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jason_as's review
2.0
Overall, it's hard to care that much when most of the fellowship aren't particularly worth thinking about, and the remainder generally get worse as the saga rolls along. Many chapters are dull walking/talking in a lofty manner/fighting in a way that doesn't translate well on the page. It's far too long for the amount of plot. I get annoyed by the amount of off-page action that actually could have potential. Overall I don't get the hype.
#1 Why do people make fun of Potter 7 for being an endless camping trip when so much of this book is just walking, and walking, and walking? Gandalf the Grey inspires some awe and enjoyment. As does the loyalty and sensitivity of Sam.
#2 I’m surprised at the structure of The Two Towers. I thought it would be more like GRR Martin and the POV characters would go through a fairly regular cycle. Rather than omitting Frodo and Sam for the entire first half. I didn’t care for the first half too much, as I find Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn/Boromir uninteresting, and Gandalf the White seems to have had his personality sucked out when he changed colors. Merry and Pippin are relatively amusing, though perhaps I just like their names a lot - both what they go by and variations of their full names - and their early reactions to and interactions with Treebeard are pretty cool. Less so when everyone’s gathered together and the novelty of him has faded.
Frodo’s kind of an ass. I prefer Sam Gamgee and his insisting-on-“Mr. Frodo” ways. Gollum pretty much owns the book though. So I guess the only characters that make the book worthwhile to me are (ex-/)hobbits not named Frodo.
#3 Mmm, Merry and Pippin are less amusing in Return of the King, presumably because the dangers are greater. It does show me that Pippin’s better at any rate. The first 3 chapters of the last part of LOTR are super exciting, tension-filled, and led by the best hero of the saga - no, not useless whiny Frodo. However, they’re followed by 6 chapters of resolution...which have almost no excitement and take up way more space than they need to.
T4 characters of each book, in order: Gandalf, Bilbo, Pippin, Sam
Gollum, Pippin, Sam, Merry
Sam, Gollum, Bilbo, Bill the pony - Yes, 3 of these characters have very little page time, but everyone else, meh.
#1 Why do people make fun of Potter 7 for being an endless camping trip when so much of this book is just walking, and walking, and walking? Gandalf the Grey inspires some awe and enjoyment. As does the loyalty and sensitivity of Sam.
#2 I’m surprised at the structure of The Two Towers. I thought it would be more like GRR Martin and the POV characters would go through a fairly regular cycle. Rather than omitting Frodo and Sam for the entire first half. I didn’t care for the first half too much, as I find Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn/Boromir uninteresting, and Gandalf the White seems to have had his personality sucked out when he changed colors. Merry and Pippin are relatively amusing, though perhaps I just like their names a lot - both what they go by and variations of their full names - and their early reactions to and interactions with Treebeard are pretty cool. Less so when everyone’s gathered together and the novelty of him has faded.
Frodo’s kind of an ass. I prefer Sam Gamgee and his insisting-on-“Mr. Frodo” ways. Gollum pretty much owns the book though. So I guess the only characters that make the book worthwhile to me are (ex-/)hobbits not named Frodo.
#3 Mmm, Merry and Pippin are less amusing in Return of the King, presumably because the dangers are greater. It does show me that Pippin’s better at any rate. The first 3 chapters of the last part of LOTR are super exciting, tension-filled, and led by the best hero of the saga - no, not useless whiny Frodo. However, they’re followed by 6 chapters of resolution...which have almost no excitement and take up way more space than they need to.
T4 characters of each book, in order: Gandalf, Bilbo, Pippin, Sam
Gollum, Pippin, Sam, Merry
Sam, Gollum, Bilbo, Bill the pony - Yes, 3 of these characters have very little page time, but everyone else, meh.
stephen_delavue's review
4.0
It's LOTR, Tolkien is the Father of Fantasy for a reason, but with that being said there are a few things in this book that didn't work for me. From a technical standpoint there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Tolkien has a master class understanding of story structure, character work, and world building. But in certain places I feel that the book really suffered from its slower pacing and began to drag or even border upon the cusp of boredom. I'm talking specifically about their being very long descriptions of the environment for which they're in. I get it, they're outside and it's pretty. Can we please move on?
But I think that the most disappointing part of the book for me personally is Sauron himself. As a reader I love to latch onto villains for whatever reason, and they usually end up being some of my favorite characters; that wasn't the case with Sauron. I was expecting a sort of ultimate evil devil esque character in the same vein as Darkseid, but in the end he really didn't have much of a character outside of this abstract evil figure that we never officially meet. But again,this isn't a failure on Tolkien's part more of just my own personal preference. I'm just not a big fan of force of nature villains.
On a noncritical note: Sam and Frodo are gay for each other and I'm all for it. I will not be gaslit on this. Merry and Pippin have a close friendship. Legolass and Gimili have a close friendship. But, Sam and Frodo are so obviously gay for each other. The dude asked him to move in with him by the end. They were just roommates my ass. Rose was only their to give Sam a case of the not gays, because this book was written in the 40s.
I liked it, favorite chapter was the one where Denethor killed himself. That gave me big sads. I definitely recommend it, but you should probably break it into three parts otherwise it might burn you out. Also the bitter sweet ending is great.
But I think that the most disappointing part of the book for me personally is Sauron himself. As a reader I love to latch onto villains for whatever reason, and they usually end up being some of my favorite characters; that wasn't the case with Sauron. I was expecting a sort of ultimate evil devil esque character in the same vein as Darkseid, but in the end he really didn't have much of a character outside of this abstract evil figure that we never officially meet. But again,this isn't a failure on Tolkien's part more of just my own personal preference. I'm just not a big fan of force of nature villains.
On a noncritical note: Sam and Frodo are gay for each other and I'm all for it. I will not be gaslit on this. Merry and Pippin have a close friendship. Legolass and Gimili have a close friendship. But, Sam and Frodo are so obviously gay for each other. The dude asked him to move in with him by the end. They were just roommates my ass. Rose was only their to give Sam a case of the not gays, because this book was written in the 40s.
I liked it, favorite chapter was the one where Denethor killed himself. That gave me big sads. I definitely recommend it, but you should probably break it into three parts otherwise it might burn you out. Also the bitter sweet ending is great.
ireadthebooks's review
3.0
Ah, this took so long! Travelogue fantasy must be my kryptonite because I just can't read it without getting bored. YES, EXTENDED CAMPING IS HARD AND GROSS.
I'll give it this: the world of LotR is so vivid and descriptive. It's full of history and legend and all the things that give the characters identity and distinction. It's what separates the LotR copycats who just have dwarves, elves, and extended camping trips from this beautiful, epic work.
So yes, I liked it, and obviously I recognize that this is the wellspring from which most modern fantasy archetypes have sprung. I just don't see myself rereading it.
I'll give it this: the world of LotR is so vivid and descriptive. It's full of history and legend and all the things that give the characters identity and distinction. It's what separates the LotR copycats who just have dwarves, elves, and extended camping trips from this beautiful, epic work.
So yes, I liked it, and obviously I recognize that this is the wellspring from which most modern fantasy archetypes have sprung. I just don't see myself rereading it.
drbetteridge's review
4.0
Hooray! Finished at last. Really enjoyed this, the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading the next now. The movies were good, no doubt about it, but I was unable to finish watching any one of them. The books, however, are by far the better deal of the two.
abiadenigbagbe's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
cubman987's review
5.0
My all time favorite book, I've read it more than any other and I never tire of it.
chaitdwivedi's review
5.0
A decade after watching the movies for the first time and after two failed attempts I finally finished reading The Lords of the Rings. It's an immersive experience that stays with you long after you are done reading it. 5/5 for this novel, which despite its flaws is still amazing!
abomine's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book with a made-up language
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This BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings blows the NPR radio adaptation completely out of the water. What a difference that a set of professional actors and a soundtrack with a full orchestra makes!
No Tom Bombadil in this one unfortunately, but in comparison to the quality of everything else, that;s pretty forgivable. It has The Scouriing of the Shire, which is a huge plus!
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This BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings blows the NPR radio adaptation completely out of the water. What a difference that a set of professional actors and a soundtrack with a full orchestra makes!
No Tom Bombadil in this one unfortunately, but in comparison to the quality of everything else, that;s pretty forgivable. It has The Scouriing of the Shire, which is a huge plus!
annebonny's review against another edition
4.0
i listened to the bbc radio adaptation of this and it was a lot of fun and the actor who voiced sam was perfect
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