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calebgales's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
beeeezz's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
alexandrabree's review against another edition
4.0
Been meaning to read these books for so long. There is so much detail condensed and yet drawn out at the same time. I know there is so much I am going to forget, these novels will be worth reading and listening to on audiobook time and time again
akarnae's review
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
nina_gauri's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I've read the whole trilogy multiple times, and every time is special. The Fellowshi of the Ring is the perfect introduction to the Middle-Earth.
circlepines's review against another edition
I'm impressed by folks who can review The Lord of the Rings. I have no idea how I'd start to give this a five-star rating. It would be like trying to review protons, or infrared radiation. It's a foundational element of the universe that I live in, and my "rating" of it doesn't matter. It just... is.
But I've only actually read the series once. (Cut to me hiding LotR underneath my textbook in middle school English class, racing to finish it all before the next Peter Jackson movie came out.) Twenty years later I'm doing a read-through with my husband, who is a bona fide Tolkien fanatic with academic credentials to back it up, and has made a "Tolkien School" syllabus with weekly discussion prompts that we explore over tea and cookies. Strongly recommend reading LotR with someone who is thoroughly versed in the construction of Tolkien's universe within the context of Old and Middle English literary traditions! Also, with tea and cookies.
In lieu of an actual review, here are some of the things that struck me this time through The Ring Steps Out:
- The hobbit protagonists have much more distinctive character, and much more character development, than I really remembered. There's also much more humor than I remembered. (And Tolkien gets delightfully sassy toward his critics in the foreword.)
- The first time around, the Shire seemed peaceful and utopian. The second time around, it seems stiflingly conservative and so hostile to any kind of change or external influence. Also interesting to read with an awareness of class that I didn't have before -- seeing how much of the humor in the first part of the book comes from poking fun at the habits and interests of working-class hobbits; how much of Frodo's early character development involves differentiating him from the hobbit hoi polloi; how Sam is set apart from Frodo's other companions because of his working-class background, and gradually integrates into the group as they get farther from the Shire; etc.
- Tom Bombadil is not actually the Jar-Jar Binks of LotR. He is an enigmatic god, and it is a great injustice that he was left out of the movie. We can only hope that Peter Jackson's next project will be an entire Tom Bombadil trilogy.
- An assortment of random droppings from my notebook: "oh god they're starting to walk"; "Sam is a dog?"; "Frodo's self-perpetuating sense of alienation"; "Merry would be better at this than Frodo"; "hobbits need constant deus ex machina"; "the Men of Bree all have Radical Faerie names"; "Middle Earth refugee crisis -- NIMBYism"; "how come no one has a map??"
But I've only actually read the series once. (Cut to me hiding LotR underneath my textbook in middle school English class, racing to finish it all before the next Peter Jackson movie came out.) Twenty years later I'm doing a read-through with my husband, who is a bona fide Tolkien fanatic with academic credentials to back it up, and has made a "Tolkien School" syllabus with weekly discussion prompts that we explore over tea and cookies. Strongly recommend reading LotR with someone who is thoroughly versed in the construction of Tolkien's universe within the context of Old and Middle English literary traditions! Also, with tea and cookies.
In lieu of an actual review, here are some of the things that struck me this time through The Ring Steps Out:
- The hobbit protagonists have much more distinctive character, and much more character development, than I really remembered. There's also much more humor than I remembered. (And Tolkien gets delightfully sassy toward his critics in the foreword.)
- The first time around, the Shire seemed peaceful and utopian. The second time around, it seems stiflingly conservative and so hostile to any kind of change or external influence. Also interesting to read with an awareness of class that I didn't have before -- seeing how much of the humor in the first part of the book comes from poking fun at the habits and interests of working-class hobbits; how much of Frodo's early character development involves differentiating him from the hobbit hoi polloi; how Sam is set apart from Frodo's other companions because of his working-class background, and gradually integrates into the group as they get farther from the Shire; etc.
- Tom Bombadil is not actually the Jar-Jar Binks of LotR. He is an enigmatic god, and it is a great injustice that he was left out of the movie. We can only hope that Peter Jackson's next project will be an entire Tom Bombadil trilogy.
- An assortment of random droppings from my notebook: "oh god they're starting to walk"; "Sam is a dog?"; "Frodo's self-perpetuating sense of alienation"; "Merry would be better at this than Frodo"; "hobbits need constant deus ex machina"; "the Men of Bree all have Radical Faerie names"; "Middle Earth refugee crisis -- NIMBYism"; "how come no one has a map??"
jesseletford's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bloomingsouls's review against another edition
3.0
So, I tried, but I only finished Book 1 of the Fellowship as you can see. It's a bit of a pity, but I kind of knew what I signed up for even though I had hoped to become more immersed in the story than I did. Perhaps I'll read Book 2 of the Fellowship sometime in the future, but for now, it seems unlikely. I love The Hobbit and I appreciate Tolkien as a linguist, scholar and also author of course, but this was just not it for me.
flajol's review against another edition
3.0
Yet another attempt to make it through the full set of books...
I actually liked Tom Bombadil this time around, so that's an improvement on my previous false starts with this book.
I actually liked Tom Bombadil this time around, so that's an improvement on my previous false starts with this book.