Reviews

The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien

pennwing's review

adventurous challenging informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

elanorgardner's review

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

traveling_in_books's review

informative slow-paced

raitalle's review

4.0

I loved reading this book about the writing of The Lord of the Rings, seeing both how much the story evolved and changed as Tolkien wrote through the drafts, while so much of what he wrote down the first time stayed. You can tell how much time and effort went into sorting through the mountains of notes and writings in order to present everything in an understandable format. I thought it was especially fun when Christopher himself would come up in letters, despite his obvious attempts to keep his own personal memories/biases out of the writing. I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of these books.