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Summary: The BEST Fantasy books that have ever been written.
Review: Words alone are nearly inadequate to describe the scope and power of Tolkien's masterwork. (The Lord of the Rings) His was the first of the fantasy epics, and still the best, because his world comes Alive like none since. The amount of detail which he put into it is staggering, and by the end, you are convinced that Middle Earth truly existed. Add to the mix a compelling quest, and a mix of believable characters. They truly evolve as the books go on, none are left untouched by what they encounter. There are huge battles, character conflicts, monsters, demons, and excitement galore. Yet, what keeps the Lord of the Rings unique is that he believes in the individual. All those battles and glorious deeds, while exciting, are ultimately unimportant. Everything in this series truly hinges on the efforts of two individuals, seperate from all else going on. It is this high drama which keeps the books interesting even today, when the shelves are stuffed with fantasy books about huge adventure
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Summary: Great? Yeah, right!
Review: This is one of the most boring books I have ever read! The only reason I kept reading this book all the way through is that I heard so many times that it is a classic. This book thoroughly sucked, and I'd suggest reading something better
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Summary: A Grand Begin To The Greatest Fantasy Epic
Review: This book has to be one of the greatest fantasy novels ever! Frodo and his friends are just as delightful as Bilbo and the dwarves were in The Hobbit. I actually couldn't put this book down. It has everything from laughs to edge of your seat, spine-tingling suspense. If you haven't read The Fellowship of The Ring then you're missing out on something great. The Fellowship and the rest of The Lord of The Rings Trilogy deserve the title of classic
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Summary: Classic fantasy
Review: THE original fantasy novel. The standard that others are STILL measured by. If you want to give fantasy a try read this book, it is the best
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Summary: awesome fun and fantasy
Review: This book is great. It is not as good as the Hobbit, but Frodo is in a way like Bilbo. I love this book, and I'm going to read the series.
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Summary: The Fellowship of the Ring is an epic tale of unprecedented
Review: The Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in the trilogy Lord of the Rings. This first portion of the book tells of the making and breaking of the Fellowship of the Ring. The major appeal of the story stems form its rich history of the mythical world Middle Earth, and the great number of characters.
The Fellowship of the Ring tells of a little known race of beings called halflings, or as they like to all themselves Hobbits, who's peaceful and fun loving way of life is being threatened to the brink of total destruction as well as pure and utter chaos. None in the Shire,the secluded home of the Hobbits, know of this emanate danger which is rapidly approaching except one small Hobbit named Frodo. Fore he possesses a magical ring of immense power. A power which is sought after by the dark lord of Mordor and his nine black riders; who will stop at nothing and go to any lengths to obtain the One Ring. Frodo's ring.
With the help and guidance of Gandalf the gray,a powerful wizard and a well respected member of the Great Council, Frodo resolves to travel to the ancient land of Mordor to unmake the One Ring of the Dark Lord, by casting it into the firy mouth of Mount Doom. Although the journey may prove parlous or even fatal Frodo and three of his closest friend begin their journey toward Mount Doom, which will that them more than a year from
start to finish.
I could go on for several dozen pages, how ever I would hate to destroy the great pleasure I found in reading and discovering the deep and rich history of Middle Earth. The best aspect of the Fellowship of the Ring is I never tier of reading it. I have spent many a nights reading well into the early hours of the dawn when I suddenly realize that thoughs "just five more minutes" have turned into just five more hours. And even then I will say to myself "just five more minutes.
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Summary: The diamond.
Review: LotR is in many ways a remake of the Hobbit, stretched out over five or
six times as many pages. This time around, the shifting of the mood and focus are
much smoother, though ultimately more extreme. There are also more memorable
moments than you can shake an Ent at!
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Summary: Slow to start, but builds to a great finish
Review: OK-first I've got to confess that I avoided "Ring" geeks in high school-they were way too passionate (zealots?). Over the years, I've resisted and when I finally read and loved "The Hobbit" I decided to read "Fellowship" a year ago. Since then I put it down twice, getting bogged down in the lengthy history of Middle Earth that precedes the actual story. Once I decided to skip it altogether, things built speed rapidly and I ended up really enjoying the book. Since many will consider reading this based on seeing the film, I'll add that I saw the movie and was blown away by how well the filmmakers told the story, leaving out the parts that are nice but superfluous, and keeping the core intact. That said, the book makes more clear the monumental task of gathering opposing forces against a common enemy and shows why the choices characters make (the elf-queen, for instance) are not as simple as they appear in the film. I also realized how thoroughly George Lucas "borrowed" from "Rings" in the first 3 Star Wars movies...
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Summary: J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Uncut and Unedited
Review: I'm sure this won't be a popular review, but hear me out. I've heard a lot of people complain that the movies didnt' follow the books closely enough and that they could have been much better if they had done so. However, after reading this first book of the trilogy, I can honestly say that I personally enjoyed the movie more than the book.. I found it to be more exciting and awe-inspiring. It may just be that I saw the movie before I read the book (a sin, I know) and my first impression was just so great that I'll never forget it and it would be very dificult to out-do, but there are just some parts of the story in which I think were improved upon in the movie.
While both the book and the movie are undoubtably two of the best pieces of art in their genres, they should be considered to be two distinct works. The movie included a few things that the book didn't and ommited a few things that the book dwelt on. While some people think that the movie should have been identical to the book as much as possible, I am glad that the director felt some degree of artistic freedom and was able to make some adjustments that he felt would make for a better movie (and which I agree with).. The book wasn't written as a movie and some of the story just wouldn't have been as good in a movie. Anyway, maybe its just by bias because of my having watched the movie before reading the book, but I thought the movie really outdid itself and was able to improve on the story.
I still think that this is a wonderful book and realize that Tolkien is the Godfather of all that is Fantasy.
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Summary: a wonderful beginning with some problems
Review: Let me begin by saying that I adore Tolkein and love The Lord of the Rings. With that out of the way, I have to admit that of the three books, Fellowship is definitly the weakest. Because Tolkein viewed the trilogy as a single novel, book one is almost entirely exposition. The story doesn't really get moving until more than halfway through the book.
Also, a lot of people have difficulty with Tolkein's language. This is one of my favourite parts of the book, but he is wordy and descriptive so it does take him a long ime to say anything. That said, reading his books is like reading epic poetry. His words flow the same way the language in a good version of The Oddessy or Beowulf does so it can be easy to get caught up in the flow of the language. I find that this helps me get through the books, as I get so immersed in the story that I have trouble coming out of it when I need to stop. Also, the flow of the words makes his lengthy description run past quickly.
On a less technical note, Tolkein's characterization and plotting are magnificent. As slowly as Fellowship moves, you can feel the action building into something grand and vast. His characters are complex and vibrant, and they all have a well-developed range of actions and motivations. Even the pure, otherworldly characters have things that irritate them and make them snappish. This is traditional fantasy, so there is little depth to the evil characters, and a nearly inexhaustible supply of easily defeated minions, but it's not really noticable within the context of the story.
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