The Hobbit

Rating:
Summary: allegory!! allegory!! PAY ATTENTION TO THE ALLEGORY!!
Review: The imagination of the writer would be less admired if this tale did not have deeper meaning or did not suggest natural social, moral, and motivational problems with humanity. Please be sure to read 'The Hobbit', any one of the many on the shelf, and please be sure to consider what the author means to say about personal or spiritual journeys, mental excitement, moral enthusiasm, and general happiness (versus the evil of the mundane and predictable.) Too often in the process of reading the great stories, allusions are missed and metaphors are disregarded. Please soak in the book, and look beyond the swords, wizards and dragons. We all know very well that what Tolkien did best was create stimulating fantasy, but he stumbled upon greatness with 'The Hobbit'. He orchestrated a masterpiece through the kind of characters, language and setting he enjoyed best. (That is in my opinion a sure sign of a genius, confident in his ability to create literature in a nontraditional method.) It is the kind of book that causes epiphanies!

Rating:
Summary: Well this book wins the award for the most boring, stupid &
Review: This book had way to many characters! Is boring from start to end and has no point! What the hell does this book mean?

Rating:
Summary: One of the best modern works in the English language
Review: A truly amazing story with unparalleled use of imagination and outstanding of depth of story. With characters which are perfectly real and complex matched with the indepth world of Middle Earth which has languages, peoples, geography, and a true *feel* of its own, this story is amazing, and stands as my favorite novel, of course, next to The Lord of the Rings, which continues the plight of Bilbo's magical ring.

Rating:
Summary: "Way to go Bilbo"
Review: This was an incredble book. It made me feel as if I was Bilbo and I must say it is a really good book to read. In fact, I'm going to read the whole series, starting with "The Lord Of The Rings." I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about fantasy magic and adventures.

Rating:
Summary: The best there is.
Review: Tolkien's masterpeice is the standard by which all other fantasies are judged. Grammar and sentence structure (who cares!) are sometimes criticized, but the book was written by a Professor of Philology. The flow of the book and and the feelings it raises are what make it a classic. Tolkien set out to make a mythology, and was a brilliant success.

Rating:
Summary: Bilbo Lives!
Review: I first read this magical treasure when I was 12 and I cried when I turned the last page because I simply did not want the magic to end. I'm 30 now but the 12 year old boy who remains a part of me is still convinced that somewhere, somehow, Bilbo lives on.

Rating:
Summary: Fantasy at its best
Review: This book is great, even better than some of my books from TSR, and that says something.

Rating:
Summary: The definitive science fantasy prelude
Review: I read this story over twenty times as a child and, as an adult, I still remember the story (almost verbatim). I don't think there are very many books out there with the broad scope that The Hobbit has illustrated. The plot, characters, descriptions; they all come together to tell a remarkable story that has stood the test of time. This classic, along with The Trilogy (if you say The Trilogy, most sci-fi readers know you speak of The Lord of the Rings), continues to show its influences on popular science fantasy. I can't think of another series of books that have had such an impact on the world of science fantasy as these four. Even The Chronicles of Narnia come in second place. Every science fantasy buff should have a copy of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and even The Silmarillion in their library.

Rating:
Summary: The classic text accompanied by stunning artwork
Review: The magnificently detailed artwork of Alan Lee is the perfect companion to the incredibly detailed world of Middle-Earth. If you enjoy this publishing, and you will, consider obtaining the hardbound printing of The Lord of the Rings, also illustrated by Lee.

Rating:
Summary: To all the Hobbit-Haters...
Review: As I'm reading these reviews, I notice that all of the people who gave "The Hobbit" a poor rating are students who flunked their tests. In thirty years, you'll be homeless on the street without a job. I'm a student too, I was required to read this, but would've read it anyway and have now enjoyed the series as well.