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A review by lizziepurpleserenity
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
5.0
TOP MARKS on my rating system!
I loved this so much! In a gooey warm feelings kinda way. I need a Ring of my own, complete with its Elvish carvings.
I'm going to be honest, I read The Hobbit several years ago and then tried this but gave up early on. I've only returned to it because it is the grandaddy of what has become my favourite genre, and I was fully expecting to find it a drag, especially given it's a quest story, which I'm not normally a fan of (I'm a big fan of DNF'ing when you're not enjoying a book, but this is one book - the whole Lord of the Rings I mean - that I decided I would force myself to read in full, just so that I can say I have read it and have an informed opinion and knowledge of the biggest historical influence on the genre). But, my reading skills must surely have developed thanks to my prolific reading over the past couple of years, because I loved every second and can't wait to continue with the rest. (I will add that it helps that I know the movies well so that would have helped me to visualise everything, and I already know all the characters.)
What's great: The immersive descriptions of location and landscape; the characters (I knew Sam Gamgee is everyone's favourite but he is to die for); the awesomeness of the very soft magic (when I'd thought I was more a fan of hard magic systems); the creepiness and constant sense of threat, from the Black Riders, and of being followed (Gollum - can't wait to meet him!! ); the world-building, of locations and languages and races... what more can I say?!
I loved this so much! In a gooey warm feelings kinda way. I need a Ring of my own, complete with its Elvish carvings.
I'm going to be honest, I read The Hobbit several years ago and then tried this but gave up early on. I've only returned to it because it is the grandaddy of what has become my favourite genre, and I was fully expecting to find it a drag, especially given it's a quest story, which I'm not normally a fan of (I'm a big fan of DNF'ing when you're not enjoying a book, but this is one book - the whole Lord of the Rings I mean - that I decided I would force myself to read in full, just so that I can say I have read it and have an informed opinion and knowledge of the biggest historical influence on the genre). But, my reading skills must surely have developed thanks to my prolific reading over the past couple of years, because I loved every second and can't wait to continue with the rest. (I will add that it helps that I know the movies well so that would have helped me to visualise everything, and I already know all the characters.)
What's great: The immersive descriptions of location and landscape; the characters (I knew Sam Gamgee is everyone's favourite but he is to die for); the awesomeness of the very soft magic (when I'd thought I was more a fan of hard magic systems); the creepiness and constant sense of threat, from the Black Riders, and of being followed (