100's of years ago and now he is back and the ring wants to get back to his master. So now it has fallen to Frodo to destroy the ring and to travel many miles picking up friends along the way who will try their darndest to help him get there and destroy the ring before Sauron destroys all humanity and middle earth.   hide

En voici un que je n'ai pas besoin de résumer. Beaucoup d'entre vous l'ont sûrement déjà lu en français, alors parlons plutôt de la question suivante : à quoi bon le lire en VO, surtout si on l'a déjà lu en français ? Tout simplement parce que le style de Tolkien est extrêmement travaillé, et qu'on l'apprécie beaucoup mieux que dans la traduction (qui a...more

En voici un que je n'ai pas besoin de résumer. Beaucoup d'entre vous l'ont sûrement déjà lu en français, alors parlons plutôt de la question suivante : à quoi bon le lire en VO, surtout si on l'a déjà lu en français ? Tout simplement parce que le style de Tolkien est extrêmement travaillé, et qu'on l'apprécie beaucoup mieux que dans la traduction (qui a été maintes fois critiquée par les spécialistes, et ce ne serait pas surprenant qu'on en fasse une autre bientôt). Tolkien a un anglais très soutenu, et emploie par endroits des mots archaïques. Bien sûr, il faut avoir un assez bon niveau d'anglais pour apprécier ça (personnellement je serais passé à côté de plein de choses si je n'avais pas eu l'occasion de lire du Shakespeare en VO en prépa), mais ça en vaut la peine, et dans le doute vous pouvez commencer par lire The Hobbit, à la langue moins complexe, avant d'attaquer The Lord of the Rings. Et l'anglais permet aussi de mieux apprécier l'humour de Tolkien... Maintenant, tapons un peu sur ce grand classique. On dit qu'il est parfois ennuyeux, qu'il y a des longueurs : oui, c'est vrai ! Mais contrairement à ce que j'entends souvent ("ça met du temps à démarrer avec les hobbits et tout, mais faut s'accrocher, la suite en vaut la peine"), je trouve qu'au contraire, tout le début est très bien, et tant qu'il y a des hobbits on ne s'ennuie pas parce qu'il y a toujours assez d'humour ; mais vers le milieu, quand on est embarqué dans les affaires d'humains et d'elfes, il y a des moments où ça devient abominablement sérieux et solennel, et où je me suis franchement ennuyé. Heureusement ça n'est jamais très long... de même pour certains Appendices relatant des généalogies et des dizaines de batailles à n'en plus finir, et où j'ai fini par crier grâce. Mais bon, il y a aussi des gens qui aiment ça...   hide

W.H. Auden's THE NEW YORK TIMES book review 22 Jan. 1956. "Life, as I experience it in my own person, is primarily a continuous succession of choices between alternatives..... for objectifying this experience, the natural image is that of a journey with a purpose, beset by dangerous hazards and obstacles.... But when I observe my fellow-men, such an image seems false. I can see, for...more

W.H. Auden's THE NEW YORK TIMES book review 22 Jan. 1956. "Life, as I experience it in my own person, is primarily a continuous succession of choices between alternatives..... for objectifying this experience, the natural image is that of a journey with a purpose, beset by dangerous hazards and obstacles.... But when I observe my fellow-men, such an image seems false. I can see, for example, that only the rich and those on vacation can take journeys; most men, most of the time, must work in one place. I cannot observe them making choices, only the actions they take and, if I know someone well, I can usually predict how he will act in a given situation.... If then, I thy to describe what I see as if I were an impersonal camera, I shall produce, not a Quest, but a 'naturalistic' document.... Both extremes, of course, falsify life. There are medieval Quests which justify the criticism made oby Erich Auerbach in his book MIMESIS; 'The world of knightly proving is a world of adventure.... [the knight's] exploits..... are feats accomplished at random which do not fit into any politically purposive pattern.' .... Mr. Tolkien has succeeded more completely than any previous writer in this genre in using the traditional properties of the Quest." Letter #183. Contains beautiful watercolor illustrations by Alan Lee presented in it's intended form, one volume.   hide

Reading this book is like going on a long, incredible journey along-side it's characters. I read 'The Hobbit" first - so had a very good picture of where we were travelling from, and never wanted the story to end! I lived the book (several times over!) each time I read it. If you like long sagas, quests and understand that Life itself is filled with all these things as we try to discover...more

Reading this book is like going on a long, incredible journey along-side it's characters. I read 'The Hobbit" first - so had a very good picture of where we were travelling from, and never wanted the story to end! I lived the book (several times over!) each time I read it. If you like long sagas, quests and understand that Life itself is filled with all these things as we try to discover ourselves and our capabilities this is a wonderful read! Again the fight of Good versus Evil, where surely, Good must wih through if only enough people uphold the values and support one another. Where there is Hope, there surely is Life! I loved this book!   hide

Yes, this is a very thick book with a story that's almost to long. Yes, the first chapters are very confusing with those numerous characters and their strange names (I had to reread the first chapters to understand who's who). Yes, JRR Tolkien gives detailed descriptions of a lot of things and events which may seem boring.But if you can go beyond that, you find a story that is exciting, romantic,...more

Yes, this is a very thick book with a story that's almost to long. Yes, the first chapters are very confusing with those numerous characters and their strange names (I had to reread the first chapters to understand who's who). Yes, JRR Tolkien gives detailed descriptions of a lot of things and events which may seem boring.But if you can go beyond that, you find a story that is exciting, romantic, serious, dark, full of hope, adventurous and so much more. After those first chapters I was hooked, wanting to know what would happen next, eager to learn more about the elves and the Dunédain, looking up all I could find about Middle Earth's history. And at the end of the book, I felt truly happy and sad. I wished it would go on beyond the Grey Havens but also knew that all was well. It was almost frustrating, so the only thing I could do was read it again and again and again. (And then read The Silmarillion and see the movies :-) )   hide