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mossss123's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Going into this book, I had heard how horrible the pacing was. Actually, reading it, I was pleasantly surprised at how fast everything actually moved. The large cast of characters sometimes was too much, and I forgot that some existed at times, but by the end, they were all fleshed out and interesting. It was a bit of a hard read with outdated language and hard to interpret sentences, but very rewarding. The main two issues were the overuse of song and the unfortunate descriptions of non-white characters. Overall, it was very engaging despite what I had been told and a great improvement on the Hobbit. I was surprised at the great use of horror when describing Gollum, the Black Riders, and the Watcher, especially for a non-horror centric story. Tolkien’s clear hatred of industrialism and love of nature is evident throughout with his reverence for the trees echoing through every description of them, and are there many of them. The queerness of Frodo and Sam’s relationship is also very intriguing, and I can’t wait for that to develop when I read the other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Minor: Homophobia
bearystarry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Sam and Frodo 🩷 I really love being on an adventure with all of these characters. I do wish Arwen specifically was as involved as she is in the movies…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Racism, Death, War, and Xenophobia
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Xenophobia
Minor: War, Torture, and Alcohol
i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A very enjoyable read. A fun, classic, adventure. There is quite a bit of info-dumping and the reading is dense, but the overall experience is great
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Death, Xenophobia, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol
mnatale100's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Mental illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Alcohol
parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
not much to say about Fellowship that hasn't already been said, but as for this edition: Actually it was really quite good! Serkis does great character voices as expected and has a lovely storytelling cadence. I just wish he'd done all the songs justice. Some of them he does render beautifully but it's uneven, with others (especially Tom Bombadil's) being extremely grating
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death and War
Minor: Alcohol, Xenophobia, and Blood
parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
4.0
this is an absolute classic of high fantasy with (imo) a very engaging look into its deep, DEEP lore, but the long, flower descriptions are certainly not for everyone, and it is very traditional in its values and the diversity on offer. Very much not a modern book by modern standards. The cast is majority male, birth and status is important, "Race" is important, and so on
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: War and Animal death
Minor: Xenophobia, Blood, and Alcohol
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
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? No
3.0
My gut says 3 ⭐️s so I am listening to her. I HAVE DONE IT. I HAVE DONE THE THING. This book has been on my TBR since at least 2014, realistically much longer. I listened to this on audio, since I could never seem to force my eyes to read it. It worked out well, although Rob Inglis singing to me will likely haunt my dreams for the foreseeable future. I didn't hate it. But I also knew all the plot beats from the movie, so who knows how I really feel about the book? I don't think I'm going to be continuing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Confinement
bookish_bry's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Lord of the Rings is, of course, a classic. It's very well written and beautiful with a spectacular world. That being said, it's not really my type of book. I tend to lean more towards emotional and character driven stories which isn't always what we get in the Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings is more of an epic adventure than an emotional introspective story. I definitely did enjoy and appreciate it. I especially liked the way Gandalf's "death" happens and the reactions to it. Really I liked a lot of the part where Gandalf was present, but unfortunately that was only the middle of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Grief
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Animal death
Minor: Xenophobia
achingallover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.5
I cannot be objective about this, but also it is just so good. The feeling of grief for the times long past, and the things they must do.
Serkis is of course an excellent narrator as well.
Bilbo's parting song, Gimli leaving Lorien, Boromir's moment of temptation, Sam... just Sam... I love it and I definitely am not crying.
Serkis is of course an excellent narrator as well.
Bilbo's parting song, Gimli leaving Lorien, Boromir's moment of temptation, Sam... just Sam... I love it and I definitely am not crying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Death of parent