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4.46 AVERAGE
4.46 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
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:
Complicated
The grandfather of fantasy, my TOPIC analysis of: The Lord of the Rings
T- Themes
O - Ornaments
P - Plot & Prose
I - Influence
C - Characters
Themes
I think the themes we encounter in the LotR are probably the weakest aspect of this epic. Unlike more modern fantasy, we have very clear sides of good and evil. The overarching theme is the struggle of good can overcome the machinations of evil even when the odds are wholly stacked against them. There is another wonderful theme that no matter how small and insigificant we can seem or feel, that we can still achieve great things through determination. This is embodied through the 4 major hobbits and leave us cheering for Sam and Frodo right till the end of the book, as they drag their way through Mordor to achieve the seemingly impossible.
However, although it has been discussed excessively, it remains pertinent to address the more racist and sexist undertones that pervade parts of the novel. The almost unwavering good guys lie in the West, and are pale skinned, tall and valiant. The evil orcs comes from the South and East, are dark skinned and behave in a typically savage manner. Furthermore, the Men of the West hold strong in the face of Sauron, while the Easterlings and the Southrons from Harad and Khand have been corrupted by his will, which one could easily surmise as them being lesser men.
Similarly, the portrayal of women is very limited. The Fellowship consists of 9 male characters and the majority of the book avoids female characterisation. Galadriel is a rare exception, being a female elf of great power and wisdom, although it often felt the characters were more enamoured by her appearance. Similarly, Eowyn strives to shatter the worldly patriarchy, disobeying orders to fight and defeat the Witchking in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, but I felt her character was done a diservice in the Houses of Healing, as her former strong-willed self gave way to love, for a character she'd only met 2 weeks earlier.
However, Tolkien believed that the UK did not have a mythological history, like those of Ancient Greece, Rome or his personal expertise, the Norse people. He crafted a world creation and heroes that he envisaged the UK having and drafted his work in the style of a traditional mythological epic. To that end he succeeded tenfold, and it with this context in mind that allows us to view the perceived thematic flaws of the Lord of the Rings as homages to a realistic cultural export that defines the UK's history. His depiction of women and the elevation of his own people is a realistic depiction of a civilisation's origin story, and although in the modern era some of his thematic choices don't quite hold up, they align with precisely what Tolkien was trying to achieve.
Ornaments
The world-building of the LotR is arguably unrivalled in literature. Tolkien created a world so deep in lore it almost rivals our own. At times this can be tricky, having to flick forward to the Appendix to understand historical references, then back to the map to reorient where the action was taking place. However this experience truly immerses you in Middle Earth. I supplemented my reading with countless Youtube videos explaining the First and Second Ages, the travellings of certain characters, the evolution of Middle Earth and so much more. The fact that I thirsted to learn more about the world and Tolkien duly delivered is a testament to Tolkien's world-building mastery.
Tolkien is a linguist at heart, and no author has created such a plethora of languages that complement their work like him. Middle Earth has a beating heart and the Lord of the Rings acts as a window into one of many tales from this wide world. Much like the survival of the Odyssey and the Iliad, we crave for other lost tales within this realm, and all of this is testament to Tolkien's mastery of the ornaments of his work.
Plot & Prose
Although the Lord of the Rings was written as one continuous text, there is certainly a shift in tone from the Fellowship of the Ring to the final 2 parts. Fellowship seems very whimsical, as the hobbits run into the likes of Tom Bombadil and Barliman Butterbur. The prose is very flowery and in all honesty, takes some getting used to. Some times I could perfectly envisage the scenes Tolkien was describing, as his almost lyrical writing painted such a vivid picture. Other times I was thankful for having seen the films to provide an image of a scene, as I felt the writing was almost too poetic and I struggled to conjure the images Tolkien was conducting.
The book is also full of poems and songs, much in keeping with mythological epics and sagas, which won't be to everyone's taste. However, once your mindframe clicks into Tolkien's vision, these songs provide another medium to experience the world of Middle Earth, and the book becomes a real page turner.
From Two Towers onward the story is much easier to follow prose-wise and I would urge any readers to stick through to the latter half of the book. I imagine on a reread, one's appreciation for the early chapters would increase immensely, but as an introduction to Middle Earth, they may be slightly jarring.
The plot roughly divides into two after Fellowship, as we follow Sam and Frodo's journey to Mount Doom on the one hand, and the rest of the cast as they rampage around Gondor and Rohan fighting battles and besieging Sauron, predominantly as a distraction so that Sam and Frodo can succeed. I think the plot as a whole is fairly straight forward. There aren't too many twists and turns, it's a good old-fashioned journey from the safety and serenity at home, to the unknowns of the outside world, and within those confines, Lord of the Rings delivers successfully. Each stage of Sam and Frodo's journey is exciting, as we watch their interplay and experience each danger they face and sense of hopelessness. Meanwhile the battles and alliances we watch the other character's form on a much grander scale provide a perfect antidote to the wanderings of Sam and Frodo.
My one gripe is with how Tolkien handles battle scenes. The battles for Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields are two of my favourite movie scenes of all time, and maybe unfairly I had high hopes for them in literature form. I just felt they were quite rushed and although Tolkien kept reminding us of the impossible odds the good guys faced, I never really felt that from what he wrote. Both battles were over within about 20 pages and it wasn't always clear to me how. Both involved other allied forces showing up but I wanted to really see what was going on throughout the battlefield. I wanted to be guided through each fight from a bird's eye view, while tunnelling down to individual skirmishes, to really feel the epicness, and here I felt Tolkien could have done a better job.
Influence
This section can be short and sweet. I don't think any fantasy novel has been as influential as the Lord of the Rings. Hundreds of fantasy authors have worked to emulate the sheer scope of the Lord of the Rings. Some of the tropes we see in the novel may be considered rather cliche, but that is purely due to how mainstream the Lord of the Rings made those tropes.
The dark lord Sauron epitomises an evil entity's quest for dominion. An eclectic band of chosen travellers has been the mainstay for countless stories told since. The old wizard, the unlikely hero, the ascent to true power of the foretold king - it all started here. The Lord of the Rings shaped fantasy and literature, and although more contemporary fantasy novels are moving to in a more grim dark and introducing far more moral ambiguity to their characters, the Lord of the Rings sat at the lofty heights of fantasy for over a generation, while imitators worked to capture its elegance.
Characters
Lord of the Rings has a multitude of fascinating characters that include some of the greatest in fantasy literature. Sam and Aragorn are kind of Mary Sue characters. They are essentially unwavering in their duty and hold an inhuman quality for how they behave and how pure they are. Despite that, I absolutely love both characters. I don't think they're realistic but by God did Tolkien make them likeable, I could see why the other characters revered them so. Sauron I know through Tolkien's other work is a fascinatingly deep character through the first three ages, yet we don't really see him at his best here. A better characterisation of the bad guys in the Lord of the Rings would have added greater intensity to the story and I think an opportunity was missed.
Similarly, Saurman as the leader of the White Council comes across a bit too childish in this story, particularly in the Scouring of the Shire. I think he was a chance to add a more nuanced element to the villains but again the villains appear evil for evil's sake rather than exploring their motives. Boromir and Gollum on the other hand are two excellently executed characters. Boromir we grow to love throughout the story, despite how the ring takes hold of him in the Fellowship, and it adds great depth and understanding to Frodo's character in the Return of the King as we see the manipulation the ring has on his mind.
We feel pity for Gollum while simultaneously loathing him. A character who is truly difficult to classify as good or evil, unlike most others in the novel. His interactions with Frodo and Sam are heartwarming, exhilirating, fascinating and terrifying. As discussed earlier, I would have enjoyed seeing some deeper female characterisation as well, given as I felt that Eowyn was the only multidimensional female character across the works (and not till the end). Overall I think Tolkien's characters would have benefitted from being a bit more complex on the one hand, however, a story of mythology, of good and evil is what the Lord of the Rings is all about, and in that sense, the straight-laced characters we see ultimately payoff, and for deeper characterisation, we have Boromir, Frodo and Gollum to wrestle with.
Conclusion
The Lord of the Rings is a genre-defining work. It is far from flawless in an objective sense, but for what Tolkien set out to do, it his every nail on the head. He truly created a believable mythology containing all the characters we love to love and love to hate, and surrounded it with an epic, believable world. Writers have been and will still come, attempting to emulate this masterpiece and though few may outshine it in some regards, the Lord of the Rings deserves its place among the annals of the most influential and well-realised works of all time.
T- Themes
O - Ornaments
P - Plot & Prose
I - Influence
C - Characters
Themes
I think the themes we encounter in the LotR are probably the weakest aspect of this epic. Unlike more modern fantasy, we have very clear sides of good and evil. The overarching theme is the struggle of good can overcome the machinations of evil even when the odds are wholly stacked against them. There is another wonderful theme that no matter how small and insigificant we can seem or feel, that we can still achieve great things through determination. This is embodied through the 4 major hobbits and leave us cheering for Sam and Frodo right till the end of the book, as they drag their way through Mordor to achieve the seemingly impossible.
However, although it has been discussed excessively, it remains pertinent to address the more racist and sexist undertones that pervade parts of the novel. The almost unwavering good guys lie in the West, and are pale skinned, tall and valiant. The evil orcs comes from the South and East, are dark skinned and behave in a typically savage manner. Furthermore, the Men of the West hold strong in the face of Sauron, while the Easterlings and the Southrons from Harad and Khand have been corrupted by his will, which one could easily surmise as them being lesser men.
Similarly, the portrayal of women is very limited. The Fellowship consists of 9 male characters and the majority of the book avoids female characterisation. Galadriel is a rare exception, being a female elf of great power and wisdom, although it often felt the characters were more enamoured by her appearance. Similarly, Eowyn strives to shatter the worldly patriarchy, disobeying orders to fight and defeat the Witchking in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, but I felt her character was done a diservice in the Houses of Healing, as her former strong-willed self gave way to love, for a character she'd only met 2 weeks earlier.
However, Tolkien believed that the UK did not have a mythological history, like those of Ancient Greece, Rome or his personal expertise, the Norse people. He crafted a world creation and heroes that he envisaged the UK having and drafted his work in the style of a traditional mythological epic. To that end he succeeded tenfold, and it with this context in mind that allows us to view the perceived thematic flaws of the Lord of the Rings as homages to a realistic cultural export that defines the UK's history. His depiction of women and the elevation of his own people is a realistic depiction of a civilisation's origin story, and although in the modern era some of his thematic choices don't quite hold up, they align with precisely what Tolkien was trying to achieve.
Ornaments
The world-building of the LotR is arguably unrivalled in literature. Tolkien created a world so deep in lore it almost rivals our own. At times this can be tricky, having to flick forward to the Appendix to understand historical references, then back to the map to reorient where the action was taking place. However this experience truly immerses you in Middle Earth. I supplemented my reading with countless Youtube videos explaining the First and Second Ages, the travellings of certain characters, the evolution of Middle Earth and so much more. The fact that I thirsted to learn more about the world and Tolkien duly delivered is a testament to Tolkien's world-building mastery.
Tolkien is a linguist at heart, and no author has created such a plethora of languages that complement their work like him. Middle Earth has a beating heart and the Lord of the Rings acts as a window into one of many tales from this wide world. Much like the survival of the Odyssey and the Iliad, we crave for other lost tales within this realm, and all of this is testament to Tolkien's mastery of the ornaments of his work.
Plot & Prose
Although the Lord of the Rings was written as one continuous text, there is certainly a shift in tone from the Fellowship of the Ring to the final 2 parts. Fellowship seems very whimsical, as the hobbits run into the likes of Tom Bombadil and Barliman Butterbur. The prose is very flowery and in all honesty, takes some getting used to. Some times I could perfectly envisage the scenes Tolkien was describing, as his almost lyrical writing painted such a vivid picture. Other times I was thankful for having seen the films to provide an image of a scene, as I felt the writing was almost too poetic and I struggled to conjure the images Tolkien was conducting.
The book is also full of poems and songs, much in keeping with mythological epics and sagas, which won't be to everyone's taste. However, once your mindframe clicks into Tolkien's vision, these songs provide another medium to experience the world of Middle Earth, and the book becomes a real page turner.
From Two Towers onward the story is much easier to follow prose-wise and I would urge any readers to stick through to the latter half of the book. I imagine on a reread, one's appreciation for the early chapters would increase immensely, but as an introduction to Middle Earth, they may be slightly jarring.
The plot roughly divides into two after Fellowship, as we follow Sam and Frodo's journey to Mount Doom on the one hand, and the rest of the cast as they rampage around Gondor and Rohan fighting battles and besieging Sauron, predominantly as a distraction so that Sam and Frodo can succeed. I think the plot as a whole is fairly straight forward. There aren't too many twists and turns, it's a good old-fashioned journey from the safety and serenity at home, to the unknowns of the outside world, and within those confines, Lord of the Rings delivers successfully. Each stage of Sam and Frodo's journey is exciting, as we watch their interplay and experience each danger they face and sense of hopelessness. Meanwhile the battles and alliances we watch the other character's form on a much grander scale provide a perfect antidote to the wanderings of Sam and Frodo.
My one gripe is with how Tolkien handles battle scenes. The battles for Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields are two of my favourite movie scenes of all time, and maybe unfairly I had high hopes for them in literature form. I just felt they were quite rushed and although Tolkien kept reminding us of the impossible odds the good guys faced, I never really felt that from what he wrote. Both battles were over within about 20 pages and it wasn't always clear to me how. Both involved other allied forces showing up but I wanted to really see what was going on throughout the battlefield. I wanted to be guided through each fight from a bird's eye view, while tunnelling down to individual skirmishes, to really feel the epicness, and here I felt Tolkien could have done a better job.
Influence
This section can be short and sweet. I don't think any fantasy novel has been as influential as the Lord of the Rings. Hundreds of fantasy authors have worked to emulate the sheer scope of the Lord of the Rings. Some of the tropes we see in the novel may be considered rather cliche, but that is purely due to how mainstream the Lord of the Rings made those tropes.
The dark lord Sauron epitomises an evil entity's quest for dominion. An eclectic band of chosen travellers has been the mainstay for countless stories told since. The old wizard, the unlikely hero, the ascent to true power of the foretold king - it all started here. The Lord of the Rings shaped fantasy and literature, and although more contemporary fantasy novels are moving to in a more grim dark and introducing far more moral ambiguity to their characters, the Lord of the Rings sat at the lofty heights of fantasy for over a generation, while imitators worked to capture its elegance.
Characters
Lord of the Rings has a multitude of fascinating characters that include some of the greatest in fantasy literature. Sam and Aragorn are kind of Mary Sue characters. They are essentially unwavering in their duty and hold an inhuman quality for how they behave and how pure they are. Despite that, I absolutely love both characters. I don't think they're realistic but by God did Tolkien make them likeable, I could see why the other characters revered them so. Sauron I know through Tolkien's other work is a fascinatingly deep character through the first three ages, yet we don't really see him at his best here. A better characterisation of the bad guys in the Lord of the Rings would have added greater intensity to the story and I think an opportunity was missed.
Similarly, Saurman as the leader of the White Council comes across a bit too childish in this story, particularly in the Scouring of the Shire. I think he was a chance to add a more nuanced element to the villains but again the villains appear evil for evil's sake rather than exploring their motives. Boromir and Gollum on the other hand are two excellently executed characters. Boromir we grow to love throughout the story, despite how the ring takes hold of him in the Fellowship, and it adds great depth and understanding to Frodo's character in the Return of the King as we see the manipulation the ring has on his mind.
We feel pity for Gollum while simultaneously loathing him. A character who is truly difficult to classify as good or evil, unlike most others in the novel. His interactions with Frodo and Sam are heartwarming, exhilirating, fascinating and terrifying. As discussed earlier, I would have enjoyed seeing some deeper female characterisation as well, given as I felt that Eowyn was the only multidimensional female character across the works (and not till the end). Overall I think Tolkien's characters would have benefitted from being a bit more complex on the one hand, however, a story of mythology, of good and evil is what the Lord of the Rings is all about, and in that sense, the straight-laced characters we see ultimately payoff, and for deeper characterisation, we have Boromir, Frodo and Gollum to wrestle with.
Conclusion
The Lord of the Rings is a genre-defining work. It is far from flawless in an objective sense, but for what Tolkien set out to do, it his every nail on the head. He truly created a believable mythology containing all the characters we love to love and love to hate, and surrounded it with an epic, believable world. Writers have been and will still come, attempting to emulate this masterpiece and though few may outshine it in some regards, the Lord of the Rings deserves its place among the annals of the most influential and well-realised works of all time.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
Where to even start. I'm sad it took me as long to finish reading these three books as it did; I adore the movies and I adore the books now as well. Each one was so different, so I'll leave my review for each one below! It feels almost impossible for me to convey my thoughts about all of them in a succinct way, or in a way that can be done better than other reviewers. But I would encourage everyone to read these books when they can!! I easily see know why these books have stood the test of time.
The Fellowship of the Ring: I started reading this book more than a year ago, so my memory of the book is not fresh. But the tone of the book is one of 4 hobbits setting out on an adventure of a lifetime. It's filled with wonder and awe, and while the task in front of them is daunting (to put it lightly), they still have hope. I might need to reread this book, but can confidently say I enjoyed it very much!
The Two Towers: I really struggled with this book, and as of right now it's what I will blame for causing me to take so long to finish the series. While this book is crucial for setting up the final act, I think it was very tough and boring to read about Merry and Pippin with the Ents, Aragorn meeting with Rohan, and dealing with the descriptions of the battles at Helm's Deep and Orthanc. I surprisingly enjoyed the second half of the book that focused on Frodo and Sam more than the first half with the rest of the Fellowship.
The Return of the King: WOW WOW WOW! An absolutely incredible book, and possibly one of the best I have every written. I cried at multiple points in the book from both incredible joy and sorry. The despair and lack of hope is so poignantly portrayed in writing, a million times more so than the movie. And the unbelievable good that comes from people with the will and heart to stand against darkness is without compare. I cannot recommend this book enough.
The Fellowship of the Ring: I started reading this book more than a year ago, so my memory of the book is not fresh. But the tone of the book is one of 4 hobbits setting out on an adventure of a lifetime. It's filled with wonder and awe, and while the task in front of them is daunting (to put it lightly), they still have hope. I might need to reread this book, but can confidently say I enjoyed it very much!
The Two Towers: I really struggled with this book, and as of right now it's what I will blame for causing me to take so long to finish the series. While this book is crucial for setting up the final act, I think it was very tough and boring to read about Merry and Pippin with the Ents, Aragorn meeting with Rohan, and dealing with the descriptions of the battles at Helm's Deep and Orthanc. I surprisingly enjoyed the second half of the book that focused on Frodo and Sam more than the first half with the rest of the Fellowship.
The Return of the King: WOW WOW WOW! An absolutely incredible book, and possibly one of the best I have every written. I cried at multiple points in the book from both incredible joy and sorry. The despair and lack of hope is so poignantly portrayed in writing, a million times more so than the movie. And the unbelievable good that comes from people with the will and heart to stand against darkness is without compare. I cannot recommend this book enough.
5 out of 5
The greatest story I have ever read. I wish I could rate this higher than 5 out of 5.
The greatest story I have ever read. I wish I could rate this higher than 5 out of 5.
I read the Lord of the Ring books, when I was a teen. I remember that I loved it, but the fog of time has obscured the details. Now I’m 56 and decided to read it again. Once I adapted to Tolkien’s style,
I was drawn into Middle Earth. The movies have colored my mental imagery of the characters and the landscape, but I didn’t mind it at all. If anything, it added to the richness and immersion into the story. It was also interesting to realize how heavily LOTR influenced our culture. I may reread this book every five years, to renew my memory and to see the story in a new light as I gain experience.
I was drawn into Middle Earth. The movies have colored my mental imagery of the characters and the landscape, but I didn’t mind it at all. If anything, it added to the richness and immersion into the story. It was also interesting to realize how heavily LOTR influenced our culture. I may reread this book every five years, to renew my memory and to see the story in a new light as I gain experience.
I read the series years ago, couldn't put them down!
Now my son is reading them and of course some wonderful movies have been made providing great visuals for these all time favourites. Naturally, you must read the book first.
Now my son is reading them and of course some wonderful movies have been made providing great visuals for these all time favourites. Naturally, you must read the book first.