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glen3's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Animal death
clayby's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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? No
5.0
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
I first read 'The Hobbit' many years ago when I was in middle-school, my maiden voyage into the written works of Tolkien. I enjoyed it greatly back then, staying up on school nights reading 'til I could barely keep my eyes open. Being older (and more prone to passing out early) now, there was none of that during this reading, but it did take over my life for a week or two.
'The Hobbit' may be a children's tale, and thus some may write it off in favor of Tolkien's other work, but it has a wonderful charm, details you may not catch at first, a sense of something grand fomenting behind the scenes. From the start it pulls you in, taking you on this beautiful journey and back again.
As a small addendum, I would also like to praise this specific edition of 'The Hobbit' (ISBN: 9780261103283) for its beautiful artwork, as well as the preface which I found very interesting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Death, and Violence
em_davies7019's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Death, Fatphobia, Animal death, and Kidnapping
usually_sleep_deprived's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-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
4.5
A fun, classic adventure with loveable characters. A great time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Animal death
allisonshewfelt's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The hobbit is such a cosy adventure story. The audiobook read by Andy Serkis was one of the finest I've listened to and he was perfect for it especially since we got to listen to his own character, Gollum. Little Bilbo was so adorable and I loved his dialogue and thoughts. The illustrations were also useful in picturing how middle earth looked. I really like how Tolkien wrote this for his children as it proves to be a great story for all ages. I find it astonishing that this was published in the 1930s yet it's still read and loved today. Tolkien truly is a master storyteller.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Alcohol, Slavery, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
eilys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Animal death
crufts's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
When a book is adapted as a movie, a talented director can elevate the humour and plot beyond the original material. For example, the HP books are decent, but the movies are superb. There are dozens of jokes in the HP movies that never existed in the original books. The HP movie plots are also a lot tighter, with unnecessary subplots either removed or combined.
When I read The Hobbit, I predicted that the book might have a similar relationship to the trilogy of Hobbit movies, i.e. the book would be decent but maybe not quite as funny or well-plotted. But I was wrong!
It turns out that virtually every joke from the movies was taken directly from the original book. In other words, the book itself was already really funny without any help from the film director.
Not only that, but the book's plot is actually a lot tighter and cleaner than the movies. This is made pretty obvious by the fact that a 300-page book does not need to be stretched out into eight hours of film. The problem is so well-known that there are about a dozen fan-made "supercuts" of the trilogy that cut down the unnecessarily long runtime. In contrast, the original book is fast-paced and efficient.
Finally, I really liked the characters and their different attitudes to the adventure. They're now so famous that they've virtually become archetypes (for example, Bilbo has become a classic Reluctant Hero), but putting that aside, I liked how they were written and definitely found myself caring about what happened to them.
Great fun, arguably better than the movie trilogy, would recommend.
When I read The Hobbit, I predicted that the book might have a similar relationship to the trilogy of Hobbit movies, i.e. the book would be decent but maybe not quite as funny or well-plotted. But I was wrong!
It turns out that virtually every joke from the movies was taken directly from the original book. In other words, the book itself was already really funny without any help from the film director.
Not only that, but the book's plot is actually a lot tighter and cleaner than the movies. This is made pretty obvious by the fact that a 300-page book does not need to be stretched out into eight hours of film. The problem is so well-known that there are about a dozen fan-made "supercuts" of the trilogy that cut down the unnecessarily long runtime. In contrast, the original book is fast-paced and efficient.
Finally, I really liked the characters and their different attitudes to the adventure. They're now so famous that they've virtually become archetypes (for example, Bilbo has become a classic Reluctant Hero), but putting that aside, I liked how they were written and definitely found myself caring about what happened to them.
Great fun, arguably better than the movie trilogy, would recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, War, Death, and Xenophobia
Some typical fantasy racism appears towards orcs, goblins, etc. The ending of the book involves a huge battle. Giant spiders appear during the forest sequence.claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and War
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Grief