Rating: 
Summary: Great story, but...
Review: I know that I'm in quite a minority, but on re-reading "The Fellowship..." in anticipation for the film, I'm finding it quite dull. (And I'm someone who loved "War and Peace.") Don't get me wrong: the story of "The Lord of the Rings" is fantastic, and Tolkien has my undying admiration for the magical world he has created. But his writing is not -- to me -- particularly interesting. There are far too many topographical passages, along the lines of "Their way wound along the floor of the hollow, and round the green feet of a steep hill into another deeper and broader valley, and then over the shoulder of further hills, and down their long limbs, and up their smooth sides again, up on to new hill-tops and down into new valleys." And then there are the historical passages: "Under [the mountains] lies Khazad-dum, the Dwarrowdelf, that is now called the Black Pit...Yonder stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead: Celebdil the White, and Fanuidhol the Grey, that we call Zirakzigil and Bundudshathur...between their arms lies the deep-shadowed valley which we cannot forget: Azanulbizar, the Dimril Dale, which the Elves call Nanduhirion." And on and on and on. Sorry, folks, but I can't get into it. If that makes me a philistine, so be it. If the above sounds good to you, by all means, get this and the other Tolkien books and join the millions of fans around the world who love them.
Rating: 
Summary: If you liked The Hobbit, read this!
Review: The Fellowship of the Rings is one of the best books I have read. It is amazing how Tolkien goes into all the detail, like when the bad guys drowned in the river when the current picked up. It has lots of adventure and excitement. When you start reading you don't want to stop. There are also two more books after this one. I would suggest first reading The Hobbit, which is a prequel to the series. I would also highly suggest reading this book. It is at a high reading level but it is very exciting.
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Summary: Special Note on CD version
Review: This is truly a wonderful story , But I was unsure of getting the cd over the audio tapes. I noticed that the tapes had the Unabridged version and the Cd version did not say if it was or not on all parts, so i took a chance and got the Cd version of each book. Thankfully the Cd version Is also Unabridged. So for those of you out there like me who might have been confused between the tapes and the Cd now you know they are the same.
Rating:
Summary: The Ringbearer's Quest Begins
Review: Hobbits are funny little fat people with hair on their feet. They don't have much magic about them, and they aren't nearly as formidable as Dwarves. They do, however, possess extraordinary grit and endurance. These qualities stand Frodo Baggins in good stead as he sets off to dispose of a magic ring left to him by his Uncle Bilbo. Disposing of such a trinket may seem a small matter, but the very fate of Middle Earth depends upon the outcome of Frodo's errand.Frodo exits his homeland pursued by Furies: Nine undead kings mounted upon great black stallions. These Dark Riders have supernatural power and homicidal intent: they will find and destroy Frodo and restore the ring to its "rightful" owner, Sauron the Dark Lord. Along the way, Frodo acquires a motley crew of helpers: Legolas, a woodland Elf who is a dead shot with a bow; Gimli, a brawny Dwarf whose axe can cleave Goblins with the best of them; Pippin, Merry, and Samwise, fellow Hobbits who are great friends and admirers of Frodo; Aragorn, son of Arathorn, a mysterious woodsman; Boromir of Gondor, the very incarnation of the knight errant; and Gandalf the Grey, a wizard who knows better than any other member of the company the importance of their mission. The company meets exotic friends, confronts implacable foes, and surmounts daunting obstacles to move Frodo closer to accomplishing his important mission. This first volume of the trilogy ends with the quest seemingly in shambles, but remember there are two more volumes to come. Many have imitated, but none have equaled Tolkien's fairy tale for adults. I wish, however, that he'd left out most of those songs and poems. The best poems were merely mediocre, while the worst were awful. Early on I started skipping the poetry whenever I came to it. It didn't detract at all from my ability to follow the story.
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Summary: Spellbound
Review: If you enjoy adventure, magic and mysticism, this is the book to read. It's like King Arthur and Sir Gwain and Harry Potter in one exciting tale.
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Summary: Fantasy practically exudes from this book.
Review: This book is awesome. it is a stoy of epic fantasy adventure, and hearing that phrase might make you want to put it down immediately, but thats not the case. it took me 2 tries to get ino this book, since i couldnt get through the prologue about hobbits, but ill never regret picking it up again. it is the story of a fellowship heading to rivendell, and then who knows, with frodo the ringbearer and gandalf leading alongside aragorn son of arathon. pursued by the horrible nazgûl, or black riders as they call them, and their perils through dangerous lands. the book may anger you at a certain point in moria but read the next one or youll never forgive yourself. an excellent read, and the kickoff to one of the best fantasy sagas in history.
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Summary: A Book that Brings Dreams to Life
Review: I must say that The LotR stories are possibly the most appealing and interesting books I have ever read. They totally draw me in from start to finish. I have just Finished this book again for the.....well..., who knows how many times I have read it. But it is excellent. It sends me to bed at night with dreams splendid journeys through Moria and terrifying fleets from Orcs and Ringwraiths.
I love this book! Plain and Simple! Eric
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Summary: Please do not yell "Heretic!" at me
Review: Yes, this book is lush with descriptions and originality - originality, I'll make myself clear here, in its day. The world of Middle-earth is rich and fantastic - again, I must say, in its day. Tolkien have done a truly marvellous work. What, then, is my problem with this Father of Fantasy, you ask? Look at it this way, Tolkien created a new language, a world full of creatures that have become a model to the modern fantasy. But when it comes to characterization and persona? It drops down like a rock. Elves, by all and every mean, are all-knowing and all-wise; they are forces of good, they never make a mistake, they are immortal - practically, they're one step away from being divine. Orcs and other so-called evil villians, on the other hand, are evil, savage... etc. It's a world of black and white, and that's my point. There's no twist, no intrigue, no whatever that adds depth we readers wish to see from modern fantasy authors. Aragorn, for instance, is a rightful heir to the throne, a skilled Ranger, and so forth. But does he have any flaw in character? No. And everyone knows well how boring and unlikeable a perfect character is. The way he wrote it is out of date; it may remain popular and a favourite in others' minds. But not me.
Rating:
Summary: good, but not that great
Review: Lord of the ring is somewhat like many other big-thick books in the fact that the first few hundred pages almost put you into sleep. In fact, I almost abandoned it a few times before I was over the 300th page. The story is very slow going, though the fact that the details sort of put up to it, though I still have no idea of why the 50 pages of mentioning about hobbit's names and family which has almost nothing to do with the plot. I can name a few books that balance the story very well, so that it keeps excite you up and down through out the story and not bored you to death(ie. foreverwar, hyperion, hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy). There are also many poems(songs in the story) through out the novel, which make no sense to me and seem to have to do nothing with the plot. Maybe because I simply don't understand poems, but that's just my opinion, no one is good in everything. Sometimes after half of the book(around 350th page), though, the story really picks up, and you start to feel as a part of the journey. The end cuts off as if you're only went through 1/4 of the story, which gives me hope(also make me feel stupid that I went through 500 pages for this) that the other two books would be good since the beginning as less background has to be told. In general, the plot is very good. However, I don't really like the idea of a big gap between good and evil, though that's not the case for the main character(if you know the story around Warhammer 40k, you would know what I mean.....everything has an evil-side in it). On the course of adventure, the main character would either meet good people OR bad people....... Anyways, it's a great book if you can pass through 300 pages of snail-moving story. For me, the fact that 1/3 of it is pretty good, I will give it a 3 stars though I've heard a lot of good things about this trilogy. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good book(just not great) and I'm looking forward for the other two(and hope that they won't put me to sleep as the first).
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Summary: Lord of the Rings- a real masterpiece!
Review: When two years ago a friend of mine, older in age told me in a spooky style the name: T O L K I E N and H O B B I T, I didn't ever imagine that this authro would be my one and favorite. I have read 8 of J.R.R. Tolkien's books and I can't say anything else but praise this person's work. My favourite books are The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion. But LOTR has taken the first place of my heart. The amazing Lord of the Rings is my personal beloved book. I like it more than any other book of the trilogy, especially the chapter: The Bridge of Kazad-Dum, the climax of the book. The Lord of the Rings isn't just a book. It is a masterpiece, something historic. Tolkien is the Homer of the 20th Century and his "Odyssey" is the Lord of the Rings. I highly recommend this book to every single person and it is sure that anyone who completes it will love fantasy and will search other works of the same writer too.
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