Scan barcode
A review by vaughanreads
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
5.0
Bilbo Baggins, a quaint and reserved Hobbit, is thrust into quite the adventure with folk that he would have otherwise never crossed paths with. Thorin Oakenshield and his company of dwarves, along with the wise guidance of the old wizard Gandalf, take Bilbo on an adventure to the east to retake the lost dwarf kingdom of Erebor from the dormant terror that is Smaug the Dragon. The young hobbit will face many great perils, make many friends and even more enemies along the way and discover more about himself now than he has ever before.
This is the fourth time I have read Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’, it is just as enjoyable to read now as it has ever been. For only a sub-300 page novel, the story is infatuating, the characters are vast and deep and the sense of purpose for the quest is never lost or forgotten. The quest sub-genre of fantasy can be a cumbersome task, as it can often become repetitive or dull over time. However, Tolkien really nails it by using such diverse mini adventures along the timeline. The fact that I read this book in around a week is a testament to how little it was not in my hands.
There were some absolutely stunning illustrations throughout this book, two of which are above. I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to run through the book and look at all the pictures before starting to read - as I’m assuming a lot of you would have done ;) This was special to me as I have read the story a few times but never in this edition, which I got last year.
There is nothing negative that I have to say about this book, however that isn’t to say I wouldn’t change anything about it. The only thing I would have to say is that I have grown quite fond of books that utilise sub-chapters; it helps a lot with managing my reading sessions, keeping my attention span ticking over and giving me a small dose of dopamine when I reach a minor milestone. This book does not suffer too much without it, though I will say that it does have at least three very large chapters - about 25-30 pages - which is a bit of a challenge for myself. That is why alternatively I would have liked to see some chapters just cut in half. For example, you cannot cut ‘Riddles in the Dark’ at all, because it’s all basically one relative point in time - but ‘Flies and Spiders’ could have easily been cut in half. It’s a very minor point that maybe I’m making a bit of a Hobbit Hill out of, but it’s a thought that occurred nonetheless.
To finish off this review, I wanted to leave you with some out-of-context quotes which I appreciated:
*“Do you wish me a good morning, or that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”*
*Trolls simply detest the sight of dwarves (uncooked).*
*“Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!”*
*“Now what on earth or under it has happened?” said Thorin.*
*“He [The Master] may have a good head for business - especially his own business,” some murmered, “but he is no good when anything serious happens”*
*The Elvenking looked at Bilbo with a new wonder. “Bilbo Baggins!” he said. “You are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-princes than many that have looked more comely in it.”*
This is the fourth time I have read Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’, it is just as enjoyable to read now as it has ever been. For only a sub-300 page novel, the story is infatuating, the characters are vast and deep and the sense of purpose for the quest is never lost or forgotten. The quest sub-genre of fantasy can be a cumbersome task, as it can often become repetitive or dull over time. However, Tolkien really nails it by using such diverse mini adventures along the timeline. The fact that I read this book in around a week is a testament to how little it was not in my hands.
There were some absolutely stunning illustrations throughout this book, two of which are above. I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to run through the book and look at all the pictures before starting to read - as I’m assuming a lot of you would have done ;) This was special to me as I have read the story a few times but never in this edition, which I got last year.
There is nothing negative that I have to say about this book, however that isn’t to say I wouldn’t change anything about it. The only thing I would have to say is that I have grown quite fond of books that utilise sub-chapters; it helps a lot with managing my reading sessions, keeping my attention span ticking over and giving me a small dose of dopamine when I reach a minor milestone. This book does not suffer too much without it, though I will say that it does have at least three very large chapters - about 25-30 pages - which is a bit of a challenge for myself. That is why alternatively I would have liked to see some chapters just cut in half. For example, you cannot cut ‘Riddles in the Dark’ at all, because it’s all basically one relative point in time - but ‘Flies and Spiders’ could have easily been cut in half. It’s a very minor point that maybe I’m making a bit of a Hobbit Hill out of, but it’s a thought that occurred nonetheless.
To finish off this review, I wanted to leave you with some out-of-context quotes which I appreciated:
*“Do you wish me a good morning, or that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”*
*Trolls simply detest the sight of dwarves (uncooked).*
*“Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!”*
*“Now what on earth or under it has happened?” said Thorin.*
*“He [The Master] may have a good head for business - especially his own business,” some murmered, “but he is no good when anything serious happens”*
*The Elvenking looked at Bilbo with a new wonder. “Bilbo Baggins!” he said. “You are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-princes than many that have looked more comely in it.”*