Rating: 
Summary: Great story idea but a boring book
Review: I'm glad I sorted the reviews lowest first because I saw I wasn't the only one who did not enjoy this book. I tried reading it three times, the first two I gave up. Finally while on vacation I finished the book only to be disappointed. The story was way too long and had entire chapters that contributed nothing to the plot. I don't think I can bring myself to read the other two books, instead I'll watch the movies.
Rating: 
Summary: If you loved the movie - read the book, it is better!
Review: Peter Jackson has done a pheonomenal adaptation of a book in Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring. And I thank him and the great actors and the other writers from the bottom of my heart, but the book (all three books!!!) are worth reading. I begged my parents for a copy of the trilogy 30 years ago (and got it - and still treasure it!) I read a lot of fantasy and in my opinion the best books concentrate on characters and story and world building -- and no one builds worlds better the JRR Tolkien -- not even David and Leigh Eddings, and they do a heck of a job. (I am talking about fictional worlds, of course.) Tolkien's characterization may not be perfect, and he is very light on female characters, but hobbits are wonderful heroes and deserve to be recognized! If you read the books, remember that this is basically the original fantasy that set the standard for everything written in the last 40 years -- the story is enthralling but wasn't written for a 21st century audience. Cut him some slack and enjoy the story -- it is worth the effort. I strongly recommend the entire Trilogy as well as The Hobbit. (I am not specifically recommending the editions mentioned here or that are currently available, as those are not the editions I read.)
Rating:
Summary: The film is fantastic, but...
Review: ...the book is better. Better in the sense that Tolkien's language is so rich and his descriptions of Middle Earth and his characters so vivid that these are virtually impossible to capture in full in the film-makers medium. With that said, however, I think Peter Jackson's film is a phenomenal piece of work and probably as true to Tolkien's vision as possible. I am not a fan of fantasy fiction, but this book (the Lord of the Rings, that is, of which this is just a piece) transcends the genre to rank as one of the 20th century's greatest works of literature in English language. Give it a few pages, and then be prepared to be swept up in a world utterly unlike our own, and yet, particularly in light of what's going on in the world today, so chillingly similar. Fantastic - almost prophetic - stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: great read
Review: this is the first installment of the lord of the rings series. it starts out at bilbo baggins' "elventy-first" birthday. it goes on to tell the story of how frodo baggins came to have the ring and what he has to do with it. he leaves the shire with his friends sam, merry, and pippin to deliver the ring to rivendell where it will be safe. they get there and it turns out that they will have to go further than that get rid of the ring. they have to destroy it in the fires of mt. doom where it was created. at rivendell they create the fellowship of the ring, the nine who are to deliver the ring bearer safely to the mountain. their journey ends with one member dead, merry and pippen kidnapped, and sam and frodo on their own. it's a great start to an awesome story.
Rating:
Summary: A True Literary Masterpiece.
Review: I debated whether or not to write a review for THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. I mean, there really isn't a whole lot more that I can say that hasn't been said already. However, I decided to go ahead and add another two cents worth. THE LORD OF THE RINGS is my favorite novel of all time. It's a shame that all the books weren't printed together as one when they were first published; one has to discuss each part of the series separately. Anyway, Tolkien's novel (of which this is the first part) is the granddaddy of all fantasy and science fiction. Before Tolkien came along, there really wasn't much in the realm of fantasy fiction or even science fiction. It took a master of language to write an extended sequel to a children's story he once wrote to enliven the genre. For the fact alone, Tolkien's work will remain as a classic and endure for ages to come. Yet, there is more to it than that. Tolkien's masterpiece is more than something that started a new genre. It is a great story, one of the best, culminated from many great stories of the past (Shakespeare, Norse mythology, Chaucer, etc.) and imbedded in the morals of Tolkien's Christian faith. It is a story that all men long to live. It is a tale about life. It's about friendship. It's a story about death, redemption, and salvation; a tale of good triumphing over evil. Combining all those elements (and so many others) into one story is a great feat. So, here's to Tolkien and THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Long may it endure.
Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings(and books)
Review: The Fellowship is one of the best book I have read and the movie is amazing. When you read the adventures of Frodo and his company you truly feel like you are there with them. Tolkien puts in a lot of detail in his books. When I read the book I felt happy, excited, scared and sad at some parts. The movie made me feel the sameway to. If you havn't read the books you really should. I most eager to start reading The Two Towers and find out what happens to Frodo and Sam on their mission to destory the one ring.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling Beginning, It Deserves Its Classic Status
Review: I've read so many bad things about the Lord of the Rings books that I really didn't think that I would like this book. Now that I've read it, I don't think that the word "like" would do the book justice. The Fellowship of the Rings is a true classic, and the book really deserves its popularity. This is the well-known story of Frodo. He has the unfortunate destiny of being the bearer of a ring that could give the dark forces of Middle Earth unbeatable power. Frodo, along with some friends is given the task of traveling into the middle of those dark forces to destory the ring. That is a really, really, really simplistic synopsis of the plot of the novel. Tolkien created an entire world within the pages of the book and the reader gets all of it. The creation is really amazing, and the writing itself is not bad. The characterizatioin are very good. The prose isn't archaic, and it flows nicely giving the reader each emotion that Tolkien meant for the reader to have. There is a lot of action. It is always exciting. I am only sad that I put off reading the book until I saw that a its movie was about to come out. I know that millions of readers have enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring, and millions more will surely read and be captivated by this in centuries to come.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introductory Volume to Tolkien's Epic
Review: "The Fellowship of the Ring," the first volume of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," taken for what it is, is a beautiful work, and an excellent introduction to an amazing modern epic. Don't come to "Fellowship" expecting high adventure and fast-paced action - an introduction is what it is, in every sense of the term. Tolkien spends a great deal of time in "Fellowship" to recapitulate the history of the Ring in his prequel novel, "The Hobbit." In large parts of this volume, Tolkien goes to great lengths to introduce his readers to the various types of people found in Middle-earth; dwarves, elves, hobbits, and men. "The Fellowship of the Ring" begins with Bilbo Baggins, the hero of "The Hobbit," now an elderly recluse, pondering a movement out of the Shire, sixty years after his adventure. To the dismay of his most immediate family, the Sackville-Bagginses, Bilbo has made one of his nephews, Frodo Baggins, the sole heir of his estate and fortunes. The day Frodo comes of age, his 33rd birthday, the same day as Bilbo's 111th birthday, Bilbo orchestrates an insanely massive party, and disappears. Frodo's primary legacy from Bilbo is the Ring - about 20 years later, Gandalf, a mysterious and revered wizard, appears to inform Frodo that trouble is brewing in lands outside of the secluded Shire, and that the Ring is the cause. Three of his friends in tow, Frodo leaves the Shire, his quest, to make a party of nine, and attempt to destroy the Ring. The action of the novel concerns the formation of the party, the Company, or Fellowship of the Ring. The long, detailed histories and songs of each group of people in Middle-earth featured throughout "Fellowship" can seem needlessly intricate - however, I think them to be the most valuable and beautiful parts of "Fellowship" as an introduction. The poetry is simply, but variously metered and rhymed - their most important function, it seems, is to indicate largely pre-writing, oral cultures in Middle-earth. They provide us with speech patterns, characterizations, the values of cultural diversity and pride, and a sense of kinship and tradition in the world of Middle-earth that Tolkien creates. In "Fellowship," characterization is mainly of this sort, providing an overview of the major players in the quest and how they are each effected by the rise of Sauron, the Dark Lord, and his evil desires. The introductory volume to "The Lord of the Rings" sets an excellent scene for the larger epic action to follow - we are exposed to a wealth of social and political issues that affect the diverse population of Middle-earth. The communal governance and barter economy of the Shire, the proud, but failing monarchies of the dwarves and fairies, and the collapsed monarchy of men present a complex web of social, economic, and military relationships between disparate peoples. It is absolutely fascinating to examine the ways in which relations between the various peoples grow, change, strengthen, fade, and reform during the novel, and especially within the Fellowship itself. For example, one of the most moving relationships in "Fellowship" and the epic as a whole is between Gimli the dwarf and Legolas the elf - two individuals from societies with a fraught history. This is quest-romance at its very best, and volumes 2 and 3 more than repay a close reading of "Fellowship." There are many wonderful and captivating characters that populate the first volume - the cheerfully esoteric Tom Bombadil, the spectacularly magical Galadriel among them - who compensate for the first part's lack of intense action. I would reiterate one fact about "Fellowship" - it is the slowest moving part of "The Lord of the Rings" - the fact that it covers 11 months of time is but one indication of its sprawl and attention to detail. The last 50 years of continuous reprintings of the Ring saga prove that despite Tolkien's lack of real stylistic elegance at times, and the pace of the first volume, that "The Fellowship of the Ring" is both enjoyable and worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Very plodding and too frequently boring
Review: FOTR is really wordy and much too long. Could have been half as long and twice as good if Tolkien had removed all of the really unecessary description, histories, songs (esp. the songs, really pointless), etc. I found it very difficult to stay with this book. After reading the Hobbit, this book is just too slow.
Rating:
Summary: By Elbereth and Luthien the Fair
Review: Many of the negative reviews here conjure up an image of a single type of critic. There may of course be exceptions, but the complaints seem to come from people born within the last 25 years, those who are mostly indoctrinated in the fast and the flashy, the dumbed-down, the highly edited movies and TV shows of their youth, those more comfortable punching a remote control than turning a page. Well, this isn't for them, pure and simple, and they should have known that when they saw the size of it. Tolkien's lengthy descriptions of the landscape are welcome as far as I'm concerned; he had a love for the natural world and it shows. At the very least, if anything in print can get you away from asphalt and cell phones, this is it. In my mind that's a great part of its charm. His description of the Shire is based on rural England as he knew it and loved it before the First World War, and he wants us to experience that through a fictional medium. And many years ago, when I first read it, the references to the earlier histories of Middle Earth, whether expounded in conversation or song, were among the most fascinating aspects of it, and I can't imagine why anybody would object to that if they're voluntarily reading the thing in the first place. It adds greatly to the depth and involvement in this other world, and does not - repeat, does not - noticeably slow down the action. The style has been criticized as "archaic". If they want archaic, they should try William Morris' fantasy novels of the 1890s. Tolkien keeps the archaism under control. In fact, the style is one of the most remarkable things about the book. Since The Fellowship of the Ring follows immediately (plotwise) upon The Hobbit, which was written as a children's book in the 1930s, to smooth over the transition to this more serious and complex work the author starts out in a style similar to that of The Hobbit, and gradually brings it up to a more mature level before Frodo makes it to Rivendell. This is done so unobtrusively that I've never seen it mentioned before. It's one of the more subtle strengths of the work. The style, admittedly, changes somewhat in later situations, but deliberately, and the so-called archaic writing that appears when the action is in the field before Minas Tirith in The Return of the King, for example, is entirely appropriate and adds just the right atmosphere. In any case, it's very readable and never difficult going, unless you need everything spelled out in monosyllables. A comment that Tolkien borrows too much from Arthurian fantasy is just meaningless. Everything borrows from something, and most of the motifs of Arthurian fantasy are found elsewhere anyway. Arthurian legend itself was a series of borrowings until it reached the form we know today. If I have any criticism of the book, it's that at some places in the plot things are obviously rigged for the good guys to succeed. For example, in Book 1, when Frodo and his pals are in the Shire one night lying low as a Black Rider is creeping up on them, drawn by the power of the Ring, suddenly a troop of Elves, rarely seen in the Shire, just happen to show up to scare off the Rider. Whew! That was close. Something like that happens several times in the Trilogy. But such plot abuse is so common in fiction and movies that it's almost forgiveable. Is it the greatest novel ever written? Hardly. But it's certainly one of the most sheerly entertaining things I've ever read. To repeat what a lot of readers have said before,"The book is too short."(BL, Tucker, GA)
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