Scan barcode
annapox's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and War
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
gvstyris's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wonder if people will ever say, "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring." And they'll say, "Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad?" "Yes, m'boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that's saying a lot.”
Definitely a tougher read than Fellowship, primarily because of long passages with little action. Tolkien’s nature descriptions remain beautiful, though, and I really enjoyed learning about Rohan. The last chapter in particular was such a highlight — I have a newfound appreciation for Sam from the novels.
Honestly, from a reader’s POV, I would argue that this volume in particular is hindered by its structure: Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli follow a relatively archetypical adventure arc in Towers, which is definitely more ‘engaging’ than Sam/Frodo’s emotional journey. The adaptation is pretty aware of this juxtaposition and wisely changed the sequencing.
Also, side note, but I was surprised to find this Treebeard much more endearing (and bearable 😭) than his film counterpart. Same goes for Pippin and Merry, Peter Jackson really did them dirty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Death, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol
mxpringle's review
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A literal masterpiece. Sam and Frodo are gay for each other
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
perleerose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This one was definitely harder to get through. It’s interesting how with the fellowship split up, each half focuses on a different group. I think the first half of the book felt more enjoyable to me simply because of the larger number of characters. Sam, Frodo, and Gollum just felt slow sometimes.
‘Yet you comfort me. Where you go, I will go.’
‘Yet you comfort me. Where you go, I will go.’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Spidersinirac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder
Minor: Animal death
natashalg's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
During the first book, I didn't understand why people found the storyline boring...now I get it. I feel like most of the book is the characters walking/traveling somewhere and instead of focusing on the characters themselves, the book mainly focuses on explanations and descriptions. I wound up skimming the last half of the book and only fully reading the conversational parts. I'm hoping the last book is more exciting and this was just more of a "Second Book" experience (i.e. squeals are normally not great)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: War
val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I remember being so invested when they were looking for the hobbits and then when Pippin and Merry were with the Ents because that was fun, but there was a battle and my mind could not focus on the audiobook, I had no idea what was going on from that point.
Besides, I don’t know how many times I fall sleep while listening to this especially the second we got back to Frodo and Sam, it was just so damn boring… it’s so slow and nothing was happening.
So, this is 2.5 ⭐ for me and I’m being generous.
Anyways, I really love the narration by Andy Serkis.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Grief
- Violence / War / Death: There’s a battle at the end of Book 3.
- Grief: Because of the death of Boromir in the last book.
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Andy Serkis does an amazing job narrating this series, as always. This book continues to follow the trend of Tolkien’s amazing world building. While some feel like they play on some questionable stereotypes, overall I personally didn’t feel like they ruined the books. Tolkien did a great job establishing tension that suited his story. Furthermore all the characters felt consistent and like complex characters.
My only issue with the book is fairly minor and just has to do with some difficultly keeping track of the timeline. Outside of that it was an excellent read and I really enjoyed it. Listening to these again really reminded me why I fell in love with these books in middle school.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and War
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Theres this giant ass spider who been around like since the birth of time basically and ur telling me no one has every stabbed it even a little bit before??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
bootsmom3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and War