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regitzexenia's review against another edition
4.0
Even though he has now gotten a better handle on the begging of the story, the middle and the end seems to keep changing and it’s nerdy and fascinating to follow closey. Christopher Tolkien does a marvellous job at guiding the reader through the strange and twisted roads.
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
3.0
I am really disappointed that I couldn't get into this, it just felt like a chore and most of the time I couldn't even remember what I read, but I will just blame this on the fact there was a lot of hardcore parts prior to this and maybe I should have had a break before carrying on, 'fore now I cannot remember much of this epic battle that had been urging on in this. I may have to re-read just this novel in the future, but for now, it just dragged on and although I was laughing at some parts (the bitchyness of Aragorn to the Herb-Lore master) and was very much intrigued at other sections, it just didn't hold my mind long enough for me to have felt engaged throughout the whole ordeal.
Any way, just because I found it difficult to enjoy does not mean that you will and that this series (or one big novel) is any less awesome. I was just having a struggle so...
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy!
Gén >(^_^)<
Any way, just because I found it difficult to enjoy does not mean that you will and that this series (or one big novel) is any less awesome. I was just having a struggle so...
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy!
Gén >(^_^)<
vulturetime's review
3.5
The thing is for me, since The Lord of the Rings is a finished story, I'm not super invested in seeing all the different versions of how it could have been play out. It was nice to read the excerpts because I haven't reread The Lord of the Rings in a while and the process of writing the series is interesting, but to me it just all feels very, very long. It's not necessarily contained to this book, but the fact that the History of the Lord of the Rings is four books in total. Also, if I wanted to get the feeling of reading the trilogy by reading multiple books, I would have just read the trilogy again. So it was interesting to read but unless you're really into The Lord of the Rings specifically, then I wouldn't necessarily recommend.
angrywombat's review against another edition
2.0
Eh, I'm going to be consigned to a special hell for saying this - but this book has been the worst part of the Lord of the Rings series so far.
I mean, this is the "exciting part - all the battles and action, violence and horror all concentrated into the one book - where all the tension and conspiracies were leading up to...
But Tolkien just doesn't write action very well (In my opinion - I've probably been spoiled by a lot of my more modern reading, but still) What is even worse is that on a number of occasions the action is related 2nd hand - one character telling another about what had happened - which completely deflates all tension in the scene.
Basically this follows the two hobbits Merry and Pippin as they are dragged into the oncoming war - one goes with Gandalf to Minas Tirith and becomes the page of Lord Denethor (boss of Minas Tirth, and so all of Gondor), while the other sticks with the Rohirrim in their covert attempt to get to Minas Tirth without being seen by enemy spies.
There were some great callbacks with Faramir coming back to his father, and being surprised by seeing Pippin, but overall this is pretty much the "dark part" of the series - the "good guys" dont really win, but survive the Battle for Minas Tirith, and then are faced with the fact of being outnumbered 100-1 by all the rest of Sauron's armies.
Oh, and the suicides, and the use of magical fatal depression as a weapon.
Its still a good book, but I found myself putting the book down at chapter breaks to go do other things, and not feeling a pressing urge to pick up the book again. But I look forward to getting back to Frodo and Sam,
I mean, this is the "exciting part - all the battles and action, violence and horror all concentrated into the one book - where all the tension and conspiracies were leading up to...
But Tolkien just doesn't write action very well (In my opinion - I've probably been spoiled by a lot of my more modern reading, but still) What is even worse is that on a number of occasions the action is related 2nd hand - one character telling another about what had happened - which completely deflates all tension in the scene.
Basically this follows the two hobbits Merry and Pippin as they are dragged into the oncoming war - one goes with Gandalf to Minas Tirith and becomes the page of Lord Denethor (boss of Minas Tirth, and so all of Gondor), while the other sticks with the Rohirrim in their covert attempt to get to Minas Tirth without being seen by enemy spies.
There were some great callbacks with Faramir coming back to his father, and being surprised by seeing Pippin, but overall this is pretty much the "dark part" of the series - the "good guys" dont really win, but survive the Battle for Minas Tirith, and then are faced with the fact of being outnumbered 100-1 by all the rest of Sauron's armies.
Oh, and the suicides, and the use of magical fatal depression as a weapon.
Its still a good book, but I found myself putting the book down at chapter breaks to go do other things, and not feeling a pressing urge to pick up the book again. But I look forward to getting back to Frodo and Sam,
reaper_hound's review against another edition
4.0
4.75 stars
This is my most fav Lotr book and that would probably tell you how I feel about it
This is my most fav Lotr book and that would probably tell you how I feel about it
rohini_murugan's review
4.0
Omg, Pippin dies!!
Wth, Pippin dies!!
Nooooo, God, nooo!
Yeah yeah, it was a nice read. A tad too stretchy but did not see the ending coming. Now I've got to be off, to the next book. Does Pippin come back!? Please tell me he does!
Wth, Pippin dies!!
Nooooo, God, nooo!
Yeah yeah, it was a nice read. A tad too stretchy but did not see the ending coming. Now I've got to be off, to the next book. Does Pippin come back!? Please tell me he does!
warriorcattrash's review against another edition
4.0
I am embarrassingly happy to be done with this. It has less to do with "what might have been" (although there is some of that), but more to do with very minute chronological issues that Tolkien constantly had to tweak in order for all the characters' actions to line up. I'm sure it wasn't fun for Tolkien, and it wasn't that fun for me. Got learned, tho.
pennwing's review against another edition
informative
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
3.0
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1908266.html
More in-depth analysis of the story of how The Lord of the Rings was written. We start at Helm's Deep, and follow through the end of Book III and Book IV (ie most of The Two Towers and then all of Book V (first half of The Return of the King). Tolkien's biggest problem was getting the chronology to work between four separated groups of protagonists so that they would eventually end up in the same place at the same time; placing the Paths of the Dead smoothly in the narrative was a challenge as well - it's probably the longest single flashback sequence in a book that generally avoids them.
The process of typing up the Helm's Deep / Isengard chapters of The Two Towers seems to have lost a few sentences from Tolkien's manuscript - none crucial but it seems to me that a "definitive" edition of LotR should be published which would at least include them in footnotes.
Finally, I was amused to see that the last person mentioned in the preface by Christopher Tolkien, thanking him for explaining an English folk-song reference, is one Mr. Neil Gaiman.
More in-depth analysis of the story of how The Lord of the Rings was written. We start at Helm's Deep, and follow through the end of Book III and Book IV (ie most of The Two Towers and then all of Book V (first half of The Return of the King). Tolkien's biggest problem was getting the chronology to work between four separated groups of protagonists so that they would eventually end up in the same place at the same time; placing the Paths of the Dead smoothly in the narrative was a challenge as well - it's probably the longest single flashback sequence in a book that generally avoids them.
The process of typing up the Helm's Deep / Isengard chapters of The Two Towers seems to have lost a few sentences from Tolkien's manuscript - none crucial but it seems to me that a "definitive" edition of LotR should be published which would at least include them in footnotes.
Finally, I was amused to see that the last person mentioned in the preface by Christopher Tolkien, thanking him for explaining an English folk-song reference, is one Mr. Neil Gaiman.