The Hobbit

Rating:
Summary: My All-Time Favorite Book
Review: Tolkien has created a fantastic magical world filled with elves, dwarves, and of course hobbits. This book is my favorite because of the many details put into it. My favorite character was Gandalf. The Lord of the Rings serves as a fitting prequel to this must-read novel.

Rating:
Summary: The best fantasy book by the best fantasy author ever!
Review: The main character in the book The Hobbit is a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. A Hobbit is a short dwarf-like creature that really is not very capable of action. Bilbo was one of these exceptions, since he was born from a very famous family of Hobbit who were always getting into trouble. Bilbo's personality changes throughout the story. It starts like a regular Hobbit who doesn't want a adventure, but he eventually becomes sort of a leader and slays a huge dragon. The story The Hobbit didn't have any real defined point in history, but it did take place around fantasy times around spring. In the beginning of the story, Bilbo was in his little Hobbit hole when a group of travelers stop by to rest. It turns out they were on a voyage with a great wizard named, Gandalf. Through some means, Bilbo comes with them and meets their first challenge with a bunch of giants. The giants desperately needed food, and were happy to see these travelers until they all got away. The travelers faced a few more problems like goblins, until they were separated in a cave. Bilbo went downwards where he found this strange ring and met a strange monster. Bilbo discovered his ring made him invisible, and decided to make a deal with the creature. The creature was hungry, so Bilbo said that if he lost at a competition, the creature could eat him. If Bilbo won though, the creature would show him the way out. They decided to tell riddles, and by slightly cheating, Bilbo won and escaped. After Bilbo was reunited with his team, they voyages on, fighting more goblins and giant spiders until the final showdown with Smog the dragon. Everyone was too scared to face him except Bilbo. The dragon was so large he couldn't beat it alone, but he didn't have too. The dragon flew out of the cave and attacked a small town nearby. One townsman shot the dragon and killed it, ending the tragedy and the adventure. The real reason on how the dragon was killed was because of Bilbo. When he was in the cave, he saw a small place where the dragon armor didn't cover the flesh. It was conveniently located near the heart. It was a tough shot, but a young archer in the town had a good arrow. One shot and the dragon plunged into the ocean, killing it forever.

Rating:
Summary: It is a book about hobbits and other things.
Review: I think it is a really interesting book about a hobbit that goes on an adventure to the Lonely Mountain with his dwarf friends. They get into lots of weird problems, like when they get strung up by some spiders. My favorite character is Gandalf the Wizard. He helps them sometimes. It was a very good book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book, Made Even Better Through Illustration!
Review: The Hobbit is the best fantasy book of all time. My wife and I have just completed reading this classic to our two children; ages 7 and 9. They loved it and will remember reading this book together with their parents for a lifetime. The illustrations by Alan Lee added greatly to our children's enjoyment of this great classic.

Rating:
Summary: The hobbit is a cleverly crafed story.
Review: The Hobbit is a uniqe story that that takes you on a great quest through middle earth . Its written so well on the locations and history of middle earth making it a very great fantsy story.

Rating:
Summary: An all-around wonderful novel, but should be read young.
Review: The Hobbit, which is the prelude to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is an extremely entertaining book for something written so early in the twentieth century, and always gives the reader the impression of belonging to a larger world that is only hinted at in this first novel. Somewhat naive and innocent compared to the immense dark forces displayed in the rest of the trilogy, but if you plan on reading the other books, you absolutely must read The Hobbit.

Rating:
Summary: The "prequel" to the most famous trilogy in fantasy.
Review: This fantasy tale is actually a prequel or predecessor to Tolkein's famous epic, the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is required reading for any serious student of fantasy or speculative fiction and I recommend it enthusiastically. J. R. R. Tolkein (1892-1973) was a noted philologist who was Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford University as well as a close friend of C. S. Lewis. "The Hobbit," originally a story written for children, is a tale of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and how he helps a wizard named Gandalf and a group of dwarves in their quest when traveling through a land known as Middle-Earth. Hobbits are little people who are smaller than dwarves, don't have beards, live in holes in the ground, and don't wear shoes. They have hairy feet which have leathery soles. One day, Bilbo is visited by Gandalf and his adventures began. The following day a group of thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, visited Bilbo with Gandalf. They planned to travel to the Lonely Mountain to recover a treasure that had been stolen by the dragon Smaug many years earlier and they have decided to enlist the aid of Bilbo. In the travels of this troup, they overcome some trolls, find two ancient swords, meet friendly elves, and discover a secret message on their treasure map. They are captured by goblins and rescued by Gandalf. However, Bilbo is separated from the rest and finds himself alone in a dark cave where he meets the creature Gollum. After a contest of riddles, Bilbo escapes Gollum with the aid of a magical ring that he had found in the cave. Upon rejoining Gandalf and the dwarves, the travelers continue their trek but are soon attacked by Wargs (evil wolves). They are rescued once again, this time by giant eagles who fly them to safety. Their adventures continue until the quest is finally completed.

Rating:
Summary: Great author and great introduction to Fantasy Genre
Review: I originally read The Hobbit in 7th Grade. It was the first full length book I ever read. Up until that point I had no real desire to read. I lost my virginity to The Hobbit and went from reading my first book in 2 days to reading a book a week for the rest of my life.

The Hobbit is a great first book for anyone new to Fantasy. Although it is not sophisticated enough for some readers; it sets the stage for the true masterpiece of fantasy: The Lord of the Rings. You cannot read TLOTR without first reading The Hobbit. I would categorize The Hobbit almost as a children's book. Whereas The Lord of the Rings is definately for adults.

Please take the time to read The Hobbit and then read TLOTR. You are in for a wonderful treat. Then do your kid's a favor, read The Hobbit to them at an early age. You will see their eyes light up with wonder and fascination. They will thank you many times years down the road.

Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Review: I read this book in 3rd grade and liked it. I'm now soon to be in the 12th, and recently reread it for old times' sake. What a disapointment. Tolkien's story telling seriously lacks in dialogue. The plot is also incredibly boring, and unbelievable (i know, i know... it is fantasy), but we can't blame Tolkein for that, seeing as he was one of the first fantasy writers. For the more experienced fantasy/sci-fi reader out there i suggest Orson Scott Card, Samuel Delany, William Gibson, and Ursula Le Guin. The hobbit is an enjoyable fairy tale, but not nearly worthy of the praise it recieves. I only give it 3 stars because Tolkien paved the way for so many others.

Rating:
Summary: Very very exciting.
Review: It is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is unbelievable how he came up with this story and it is only the introduction of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.