Reviews - The Lord of the Rings

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3.18k reviews for:

First time I read The Lord of the Rings it was in Finnish ten years ago. Now first time in English. Wasn't as complicated as I feared.

Can't find any wise words to describe Tolkien's work. Genious.
Though I can see why some don't like Lord of the Rings: when I was fourteen I found all the fancy words and scenery descriptions to be a bit boring. The writing is very different from the kind of writing, say like in Harry Potter, people are used to nowadays.

But I love it. And now I really relate to Frodo's burden with the Ring and to Éowyn's story, too.

azileea's review against another edition

3rd time reading, gets better every time.

sakawara's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous medium-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: Complicated

jaimzy's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

recursivereads's review against another edition

3.0

I read this book because I promised my dad I would when I was 13. Nearly two decades later, I realized I owed it to him to make good. And I did, but I didn't really enjoy it.

The underlying story here is interesting. Furthermore, the ideas and settings are the predecessors to over a half-century of the fantasy genre. At the end of the day, though, a book is only as engaging as its writing, and this just didn't do it for me.

There were definitely moments of great interest and excitement, but they were relatively sparse and were separated by repetitive descriptions of meals and travels. I never want to read about someone walking someplace again; I think I learned 15 new words for valleys. The characters felt, for the most part, very shallow and static. A romance in the third book seemed the most hollow and unrealistic I've ever read!

I may watch the movies now, and I suspect I'll enjoy them. I kept thinking that if they cut out about a book's worth of songs and travel descriptions, this would be a thrilling read. Looking forward to seeing the genuinely good story told in a different voice.