Rating: 
Summary: The film is good because it captures a bit of the book.
Review: I never wanted to read the Lord of the Rings series. I had heard all the warnings: it's too wordy, it's too long, it's just for antisocial types who want to memorize fictional history and spend their time playing Dungeons and Dragons. So I avoided it, preferring instead "realistic fiction" with "meaning."When the first movie was released, my aunt asked me to please give them a try so she could see what someone else who had read the books thought of it. I am grateful to my aunt for encouraging me to do this. I was extremely impressed with the movie, but what truly made me love it was that it showed a glimmer of the magic of the book. But does it rival the book? Not in a million years. I'm ashamed of my initial fear that this fantasy book would not have "meaning." The struggle to destroy the Ring, though fantasy, applies to the lives of any of us who have ever carried a burden. That is to say, to most of us. If you are afraid of the length and wordiness of the story, I still suggest you give the book a try: even if you find yourself skimming descriptive parts, you will still get something out of this book. Perhaps later you will want to reread it and see what else you can get out of it, but even if you do not, you will still have gotten something from it in one quick read. Also, to those of you who have read "The Hobbit" and did not enjoy it: I urge you to try the Lord of the Rings anyway. The difficulty I had with The Hobbit didn't continue through the Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit seemed more like a delightful but light children's adventure, while the Lord of the Rings is much deeper. The two works have extremely different tones, so they might appeal to different audiences. The Lord of the Rings beautifully enthralling while also thought-provoking. Even with its darkness, it is, in the end, ultimately comforting.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: This book was boring and hard to understand. I almost couldn't get through it. It got recommended to me by a friend. I decided to not read the second one. The only reason it became popular was because of the movies.
Rating:
Summary: The Review of the Ring
Review: I think this is a great book. It can be quite riveting at times. For people who have seen the movie before reading the book, it can be harder to figure the book out. The book has more characters and many more details about different events. The book can seem to drag at times, while the movie is action packed. Many events inn the book are written completely different then they are shown in the movie. Some parts of the book made me completely confused. Considering that this book is long, I would suggest that coach-potatoes stick to the movie. Real readers should defiantly read the book, and possibly watch the movie to get a better feel of it all.
Rating:
Summary: hi
Review: just noting: all of the one star reveiws say its too wordy or slow. is this commenting on their intelligence or the book?
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but the movie was MUCH BETTER!!!
Review: This book had too many descriptions. I saw the movie before I read the book and I have to say the movie is SO much better. I knew all this interesting stuff would happen, I just didn't know it would happen at 100-page intervals and with a non-exciting description! All I can say is that the movie is awesome and don't waste your time reading the books. P.S. I have to admit, the second book is better. However, I believe that is because of Frodo,Sam, and Gollum's scenes in the book. That is its only saving grace.
Rating:
Summary: The Fellowship of the Ring
Review: This a book depicting the classic conflict between pure evil and the good that is fighting it. What makes this story great is it's scale. Of such magnitude that it would be an understatement to call it an epic. The story begins with a genuine innocence, but becomes increasingly darker and full of more action as it goes on. Tolkien's brilliance can easily be enjoyed by falling in love with the characters he has created. He has formed and effectively layed down the ground work of fantasy/science fiction for hundreds of authors to follow in his footsteps by creating such ideas. When it comes to such stories, Tolkien is the master. This story kept me wanting more the entire way through. What really intrigued me as a reader was the intense details Tolkien uses to describe every aspect of the action in the story. With this amount of intensity and this magnitude of fantasy, a person who enjoys fiction can only enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: ...AND I THOUGHT "THE HOBBIT" WAS PHENOMENAL!!!
Review: I have read "The Hobbit" more than a couple of times in the past but was admittedly leary about the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy". Perhaps the size of the collection was intimidating...I am so glad I got over that!! I just recently finished part 1, "The Fellowship of the Ring" and am currently working on "The Two Towers." The books are absolutely mind-boggling!! They start up right where "The Hobbit" leaves off and are nothing short of adventurous and other-worldly. Tolkein creates a world of elves, dwarves, hobbits, wizards, and men that is fantastical in scope yet wholly believable. Tolkein knows how to pit evil against good in an epic and spectacular way.I would literally stay up nights until 2am with my little reading light, driving my husband crazy because I simply couldn't rest until I got to the end. I feel the same way about the second book! What's more is that I've read that the third book, "The Return of the King" is even better and I couldn't be more excited to get into it.
If you are a lover of good books and have been avoiding "The Lord of the Rings" because of all of its current movie hype, I can assure you it would be a foolish thing to pass up. Also, if you really want to start off right, begin with "The Hobbit" (if you have lots of time on your hands I would suggest starting with "The Silmarillion" which is the start of it all).
Tolkein was a world famous philologist and created his own "Elvish" language to create these books. They are perfect for readers young (young adult) and old and are a true means of escape from reality.
Let this be the review that gets you started on the reading adventure of a lifetime, one you'll likely never forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Fellowship of the Ring
Review: Fellowship of the Ring
By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Reviewed by: Matt Gleason
The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the first book of the thrilling Lord of the Ring series. The story takes place in Middle Earth where many good and bad things live. Frodo Baggins receives the, 'Ring of Power,' from his adoptive uncle who mysteriously vanished on his 111th birthday. Frodo must now take the ring to Mt. Doom and destroy it there, but Ring Wrath and Orcs are following him. With him he takes his friends Merry Pippin and Sam. Along the way they meet a man named Strider who helps them on their way. When they reach the house of Elrond, many other people, such as a dwarf, Gilmi, an elf, Legolos, a man named Boromir and their wizard friend, Gandalf the Grey, join them. I really like this book because the author uses strong descriptive verbs and adjectives. I also like this book because one thing is going to happen when a completely different thing happens. I give The Fellowship of the Ring a 4 out of 5 rating and recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and danger.
Rating:
Summary: A classic, and yet...
Review: Call me a heretic if you will, but while I found _The Fellowship of the Rings_ to be an incredibly vivid and imaginative tale, I also found that in many places, it dragged. Tolkein was a genius, no doubt about that; however, he was also a bit obsessed with an insane number of details about the world he created. Naturally, this is partly why so many people love his books immensely, but for those of us who are more interested in advancing the story than in the lineage of a hobbit or elf, the intricate details can truly weigh the book down quite a lot. On the other hand, the details in the scene-setting are wonderful - it's probably more a case of "one woman's drek is another's dream" and so forth. I reckon there's more than one person out there who hates the lavish settings, but loves the history and storytelling-through-song. As a linguist, Tolkein definitely got the language details *right* throughout this series - his efforts there are extraordinary. And, while some people no doubt find the frequent songs in the book charming and entertaining, I generally found myself clenching my teeth to get through them. Further, characters like Tom Bombadil had really interesting elements, but most of them were buried in his too-merry flouncing and bopping about. I would have loved to have seen more discussion of his relationship with nature, and less of the "hey-ho, Bombadillo!" Overall, though, this is the kind of story that parents should read to their children, letting them get swept away in the vast realm of Middle Earth. Fan of fantasy will likely also enjoy seeing where many of the standards of the genre came from. While there are parts of it went really slowly for me, it was worth the time spent. Now, for the inevitable comparison between the book and the film, for those who have experienced one but not the other. Personally, and I could easily be hunted down and thrashed for this...I enjoyed the movie more. It eliminated many of the slower areas of the tale that I didn't enjoy, yet still remained largely true to the story. Many of my die-hard Tolkein-loving friends agree that the movie did an excellent job, and that secretly, some of them enjoyed it better, too. Still, it would be worth picking up a copy of the book to see if you'd really enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Rings........the best fantasy story ever
Review: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings is easily the best told fantasy I have ever read and I feel shamed for seeing the movie before reading this truly incredible story. The Fellowship of the Rings is the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Hobbit being an opening to the series) and tells the story of the One Ring falling into the hands of Frodo the Hobbit. He learns soon after that Sauron, the Dark Lord, is in pursuit of the One Ring and thus Frodo must destroy it to save Middle Earth. The story itself is written well with intense diction and imagery that creates a living-breathing world. Each chapter is jammed with interesting information and action that keeps you turning page after page. This is an extremely brief overview of the book and if you have seen the movie and even remotely enjoyed the viewing I highly recommend this book because it is even more massive in scope.
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