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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
tuvz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It was a bit hard to differentiate between Merry and Pippin in terms of personality and who-said-what, though it did get a little easier to tell once Gandalf started his hate campaign against Pippin's existence.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
orchidlilly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Grief, Classism, Blood, Violence, and Animal death
Minor: Racism, Fatphobia, Torture, War, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Stalking
achingallover's review
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
naomi_k's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
Minor: War and Xenophobia
shannasbooksnhooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I remember reading this a long time ago. I'm pretty sure I finished it that time around, but I can't quite remember. (And this was well before my usage of Goodreads.) I started this back in November with my family - every other Sunday, we meet over Zoom and read for about an hour. We started our Zoom reading with The Hobbit earlier in 2021 and then moved on to The Fellowship of the Ring. My family Zoom read is still in Fellowship (about to start Book 2), but I decided to read ahead since, thanks to my recent reading surge (or "reading high"). And boy oh boy, am I glad I began reading this. For my The Lord of the Rings reading, I am counting both the individual "books" (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King) and LoTR as a whole. (Tolkien originally intended it to be published as one whole book with six sections, or "books", but the publisher said that would be too expensive and had him divide it into 3 books, each with 2 sections/"books".) I will be doing an overall review for LoTR once I finish The Return of the King.
"'I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.'"
As someone already attached to the characters within Middle Earth thanks to growing up on the Rankin & Bass animated Hobbit movie, Peter Jackson's live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, and then from 2012-2014, falling in love with Jackson's live-action Hobbit trilogy (I have my issues with it, but I overall love it). This is definitely something everyone should read at least once, or at least try to read. Hell, Sir Christopher Lee (may he rest in peace, power, and magic) read this trilogy once a year and met Tolkien. (I 100% intend to follow in his footsteps once I finish it up this year.) This is one hell of a book to get through, but it is a cornerstone and the precursor of modern fantasy as we know it today. The world is so magical and wonderful. Although lengthy, Tolkien does a fantastic job in creating this world, its story, and characters for all readers.
And to those of you who argue the <i>Harry Potter</i> wizards could beat Gandalf in a fight: no they can't.
"'I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.'"
As someone already attached to the characters within Middle Earth thanks to growing up on the Rankin & Bass animated Hobbit movie, Peter Jackson's live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, and then from 2012-2014, falling in love with Jackson's live-action Hobbit trilogy (I have my issues with it, but I overall love it). This is definitely something everyone should read at least once, or at least try to read. Hell, Sir Christopher Lee (may he rest in peace, power, and magic) read this trilogy once a year and met Tolkien. (I 100% intend to follow in his footsteps once I finish it up this year.) This is one hell of a book to get through, but it is a cornerstone and the precursor of modern fantasy as we know it today. The world is so magical and wonderful. Although lengthy, Tolkien does a fantastic job in creating this world, its story, and characters for all readers.
And to those of you who argue the <i>Harry Potter</i> wizards could beat Gandalf in a fight: no they can't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War and Emotional abuse
shieldbearer's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Andy Serkis' performance really gives a new experience of the text- his ability to accent characters and differentiate voices is helpful, and his emotional reading- tense when action is at its height, smooth when the story flows unharried- is one I found myself thoroughly enjoying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Stalking, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Murder, and War
Minor: Colonisation and Slavery
jessthanthree's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, War, and Grief
Minor: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, and Death
keegan_leech's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
Getting it out of the way, the big thing that might put you off Lord of the Rings is that it's slow reading. It's long, and filled with references to names and histories which don't directly affect the main plot. But even if that doesn't sound like your thing, I'd still recommend giving the book a try, because what's important isn't the names or the histories, or the detailed world building, or the other aspects that have been copied ad nauseam by fantasy writers for the last 60-something years. What matters is the ~vibes~.
The books feel so slow because Tolkien really gives the story time to play out. He includes whole songs in the text, he spends ages describing the landscape and the weather, and characters speak for paragraphs. In contrast, the characters, whether they appear in one scene or are a major focus of the book, get about two sentences of introduction and almost no description of their appearance. Almost everything else is told through their actions and interactions with other characters.
For me, this deliberate slowness and the focus on environment and tone creates an exceptionally memorable vibe. It's pastoral at times, and it can be an escape into another world in a way that only the best books are. I don't have a very good memory for all the details in the books—the names, the histories, and the songs—I don't think Tolkien expect readers to memorise that sort of thing (after all, one of the songs in the book is written in an invented language). What I do remember is the moments and the moods. I remember what the weather was like in a particular forest in autumn, or the feeling of darkness in the mines below a mountain, or the atmosphere of celebration at a hobbit's birthday party.
There are still all the epic fantasy tropes which have been endlessly copied by others (and which Tolkien himself copied from the sagas he was imitating), but I think the softness and slowness of these books are often forgotten, or remembered only as a negative. Anyway, if you aren't sure whether you'd enjoy Lord of the Rings, but this sounds like something you could read, pick up The Fellowship of the Ring and give it a go.
:-)
The books feel so slow because Tolkien really gives the story time to play out. He includes whole songs in the text, he spends ages describing the landscape and the weather, and characters speak for paragraphs. In contrast, the characters, whether they appear in one scene or are a major focus of the book, get about two sentences of introduction and almost no description of their appearance. Almost everything else is told through their actions and interactions with other characters.
For me, this deliberate slowness and the focus on environment and tone creates an exceptionally memorable vibe. It's pastoral at times, and it can be an escape into another world in a way that only the best books are. I don't have a very good memory for all the details in the books—the names, the histories, and the songs—I don't think Tolkien expect readers to memorise that sort of thing (after all, one of the songs in the book is written in an invented language). What I do remember is the moments and the moods. I remember what the weather was like in a particular forest in autumn, or the feeling of darkness in the mines below a mountain, or the atmosphere of celebration at a hobbit's birthday party.
There are still all the epic fantasy tropes which have been endlessly copied by others (and which Tolkien himself copied from the sagas he was imitating), but I think the softness and slowness of these books are often forgotten, or remembered only as a negative. Anyway, if you aren't sure whether you'd enjoy Lord of the Rings, but this sounds like something you could read, pick up The Fellowship of the Ring and give it a go.
:-)
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
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