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jwdonley's review
4.0
Another info overload. I especially enjoyed the unfinished draft where he attempts to make the style match that of LOTR.
nwhyte's review
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2197888.html[return][return]This isn't so much a second volume as a second half of Rateliff's book; the first numbered page is 469! So the two really need to be read as a single unit. Having recovered from this discovery, I still enjoyed the detail on Tolkien's construction of the original text of The Hobbit, the subsequent revisions to bring the Gollum episode and other elements better in line with The Lord of the Rings, and finally his abandonment of an attempt to rewrite the entire thing to get rid of some of the continuity errors (eg, what did the dwarves do with their musical instruments after they played them in Bag End?) at the behest of an unnamed female friend who persuaded him to let the text be.[return][return]Rateliff incudes more nuggets of analysis of the story's roots in literature and in Tolkien's other writing, in which the Father Christmas Letters, written around the same time, are a prominent source. The best bits were in the first volume, but I did find it interesting to note that Tolkien drew more illustrations of Smaug than of any other character in his legendarium, and Rateliff teases out Tolien's fascination with dragons from the first thing he could recall ever writing, as a small child, through Beowulf and the early versions of what was to become the Silmarillion, to Smaug. There's also an interesting reflection on whether the Arkenstone is a Silmaril: it is, and at the same time it isn't, and the fact that we ask the question at all says interesting things about concepts of canonicity.[return][return]The two volumes are really for completists only, but strongly recommended for them.
lisa_setepenre's review
4.0
In the second volume of the The History of the Hobbit, we reach the conclusion to the story and from there, the post-publication changes Tolkien sought to make.
One of the most notable pieces of content this book offer is the exploration of published and unpublished revisions Tolkien considered after the completion of the sequel-that-grew. Notable content of this book is the exploration of the revisions (both published and unpublished) based on writing of [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298411336s/33.jpg|3462456]. This includes an effort to rewrite the entire Hobbit into something more in-line with Lord of the Rings. This is particularly interesting while we wait for Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Hobbit.
While I don't recommend this for readers with a passing interest in Tolkien, this is a must-read for Tolkien geeks and fans.
One of the most notable pieces of content this book offer is the exploration of published and unpublished revisions Tolkien considered after the completion of the sequel-that-grew. Notable content of this book is the exploration of the revisions (both published and unpublished) based on writing of [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298411336s/33.jpg|3462456]. This includes an effort to rewrite the entire Hobbit into something more in-line with Lord of the Rings. This is particularly interesting while we wait for Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Hobbit.
While I don't recommend this for readers with a passing interest in Tolkien, this is a must-read for Tolkien geeks and fans.
tapsandtomes's review
5.0
Cute, but definitely not as epic as the full LOTR trilogy. It only took me 4 hours to read this, so I'm curious to see how Hollywood managed to expand it into three movies.
birte's review
4.0
This was a fun little story. I mostly loved this because Bilbo was really relatable.
hannahtrahair's review
4.0
"You are a very fine person, Mr Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only a little fellow in a wide world after all!"
I should probably begin by saying that I've never read this, nor Lord of the Rings, before - I've only seen the films. However, after watching the first part of The Hobbit I guessed that it was probably about time for me to embark on actually reading these and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into Tolkein.
This book reads much like a Grimm fairytale, and as its intended audience as children I guess this isn't really surprising. However, it is undeniable that people of any ages can simply appreciate the complex world which Tolkein is able to produce and execute so simply, yet imaginatively. Though I would be hard pushed to name all the dwarfs, the large cast of peripheral characters are developed well and each have a completely unique personality.
Moreover, the action is well-paced and engaging, unsurprising I suppose in something which has stood the test of time so well. I couldn't give it five stars because, whilst I liked it, I can't say I would race towards a re-read here. Nevertheless, I would still highly recommend it and am looking forward to the conclusion of the film franchise as well as reading the Lord of the Rings books as well.
I should probably begin by saying that I've never read this, nor Lord of the Rings, before - I've only seen the films. However, after watching the first part of The Hobbit I guessed that it was probably about time for me to embark on actually reading these and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into Tolkein.
This book reads much like a Grimm fairytale, and as its intended audience as children I guess this isn't really surprising. However, it is undeniable that people of any ages can simply appreciate the complex world which Tolkein is able to produce and execute so simply, yet imaginatively. Though I would be hard pushed to name all the dwarfs, the large cast of peripheral characters are developed well and each have a completely unique personality.
Moreover, the action is well-paced and engaging, unsurprising I suppose in something which has stood the test of time so well. I couldn't give it five stars because, whilst I liked it, I can't say I would race towards a re-read here. Nevertheless, I would still highly recommend it and am looking forward to the conclusion of the film franchise as well as reading the Lord of the Rings books as well.
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