Average customer rating:
- One of the best editions ever!
- Wonderful Book... Worth Every Penny
- Good, if You Like this Genre
- Lord of the Rings boxed set review.
- One "Ring" to rule them all
|
The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Tolkien, Christopher
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Tolkien, J.R.R.
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Hardcover
| Tolkien, J.R.R.
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Epic
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Boxed Sets
| Formats
| Books
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Boxed Sets
| Formats
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Hobbit
-
The Silmarillion
-
The Children of Húrin
-
The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook
-
The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition)
ASIN: 0618260587 |
Book Description
Three-volume boxed set edition lavishly illustrated in full color by Alan Lee
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth still it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo dissapeared bequeathing to his young cousin, Frodo, the Ruling Ring, and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the wizard, the hobbits Merry, Pippin and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best editions ever!.......2007-08-01
What else should I say? Alan Lee is t h e perfect illustrator for this epic work of literature!
Wonderful Book... Worth Every Penny.......2007-07-23
I recieved this book and the artwork on the novels in fantastic. It really gives the books a great look and I have had fellow friends and family comment on how wonderful the artwork is too.
The whole Lord of the Rings novel is split into the three parts making it a trilogy, like the movies. This makes for easy handling of the book while reading instead of readind and trying to hold a 1000 or more page novel in your bed or in a chair.
This novel has a great story to it. Anybody looking for a great long novel would definetly enjoy this one. It gives a lot of background into the characters and really helps their image develop in your mind.
This product is an A+ for me and they couldn't have done it any better.
Good, if You Like this Genre.......2007-06-14
You can't say you didn't get what you paid for. These colossal books, filled with adventures, can certainly keep a person occupied, but as a general warning, these aren't those "glove-fits-all" books. You have to be in the mindset for an epic fantasy battle, and though I wasn't, my classmates who read the entire trilogy absolutely adored the stories. I would highly recommend reading The Hobbit before attempting to digest the trilogy, just so the concepts of hobbits, wizards, and Middle Earth, will be old hat.
Lord of the Rings boxed set review........2007-05-14
An mesmerising tale beautifully presented in this illustrated boxed set. The Lord of the Rings is the ultimate tale of good versus evil set in the enchanting landscape created by Tolkien that is Middle Earth.
I would recommend this edition to anyone who wants to embark on this wonderfully exciting quest with Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin.
An excellent edition!
One "Ring" to rule them all.......2007-05-06
Though J.R.R. Tolkien was not the first or most critically-acclaimed fantasy writer, he remains the most beloved and influential, even though "Lord of the Rings" is decades old.
Now with the epic movie trilogy based on this book, new waves of readers are discovering the unique power of the "Lord of the Rings." Tolkien's classic is a timeless tale of good and evil, written in a detailed, powerful style, set in a fictional world of staggering detail and haunting beauty.
Following up on events in "The Hobbit," "The Fellowship of the Ring" opens with the hobbit Bilbo Baggins departing from the Shire, after many years of living as the town eccentric. He reluctantly leaves his treasured ring of invisibility to his adventurous nephew Frodo, and vanishes into the wild with some dwarves.
But Gandalf the wizard, informs Frodo that the Ring is really the Ring of Power, a powerful item that the demonic Dark Lord Sauron has poured his essence and power into. And if Sauron can regain the Ring, he will be able to conquer Middle-Earth. Aghast, Frodo joins a fellowship of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Men and a wizard, to go to the one place where the Ring can be destroyed: Mount Doom.
"The Two Towers" begins directly after "Fellowship," after Frodo Baggins flees with his friend Sam into Mordor, with no one to protect them. His cousins Merry and Pippin are kidnapped by orcs from the renegade wizard Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli begin a frenetic search for the hobbits, and receive unexpected help from unlikely allies. Meanwhile, the Ring weighs more heavily on Frodo, as he is forced to get help from one of the people he most despised: the Ring's slave Gollum.
"Return of the King" brings the trilogy to an action-packed, slam-bang and ultimately poignant finale. Sam barely rescues Frodo from Sauron's orcs, and the two resume their journey to Mount Doom, barely escaping Sauron's forces. As Aragorn leads the desperate battle against Sauron's armies at the city of Minas Tirith, Frodo falls increasingly under the seductive spell of the Ring.
"Lord of the Rings" is indeed a powerful book, and its timeless messages and quests have shaped the fantasy genre, and crossed the boundaries of literary fiction. At its core it's about the fight of good versus evil, and how "little people" can have a strength and willpower that the great and mighty can't even begin to understand.
And Middle-Earth is a pretty astounding universe -- not just because Tolkien created a rich back-history for it, but because of the feeling of mystery that hangs around its corners, whether it's dead soldiers or slumbering tree-men. And of course rich cultures of Men, ancient wizards, the stately melancholy elves, and the tough dwarves -- as well as the idyllic Shire, a sort of ancient British countryside which is threatened by corruption.
Tolkien's writing is evocative and descriptive, though not to extremes; an elf rider is simple described as shining like a light behind a veil. The story is wrapped in a wide range of dialogue -- from Sam's folksy chat to the Elves' ethereal, formal songs -- and the pacing is slow and gradual, but kept alive by sudden twists of the plot. The first several chapters are kind of slow-moving, but by the time our heroes get to Bree, the pace picks up.
Frodo Baggins is an everyman hero, who dreams of adventure but begins to treasure the simple, boring life that he had once he is deprived of it. His deteriotation is saddening, all the more so because he is aware of it. The equally vibrant cast also includes Gandalf the crabby grandfatherly wizard, Sam Gamgee the loyal gardener, and a variety of kings, elves, dwarves, and more lovable little hobbits.
Even after all the years, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" still rules the fantasy genre and has become an integral part of modern literature. It's an epic for all ages, and few books have even come close to equalling it.
Amazon.com
Hobbits and wizards and Sauron--oh, my! Mild-mannered Oxford scholar John Ronald Reuel Tolkien had little inkling when he published The Hobbit; Or, There and Back Again in 1937 that, once hobbits were unleashed upon the world, there would be no turning back. Hobbits are, of course, small, furry creatures who love nothing better than a leisurely life quite free from adventure. But in that first novel and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo and their elfish friends get swept up into a mighty conflict with the dragon Smaug, the dark lord Sauron (who owes much to proud Satan in Paradise Lost), the monstrous Gollum, the Cracks of Doom, and the awful power of the magical Ring. The four books' characters--good and evil--are recognizably human, and the realism is deepened by the magnificent detail of the vast parallel world Tolkien devised, inspired partly by his influential Anglo-Saxon scholarship and his Christian beliefs. (He disapproved of the relative sparseness of detail in the comparable allegorical fantasy his friend C.S. Lewis dreamed up in The Chronicles of Narnia, though he knew Lewis had spun a page-turning yarn.) It has been estimated that one-tenth of all paperbacks sold can trace their ancestry to J.R.R. Tolkien. But even if we had never gotten Robert Jordan's The Path of Daggers and the whole fantasy genre Tolkien inadvertently created by bringing the hobbits so richly to life, Tolkien's epic about the Ring would have left our world enhanced by enchantment. --Tim Appelo
Book Description
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Four deluxe paperback volumes
by J.R.R. Tolkien
"J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings created a unique, wholly realized other world, evoked from deep in the well of Time, massively detailed, absorbingly entertaining, profound in meaning."
-- New York Times Book Review
Customer Reviews:
Lord of the Rings.......2007-10-09
The Fellowship of the Ring is an amazing piece of literature written by J.R.R. Tolkien. J.R.R. Tolkien was born in 1892 and died at age 81 in 1973. He was an author, a teacher, a philologist, and an icon for people who love to read fantasy books. His first book was The Hobbit, which was very popular when it came out in 1937. Then he started on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which became legendary all over the world.
The book The Fellowship of the Ring is about a young hobbit named Frodo who inherits a ring that has unusual powers. It first fell into the hands of Gollum, a creature who dwelled in the dark worshipping the ring, calling it "his precious". Then it fell into the hands of plump little Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's cousin. After many years, it was handed down to Frodo. When Frodo learned of its powers, he set off on a journey to seek fortune and adventure, as well as to destroy the ring. Through hardships and pain, Frodo and his friends travel across middle earth, encountering many un-natural things. To find out more, read the book!
I thought the book was fantastic; I give it a 9.5 out of 10. I was impressed by the quality of the writing, how descriptive it was, and how different all of the concepts were from how we live. It sure got me hooked! It was a challenging read, but it was worth it. I recommend it for experienced readers, because the book is 398 pages long. This book relates to the Hobbit, which my dad read to me when I was little. If you love fantasy, the Fellowship of the Ring is the right book for you. I am now moving on to the second book in the trilogy, The Two Towers.
Top Quality.......2007-10-07
The Hobbit/ Lond of the Rings Boxset is of very good quality and a certain must have for Lord of the Rings fans! No damage in the box set itself and the books are well printed!
Gets better with each reading.......2007-09-27
Read the Hobbit first then jump right in! I find new and wonderous things every time I read it again!
J.R.R. Tolkein Boxed Set.......2007-09-23
fast shipping, reasonable price for books that we have had for years and wanted to obtain new copies. Good job!
CLASSIC NOVELS!.......2007-09-13
I love this stuff. Tolkien is a great writer. LOTR rocks! Like the films, they get better with each one. The story is wonderful, and the writing style is first rate. You,ll love it.
Average customer rating:
- LOVELY
- My review
- The bedrock of fantasy
- Boring.......
- A Timeless Literary Classic
|
The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien , and
Alan Lee
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Classics
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Tolkien, Christopher
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Tolkien, J.R.R.
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Hardcover
| Tolkien, J.R.R.
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Epic
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Boxed Sets
| Formats
| Books
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Boxed Sets
| Formats
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Hobbit
-
The Hobbit
-
The Silmarillion
-
The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition)
-
The Lord of the Rings. 3 Vol. Set
ASIN: 0395489326 |
Book Description
The three volumes that make up Tolkien's epic classic The Lord of the Rings are here presented in their standard cloth editions including large format fold-out maps and an extensive appendices. Set contains The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, with jackets and a box designed by celebrated illustrator Alan Lee.
Customer Reviews:
LOVELY.......2007-07-24
Wonderful set! Reading a hardcover by the original publisher is a must. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful
My review.......2006-11-08
Its divine the books are beautifully bound and reasonably priced, definately a must for Tolkien fanatics.
The bedrock of fantasy.......2005-12-28
Yes folks, this was the book (THE book--it wasn't supposed to be a trilogy originally) that started it all. The roots of modern fantasy begin here. Yes, it's also terribly formulaic writing--but it was written to be mythology. Myths and legends are generally pretty big on formula. Beneath that stiff prose, though, is the rich and complex world of Tolkien's Middle-earth...and what an amazing place it is.
Boring..............2005-12-26
Tired of all the hullaballoo surrounding Tolkien I finally purchased LOtR. I enjoy fantasy and tried to give it a fair shake but put the book down from boredom a quarter of the way through. I found myself rereading pages because my mind wasn't getting into his prose. There are better works out there, IMHO.
Everyone sings the praises of him so YOU might enjoy it, but I much prefer George Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire.
A Timeless Literary Classic.......2005-08-15
I first read the Lord of the Rings when I was in high school. I thought it was a good story, although a bit lofty when compared to The Hobbit.
A few years later, I picked it up and read it once more. I doscovered things in its pages that I had missed the first time around. Now, I read it every year or two out of simple appreciation for Tolkien's vision and the poetic way he described it.
I highly recommend these books to anyone and everyone.
Average customer rating:
|
LORD OF THE RINGS BOXED SET
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
Manufacturer: HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Tolkien's Middle Earth
| Series
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Children's Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0007203632 |
Average customer rating:
- A lot more entertaining than reading yourself
- Not Free SF Reader
- The Forgetten Glossary
- So that's how it started!
- Silmarillion Spectacular
|
The Silmarillion Boxed Set (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Manufacturer: Random House Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
Unabridged
| Literature & Fiction
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
General
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
Literature & Fiction
| Boxed Sets
| Formats
| Books
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Boxed Sets
| Formats
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Classics
| Comic
| Contemporary
| Literary
Epic
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth
-
J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings)
-
The Hobbit
-
The Histories of Middle Earth, Volumes 1-5
-
The Children of Húrin
ASIN: 0553525409
Release Date: 1998-12-01 |
Amazon.com
The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkien's tragic, operatic history of the First Age of Middle-Earth, essential background material for serious readers of the classic Lord of the Rings saga. Tolkien's work sets the standard for fantasy, and this audio version of the "Bible of Middle-Earth" does The Silmarillion justice. Martin Shaw's reading is grave and resonant, conveying all the powerful events and emotions that shaped elven and human history long before Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf and all the rest embarked on their quests. Beginning with the Music of the Ainur, The Silmarillion tells a tale of the Elder Days, when Elves and Men became estranged by the Dark Lord Morgoth's lust for the Silmarils, pure and powerful magic jewels. Even the love between a human warrior and the daughter of the Elven king cannot defeat Morgoth, but the War of Wrath finally brings down the Dark Lord. Peace reigns until the evil Sauron recovers the Rings of Power and sets the stage for the events told in the Lord of the Rings. This is epic fantasy at its finest, thrillingly read and gloriously unabridged. (Running time: 14 hours, 6 CDs)
Book Description
The Silmarillion tells of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien's World, when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle Earth, and the High Elves made war upon them for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. It is to this ancient drama that the characters in The Lord of the Rings so often look back to.
Sit at the feet of the most beloved storyteller of the 20th century and hear how the world came to be. The Silmarillion is told here in a brilliantly faceted audio production, with all the glory of the First Age itself. Dazzlingly performed by Martin Shaw, it sparkles with the magic of the dawn of time--when Elves and Men roamed a world set spinning through space by the haunting music of supernatural choirs. Slip through the shadows and you, too, may catch the whisper of harp-song on the winds of the high air above the mists of the world.
This exclusive audio boxed set of Tolkien's elegant masterpiece is one that will delight fans young and old. It is an extraordinary keepsake to be treasured and listened to again and again.
Customer Reviews:
A lot more entertaining than reading yourself.......2007-10-09
The biggest complaint I hear about the silmarillian is that it is dry and hard to read. I agree that it is like reading a historic or scriptural text, but the stories of Beren and Luthien, and Hurin, and Erendil are wonderful. Knowing the history enriches your experience of the Lord of the Rings. I ordered the book on tape because I have eye problems which make reading difficult, but I have also found it a lot easier to 'get through' the dry parts this way.
If you are looking for a gripping novel this is NOT the book for you. However, it is a wonderful wealth of information for anyone interested in delving into the world and history of middle earth. It will explain a lot about Lord of the Rings.
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
The most interesting part of The Silmarillion to the standard reader
will be the end, with notes and detail on the parts of Tolkien's world
that are people are more familiar with, and more interested in.
The majority of the book is again of an older style, and will be
found to be very, very dry by many. Lots of detail about early Elvish
history, that sort of thing.
The Forgetten Glossary.......2007-08-25
It isn't a novel, it's the comprehensive dictionary of Middle Earthian backstory, formatted like an old Viking Saga. Not a light or interesting read. Think of a farmer's almanac and the thousands of endnotes that go with any serious history volume. Now combine them -- you get this book of details involving Middle Earth.
If you want more along the lines of The Lord of The Rings Trilogy or The Hobbit, re-read the originals. If you are a Tolkien fanatic and want to know who Smeagol is related to fifteen generations later in Hobbiton, the elvish words for the names of the beloved swords carried by the first elves, and the names of like five hundred dwarves who died at Moria, this is the book for you.
Why one? My expectations were off -- I expected a novel, not a badly formated roleplaying sourcebook made of author's notes. When I tried to read this, I always fell asleep. Not even calculus or 18th century philosophy does that to me.
Yes, names were beautiful (Professor Tolkien had a degree in linguistics), and parts of it were like an alternative universe Bulfinch's Mythology, but as a novel, it fails.
So that's how it started!.......2007-08-23
The unveiling of the beginnings was very enlightening. After a while all of the names become difficult to distinguish and I found myself backtracking and/or going to the glossary - but how else could he have done it? Maybe that's why JRR labored over it for so long.
Silmarillion Spectacular.......2007-08-23
This audio book is spectacular. Uniquely J.R.R. Tolkien, the language is wonderful, the detail is captivating, the myth is magnificent! As expcted, it is a voyage into the nature of God, good and evil and the frailty of mankind.
Product Description
Unique Tolkien set, boxed in gold foil holder. The classics!
Product Description
This four volume, deluxe paperback boxed set contains J.R.R. Tolkien's epic masterworks THE HOBBIT (ISBN# 0395282659) and the three volumes of THE LORD OF THE RINGS (THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (ISBN# 0395272238), THE TWO TOWERS (ISBN# 039527222X), and THE RETURN OF THE KING (ISBN# 0395272211)) in their definitive text settings complete with maps and cover illustrations by the celebrated artist Alan Lee.
Average customer rating:
|
The Lord of the Rings (Boxed Set)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Tolkien's Middle Earth
| Series
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000AQLYG8 |
Product Description
This is a 3-volume slipcased edition of The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, the Return of the King) published in 1965 by the Houghton Mifflin Co.
Customer Reviews:
The first and the best.......2005-10-01
Though Tolkien was not the first or most critically-acclaimed fantasy writer, he remains the most beloved and influential, even though "Lord of the Rings" is decades old. Now with the epic movie trilogy based on this book, new waves of readers are discovering the unique power of the "Lord of the Rings." It has quietly created the fantasy genre as we know it, set the tone for most fantasy ever since, topped many "best book" polls, and helped spawn such entertainment phenomena as "Star Wars."
Following up on events in "The Hobbit," "The Fellowship of the Ring" stars the quiet, good-natured hobbit Frodo Baggins, who has inherited a golden Ring that allows its user to become invisible. But his friend, Gandalf the wizard, informs Frodo that the Ring is really the Ring of Power, a tiny invulnerable token that the demonic Dark Lord Sauron has poured his essence and power into. And if Sauron can regain the Ring, he will be able to conquer Middle-Earth. Aghast, Frodo joins a fellowship of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Men and a wizard, to go to the one place where the Ring can be destroyed: Mount Doom.
"The Two Towers" begins directly after "Fellowship," after Frodo Baggins flees with his friend Sam into Mordor, with no one to protect them. His cousins Merry and Pippin are kidnapped by orcs from the renegade wizard Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli begin a frenetic search for the hobbits, and receive unexpected help from unlikely allies. Meanwhile, the Ring weighs more heavily on Frodo, as he is forced to get help from one of the people he most despised: the Ring's slave Gollum.
"Return of the King" brings the trilogy to an action-packed, slam-bang and ultimately poignant finale. Sam barely rescues Frodo from Sauron's orcs, and the two resume their journey to Mount Doom, barely escaping Sauron's forces. As Aragorn leads the desperate battle against Sauron's armies at the city of Minas Tirith, Frodo falls increasingly under the seductive spell of the Ring.
"Lord of the Rings" is indeed a powerful book, speaking to virtually everyone who has read it. J.R.R. Tolkien drew from legends and myths, ranging from the ancient Norse mythology to more recent legends, mingled with his love of the British country folk and his Roman Catholic beliefs. Though there are no direct linkages or lessons in the trilogy, Tolkien probably drew on his experiences in World War I for the ravaged battlefields and breakneck action sequences. His beliefs are equally misty but present: they fueled the ethics of the good guys, the fall of formerly-good wizard Saruman, and the themes of temptation, redemption, evil and good that run through every character.
Frodo Baggins is an everyman hero, who dreams of adventure but begins to treasure the simple, boring life that he had once he is deprived of it. His deteriotation is saddening, all the more so because he is aware of it. Sam Gamgee is his loyal gardener, a shy young hobbit who grows in confidence and courage. Gandalf is the quintessential wizard -- crabby, kindly, powerful, with a hidden unique streak that elevates him over the usual. Merry and Pippin start out a bit flaky, but are matured by their harrowing experiences. Aragorn is noble, kind, kingly, and intelligent, but with darker streaks in his personality that make him ultimately human. Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf initially grate on each other, but overcome their prejudices to become close friends.
Tolkien's writing is evocative and descriptive, though not to extremes; Mordor, for example, is best described through the way that Sam and Frodo react to it. The dialogue can range from goofy and hilarious to solemn and archaic, or to some combination of the two. And the pacing is gradual but necessary -- readers with short attention spans won't be able to handle this story. If they can handle sprawling, epic tales, then probably they can.
Even after all the years, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" still rules the fantasy genre and has become an integral part of modern literature. It's an epic for all ages, and few books have even come close to equalling it.
Books:
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Gift Set
- The Metamorphosis (Norton Critical Editions)
- The Old Man and The Sea
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)
- The Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English (Pure Gold Classic) (Pure Gold Classics)
- The Plague
- The Power and the Glory (Penguin Classics)
- The Quiet American (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
- The Razor's Edge
- The Red Tent
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough
- The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, the Crossing, Cities of the Plain
- Minuteman Activist: To Promote the General Welfare
- Mugglenet.Com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love and How W
- Robert Shaw: More Than a Life
- The Forsyte Saga
- Swamp Song: A Natural History of Florida's Swamps
- 101 Grade a Resumes for Teachers
- Pocket Hotels, Tourism & Catering Management Spanish Dictionary
- Retirement Communities in Florida: A Consumer's Guide and Directory to Service-Oriented Facilities