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songbird_28's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
this took so long... it was so good though i can't believe sam and frodo are gayer in this than in the films "i want to marry rosie and live with you" i know what you are
beththeawkward's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
echo_mike's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
_artsychild's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I never thought I would be able to read the whole trilogy and enjoy it as much as I did.
<b>The Fellowship of the Ring:</b> 4⭐ It was kind of hard to get through since I didn't feel motivated to pick up the book.
BUT
<b>The two towers:</b> 4.5⭐👀 helloooo???? I enjoyed it so much more than the first one, the interactions of the characters and how they developed, the journeys they had to face alone... It was amazing, but near the end started to drag a little and slowed me down with my enjoyment. The character that surprised me the most was Gollum, he had so much depth and was kinda fun to read and analyze a bit.
<b>The Return of the King:</b> 4.5⭐ Still thinking about the rating, it was so emotional to see the people they had become, the friendships they've made along the way... The end for sure made me emotional and teared up a bit when Frodo saw Bilbo once again.
<b>The Fellowship of the Ring:</b> 4⭐ It was kind of hard to get through since I didn't feel motivated to pick up the book.
BUT
<b>The two towers:</b> 4.5⭐👀 helloooo???? I enjoyed it so much more than the first one, the interactions of the characters and how they developed, the journeys they had to face alone... It was amazing, but near the end started to drag a little and slowed me down with my enjoyment. The character that surprised me the most was Gollum, he had so much depth and was kinda fun to read and analyze a bit.
<b>The Return of the King:</b> 4.5⭐ Still thinking about the rating, it was so emotional to see the people they had become, the friendships they've made along the way... The end for sure made me emotional and teared up a bit when Frodo saw Bilbo once again.
juliannar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
3.75
stevenharjung's review against another edition
5.0
Not often do I have five stars to give readily to anything. This tale is one for the ages, it has heavily helped in the shaping of who I am today. This is not the first or last time I'll be reading this. A fantasy full of wonder and excitement, as well as dread and dismay. In the end of all things there is hope in this tale.
Tolkien and his wonderful stories are things I go back to over and over again and I'll never be able to stop.
I thank him and his son for bringing all this wonder to life, for all who wander are not lost.
Tolkien and his wonderful stories are things I go back to over and over again and I'll never be able to stop.
I thank him and his son for bringing all this wonder to life, for all who wander are not lost.
namrata_jain's review against another edition
5.0
So much better than the movies - and I love the movies.
Glad to finally get the opportunity to read this epic.
Glad to finally get the opportunity to read this epic.
joshkiba13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"How they should enter [the Dark Land] at last Gandalf had not said . . . And here [Frodo] was a little halfling from the Shire, a simple hobbit of the quiet countryside, expected to find a way where the great ones could not go, or dared not go. It was an evil fate. But he had taken it on himself in his own sitting-room in the far-off spring of another year, so remote now that it was like a chapter in a story of the world's youth, when the Trees of Silver and Gold were still in bloom. This was an evil choice. Which way should he choose? And if both led to terror and death, what good lay in choice?"
No words can rightly express my feelings for this book. I finished it minutes ago and just hugged it to my chest in utter bliss and love.
I don't even know what to say. What Tolkien accomplished is just awe-inspiring. He spent his entire adult life crafting the languages, histories, geographies, and stories of Middle Earth and it is such a beautiful experience to read of it in his magnum opus---and even this 1031 page epic only scratches the surface of the legend of Middle Earth.
Very soon into my reading The Lord of the Rings I decided to eventually read The Silmarillion. As the characters traverse Middle Earth they pass ancient ruins, lands of many names; poems, songs, and legends are alluded to; histories are referenced but not fully explained. As we follow the characters on their journey it is clear that their world is rich with lore and complex history; I am excited to partake of that in The Silmarillion eventually.
I wanted to read this story as Tolkien intended---as one complete volume---which worked so well. The way he structured the story was such that chapters took place at the same time as ones hundreds of pages later; events in The Two Towers occur simultaneously with ones in The Return of the King. The story was absolutely and utterly immersive, so I didn't want to leave it between parts. Reading it as one comprehensive whole was perfect.
Tolkien's prose is simply god-tier (which makes sense considering his life-long passion for language). So much wordage was utilized to paint the landscape of Middle Earth, and his figurative language was so unique and beautiful. For example, when Frodo and Sam reside with Faramir in Henneth Annûn, the Window of the Sunset in Ithilien, Tolkien describes the waterfall facing West like so:
"The level shafts of the setting sun behind beat upon it, and the red light was broken into many flickering beams of ever-changing colour. It was as if they stood at the window of some elven-tower, curtained with threaded jewels of silver and gold, and ruby, sapphire and amethyst, all kindled with an uncomsuming fire . . . the sun sank, and the fire faded in the flowing water . . . and the grey veil of falling water grew dim and was lost in gathering shadow. Always the sound of water went on, never changing its note, morning or evening or night. It murmured and whispered of sleep . . . The Curtain was now become a dazzling veil of silk and pearls and silver thread: melting icicles of moonlight."
In a way I envy people who read this book before the turn of the millennium, who could experience the story solely with Tolkien's words and their own imaginations. Despite my love for Peter Jackson's films, I really wanted to have a distinct experience in reading the book for the first time. As I read I listened to ambient music on YouTube rather than Howard Shore's (incredible) score for the films. And I tried to imagine the landscape and characters as something from an animated cartoon rather than real life. I think Tolkien's prose really lent to that in a way. I would love for Studio Ghibli and Rankin & Bass to have a baby studio, which studio would make an epic 9 hour hand-drawn version of this story. It would be incredible.
The well-crafted character arcs of Peter Jackson's films are greatly absent in the original source material, and I feel that it is because the book and the films are attempting different things. Jackson was creating an epic fantasy trilogy, in film form which needed greater dramatic tension and character moments. The book (as I understand it) was Tolkien's attempt to fill the void in England's lackluster mythology. Tolkien was a man passionate with language, nature, history, art, and mythology. He put those passions together and created something that has been loved for the greater part of a century.
And despite characters being a lot more simplified than in the films, there were still many moments that gave me pause to reflect or feel emotion, even though I was already familiar with the story.
Being able to see the whole scope of the story at once, we take for granted that Frodo and Sam had no idea what had become of their friends after the breaking of the Fellowship. They knew Gandalf had fallen, but until learning of Boromir's death they assumed all was well. Once Faramir told them of Boromir, all went into doubt:
"For a while Frodo stood there on the high stone, and a shiver ran through him, wondering if anywhere in the vastness of the nightlands his old companions walked or slept, or lay dead shrouded in mist."
Regardless of that doubt, Frodo and Sam completed their journey and only learned of their friends' safety and of Gandalf's return after their quest was complete, which is inspiring.
So many moments reading this book were just ethereal and other-worldly. Only this book and Frank Herbert's work in the Dune books have felt so utterly immersive. I feel that I could read this book again and again and have a new experience every time.
I don't know what else to say; I'm gushing about this book and it will forever be one of my favorites. I thank Tolkien for the life-long work of passion that he blessed us with before he departed this world for white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.
No words can rightly express my feelings for this book. I finished it minutes ago and just hugged it to my chest in utter bliss and love.
I don't even know what to say. What Tolkien accomplished is just awe-inspiring. He spent his entire adult life crafting the languages, histories, geographies, and stories of Middle Earth and it is such a beautiful experience to read of it in his magnum opus---and even this 1031 page epic only scratches the surface of the legend of Middle Earth.
Very soon into my reading The Lord of the Rings I decided to eventually read The Silmarillion. As the characters traverse Middle Earth they pass ancient ruins, lands of many names; poems, songs, and legends are alluded to; histories are referenced but not fully explained. As we follow the characters on their journey it is clear that their world is rich with lore and complex history; I am excited to partake of that in The Silmarillion eventually.
I wanted to read this story as Tolkien intended---as one complete volume---which worked so well. The way he structured the story was such that chapters took place at the same time as ones hundreds of pages later; events in The Two Towers occur simultaneously with ones in The Return of the King. The story was absolutely and utterly immersive, so I didn't want to leave it between parts. Reading it as one comprehensive whole was perfect.
Tolkien's prose is simply god-tier (which makes sense considering his life-long passion for language). So much wordage was utilized to paint the landscape of Middle Earth, and his figurative language was so unique and beautiful. For example, when Frodo and Sam reside with Faramir in Henneth Annûn, the Window of the Sunset in Ithilien, Tolkien describes the waterfall facing West like so:
"The level shafts of the setting sun behind beat upon it, and the red light was broken into many flickering beams of ever-changing colour. It was as if they stood at the window of some elven-tower, curtained with threaded jewels of silver and gold, and ruby, sapphire and amethyst, all kindled with an uncomsuming fire . . . the sun sank, and the fire faded in the flowing water . . . and the grey veil of falling water grew dim and was lost in gathering shadow. Always the sound of water went on, never changing its note, morning or evening or night. It murmured and whispered of sleep . . . The Curtain was now become a dazzling veil of silk and pearls and silver thread: melting icicles of moonlight."
In a way I envy people who read this book before the turn of the millennium, who could experience the story solely with Tolkien's words and their own imaginations. Despite my love for Peter Jackson's films, I really wanted to have a distinct experience in reading the book for the first time. As I read I listened to ambient music on YouTube rather than Howard Shore's (incredible) score for the films. And I tried to imagine the landscape and characters as something from an animated cartoon rather than real life. I think Tolkien's prose really lent to that in a way. I would love for Studio Ghibli and Rankin & Bass to have a baby studio, which studio would make an epic 9 hour hand-drawn version of this story. It would be incredible.
The well-crafted character arcs of Peter Jackson's films are greatly absent in the original source material, and I feel that it is because the book and the films are attempting different things. Jackson was creating an epic fantasy trilogy, in film form which needed greater dramatic tension and character moments. The book (as I understand it) was Tolkien's attempt to fill the void in England's lackluster mythology. Tolkien was a man passionate with language, nature, history, art, and mythology. He put those passions together and created something that has been loved for the greater part of a century.
And despite characters being a lot more simplified than in the films, there were still many moments that gave me pause to reflect or feel emotion, even though I was already familiar with the story.
Being able to see the whole scope of the story at once, we take for granted that Frodo and Sam had no idea what had become of their friends after the breaking of the Fellowship. They knew Gandalf had fallen, but until learning of Boromir's death they assumed all was well. Once Faramir told them of Boromir, all went into doubt:
"For a while Frodo stood there on the high stone, and a shiver ran through him, wondering if anywhere in the vastness of the nightlands his old companions walked or slept, or lay dead shrouded in mist."
Regardless of that doubt, Frodo and Sam completed their journey and only learned of their friends' safety and of Gandalf's return after their quest was complete, which is inspiring.
So many moments reading this book were just ethereal and other-worldly. Only this book and Frank Herbert's work in the Dune books have felt so utterly immersive. I feel that I could read this book again and again and have a new experience every time.
I don't know what else to say; I'm gushing about this book and it will forever be one of my favorites. I thank Tolkien for the life-long work of passion that he blessed us with before he departed this world for white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.
lucasnedtaulbee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
dove_s0ng's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0