Reviews

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

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happylilkt's review against another edition

5.0

I grew up in a family where Lord of the Rings and [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408303130l/375802._SY75_.jpg|2422333] featured in road trip discussions, discussing Messianic figures, ethics, blah blah blah. Obviously I was the only one who didn't read those books until adulthood so I would stare out the window and not participate in the passionate discussion. My immediate and extended family discusses and converses to the point of pathology (to my husband's dismay), but since he knew that before he married me, I am not as sympathetic as perhaps I should be.

Was I not a reader? Why did I not read these books that ranked almost as high as holy writ in my family? Well, I was a reader, and while I read [b:The Hobbit|5907|The Hobbit, or There and Back Again|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546071216l/5907._SY75_.jpg|1540236] and it is one of my favorite books of all time (I recently procured a portable copy to put in my 72-hour kit. If I am stuck at a community shelter with no phone charger I will have something to read to myself / my kids), I was a very independent reader and I liked to tell my family that "a copy was never available." Perhaps that's true, but I think it was the classic rebelliousness of youth--don't tell me what to read!

Finally, in college, my younger brother decided to take charge of my sci-fi / fantasy education. To be fair, I had read quite a bit of fantasy ([b:The Princess Bride|21787|The Princess Bride|William Goldman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327903636l/21787._SY75_.jpg|992628] and [b:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353029077l/100915._SY75_.jpg|4790821]) and some science fiction. As a pre-teen I had read [b:The Tripods Trilogy|101942|The Tripods Trilogy (The Tripods, #1-3)|John Christopher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326400815l/101942._SY75_.jpg|98283], [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|386162|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559986152l/386162._SX50_.jpg|3078186], and [b:Jurassic Park|40604658|Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)|Michael Crichton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529604411l/40604658._SY75_.jpg|3376836]. I know I read some Ray Bradbury short stories. And then, of course, in high school I had to read a dystopian novel ([b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509280l/5129._SY75_.jpg|3204877]). I mean, I wasn't totally illiterate!

But my brother gave me this massive book, [b:Starship Troopers|17214|Starship Troopers|Robert A. Heinlein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614054412l/17214._SY75_.jpg|2534973], and Ender's Game. He evangelized [b:Dune|44767458|Dune (Dune, #1)|Frank Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555447414l/44767458._SY75_.jpg|3634639] and I actually finally got a copy (still unfinished) last year. So, of course, I read Ender's Game first as it was the shortest and didn't have soldiers on the cover. And I got through the Fellowship of the Ring fairly quickly, but the second book with the riders of Rohan--I just struggled to get engaged when I wanted the same characters. My father actually read many of those first chapters to me in an effort to get me engaged (he has a beautiful rich bass voice). But it was only after I graduated from college and found myself commuting by plane for work (before smart phones and plane WI-FI. I'm old) with nothing to do on a plane for hours every week but read that I would have the time and attention for LOTR.

First, I read Dickens. I also (finally) read the Old Testament (Aside from some obvious clerical errors, better than I expected!). I read David McCullough's [b:John Adams|2203|John Adams|David McCullough|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478144278l/2203._SX50_.jpg|963375] and Tolstoy's [b:Anna Karenina|155|Anna Karenina|Leo Tolstoy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1288758122l/155._SY75_.jpg|2507928]. And, yes, eventually I brought along this copy and read The Lord of the Rings. It was the right time and it was beautiful.

So I am not giving full marks because it took several attempts for me to really read it. But perhaps when I re-read it one day I will come back to give that 5th star or maybe I will never give it because I love The Hobbit more and think it's better. But this is still a great epic and I am glad my brother pushed me to read it.

Of course since then I have read more Science Fiction and Fantasy so I have my own recommendations besides those listed above:
- almost anything by [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg]
- [b:The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|24885533|The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|Ken Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511290092l/24885533._SY75_.jpg|44534169] by Ken Liu

I have [a:Philip K. Dick|4764|Philip K. Dick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264613853p2/4764.jpg] and [a:Arthur C. Clarke|7779|Arthur C. Clarke|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1357191481p2/7779.jpg] on my list and more [a:Ray Bradbury|1630|Ray Bradbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445955959p2/1630.jpg]. I've read a little [a:Connie Willis|14032|Connie Willis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529284935p2/14032.jpg], too. Science Fiction is definitely not my favorite genre though I don't dislike it, so if you have recommendations, by all means, share!

thedavis42's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5/5

alchinchilli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

estels's review against another edition

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5.0

"'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.

'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'"

(p.51)

/

"'Not even to see fair Lothlórien?' said Haldir, 'The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.'"

(p.349)