Reviews - The Lord of the Rings

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3.17k reviews for:

A triumph of a book. I will always weep whenever it comes to the Ents walking towards Isengard. The book paints a masterful portrayal of Faramir as the real steward of Gondor under Denethor, which Peter Jackson’s portrayal did not. The only reason it’s 4 stars instead of 5 is that I think the section with Tom Bombadil was a bit out of left field and that Boromir’s death being basically off screen (or the equivalent to this in written form) didn’t do him many favors as far as communicating his bravery. There will always be others with more insightful comments into Tolkien’s works, but this is how I felt about it on my 1st read. I look forward to returning to this book as I grow and change as a person.

cam1170's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous hopeful inspiring relaxing sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Excellent book. Some parts are overly elaborate in their descriptions, but surprisingly readable, especially to me the Annals of Kings and Rulers and the Tale of Years. I'm sure there's plenty more description in other works, like the Silmarillion, Fall of Numenor, etc.
Given the visual reference of the Peter Jackson films, reading this has been a delight! Took me over 2 years, and ~10 years since my first attempt.
One complaint I have about the Illustrated by the Author ebook is that the footnotes are shoved to the back, so careful link-tapping is needed to navigate. And the subsections of the Appendices are not in the table of contents, but that's minor. Also, some of the illustrations could have been higher resolution, like Land of Mordor.

Only today I learned the value of taking off the dust jacket. This may have made me more inclined to read the hardcover instead of the ebook for more of the journey, oh well.