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A review by a_j_torres0
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
4.0
The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is an Adult High/Epic Fantasy novel, book 1 in the series.
Book Cover: 3* - I think the cover is very nicely done. It's a beautiful depiction of an environment. What that environment is? ... Yeah I have no idea, but it looks nice lol.
Summary/Tagline: 3.5* - It's good. It tells me about Bilbo(Main Character in The Hobbit) living a VERY long life with the ring he found in his journey to the Lonely Mountain, and that evil is starting to stir and trying to get it back ... Yeah this edition is too vague about what I'm about to read lol.
Characters: 3.5* - This book does POV hop a bit within each chapter, but we largely stay with Bilbo(until he leaves for Rivendell), Frodo, and Gandalf. Sometimes we get Aragorn and Sam's POV, but they are few and far between. These characters are pretty competent when it comes to a lot of scenarios. Yes they have moments of panic/fear when like faced with a horde of orcs and a freaking Balrog, but I did struggle to connect with all of the characters. However if you did ask me who my favorite character is, I'll definitely say Aragorn ... he has a magical sword that burst into silvery flames ok!
World Building: 4* - The world building in this book ... is expansive to say the least lol. We get to know about the history of Hobbits and their way of life. Songs and poetry of the Elves. Craftsmanship of the Dwarves. A characters family inheritance and lineage ... it's a lot ok. There's just ... so much to the point that it does drag the story quite a bit. This is just 4 stars because I did like learning about the world of TLotR, I just think it should've been held back at some points in the story. Oh yeah, did I mention there's singing? Because there is lots and lots of singing lol.
Story: 4* - The story is good, well written, and engaging when it wants to be, but in my opinion, it is harder to care when there are large blocks of exposition dumps about the ring, Sauron, Elven history, etc. The story is, Frodo has inherited a ring by his uncle Bilbo who has decided to leave the Shire to go on an adventure again to see places and friends he misses, but soon Frodo and Gandalf come to find out, that the ring Bilbo passed to Frodo actually belongs to the Dark Lord Sauron and has sent his Ringwraiths to go fetch it for him so that he can rule Middle Earth ... oops. Now Frodo has to go on his own perilous journey to find a way to keep the ring safe and have it destroyed before Sauron gets his ring back. It's a really fun adventure story that I still enjoyed to this day. Get past all that world and lore stuff and the book is a breeze to read/listen to in my opinion.
Audio Book 3* - The narrator was good and has a few distinct voices for some of the characters, but not much as many of them, especially if given the same voice, is hard to distinguish who is who. I also struggled a lot more with paying attention with the narrator in this book. I'm not saying he sounded or is bored, just ... he was ok.
Over All: 4* - No way am I giving this book 3 stars, but I can't give it 5 stars either. I think 4 stars works just fine for me. The characters are good, the world lore is ... a lot to take in lol, and the adventure story is fun and exciting. Would I recommend this book to first time fantasy readers ... Maybe? I would warn about the info dumps and lengthy exposition dialogues that happen throughout the book, but I would also suggest to keep an open mind about this book as it did inspire many fantasy writers today and still does actually. So, I would say, give it a shot, it won't hurt to try it at least once.
Book Cover: 3* - I think the cover is very nicely done. It's a beautiful depiction of an environment. What that environment is? ... Yeah I have no idea, but it looks nice lol.
Summary/Tagline: 3.5* - It's good. It tells me about Bilbo(Main Character in The Hobbit) living a VERY long life with the ring he found in his journey to the Lonely Mountain, and that evil is starting to stir and trying to get it back ... Yeah this edition is too vague about what I'm about to read lol.
Characters: 3.5* - This book does POV hop a bit within each chapter, but we largely stay with Bilbo(until he leaves for Rivendell), Frodo, and Gandalf. Sometimes we get Aragorn and Sam's POV, but they are few and far between. These characters are pretty competent when it comes to a lot of scenarios. Yes they have moments of panic/fear when like faced with a horde of orcs and a freaking Balrog, but I did struggle to connect with all of the characters. However if you did ask me who my favorite character is, I'll definitely say Aragorn ... he has a magical sword that burst into silvery flames ok!
World Building: 4* - The world building in this book ... is expansive to say the least lol. We get to know about the history of Hobbits and their way of life. Songs and poetry of the Elves. Craftsmanship of the Dwarves. A characters family inheritance and lineage ... it's a lot ok. There's just ... so much to the point that it does drag the story quite a bit. This is just 4 stars because I did like learning about the world of TLotR, I just think it should've been held back at some points in the story. Oh yeah, did I mention there's singing? Because there is lots and lots of singing lol.
Story: 4* - The story is good, well written, and engaging when it wants to be, but in my opinion, it is harder to care when there are large blocks of exposition dumps about the ring, Sauron, Elven history, etc. The story is, Frodo has inherited a ring by his uncle Bilbo who has decided to leave the Shire to go on an adventure again to see places and friends he misses, but soon Frodo and Gandalf come to find out, that the ring Bilbo passed to Frodo actually belongs to the Dark Lord Sauron and has sent his Ringwraiths to go fetch it for him so that he can rule Middle Earth ... oops. Now Frodo has to go on his own perilous journey to find a way to keep the ring safe and have it destroyed before Sauron gets his ring back. It's a really fun adventure story that I still enjoyed to this day. Get past all that world and lore stuff and the book is a breeze to read/listen to in my opinion.
Audio Book 3* - The narrator was good and has a few distinct voices for some of the characters, but not much as many of them, especially if given the same voice, is hard to distinguish who is who. I also struggled a lot more with paying attention with the narrator in this book. I'm not saying he sounded or is bored, just ... he was ok.
Over All: 4* - No way am I giving this book 3 stars, but I can't give it 5 stars either. I think 4 stars works just fine for me. The characters are good, the world lore is ... a lot to take in lol, and the adventure story is fun and exciting. Would I recommend this book to first time fantasy readers ... Maybe? I would warn about the info dumps and lengthy exposition dialogues that happen throughout the book, but I would also suggest to keep an open mind about this book as it did inspire many fantasy writers today and still does actually. So, I would say, give it a shot, it won't hurt to try it at least once.