A review by huligari
The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien by Christina Scull, J.R.R. Tolkien, Wayne G. Hammond

5.0

I bought this book shortly after watching the first Hobbit movie, because I loved it so much I kept watching it every night before going to sleep for, like, two weeks. And it’s still my favorite of the three films.

Despite this, I found it very hard to actually finish the book. It wasn’t gripping me the way the LOTR trilogy gripped me from day one (and it still grips me to this day). Maybe it was because I read LOTR first because I was constantly comparing them, and I felt it was coming up short. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for me to read it.

And now, after three movies and (almost!) three years, I’ve finally read The Hobbit! It was easier this time around once I got into the groove. There’s a poignancy to it too, it’s like, from the movies to the book, I’m ending this current journey with Bilbo, and a bittersweet taste lingers.

This particular edition caught my eye because of the beautiful Alan Lee illustrations! Worth every piece of my hard-earned money!

Because it's never too late for spoilers!

Sadly, the dwarves, with the exception of Thorin, were as much of a non-entity as in the movies. No characteristics, no stories, no arcs at all. I’d have wanted to get to know them better. Bilbo’s character from there and back again was handled better too, as was the elvenking’s! I was surprised that Thranduil wasn’t a complete huge dick as the movies would have us believe. Bilbo would even rather die protecting the elvenking over anybody else.