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Summary: ONE OF THE GREATEST BOOKS EVER!!!!
Review: A great book.It is deep, readable and romantic. An entertaining must read.
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Summary: The Lord of the Rings LCE - A beautiful edition to own!
Review: Not unlike many, Peter Jackson's wonderfully well told cinematic version of "The Lord of the Rings" brought upon me a desire to return to this extraordinary trilogy and read it once again as the first and last time I read it was well over twenty years before. There are many choices of releases in which to read this incomparable tale, from paperbacks to mass trade paperbacks to a few different types of hardbacks and then there is this, this wonderfully well crafted Leatherette Collector's Edition which does much to add to the experience that is reading Tolkien's masterpiece, "The Lord of the Rings."Personally, I've read a great many novels in several different genres to include the fantasy genre in which Tolkien's first masterpiece "The Hobbit" kindled that love of fantasy fiction and was then further fueled by reading "The Lord of the Rings" so many years ago. In reading so many fantasy novels today, it is so clear that many of today's authors were influenced by Tolkien's style in which he wrote this novel as they almost to a number, mimic the formula for fantasy writing that he established in "LOTR." For overall feel and ambience, this Leatherette Collector's Edition is the most obvious choice if one is looking to read this great fantasy tale, the only true caution is that it may be a bit cost prohibitive for some but it is well worth every penny and I might add that the best price for this novel may be found here on this site! The Premise: By now, many know the overall premise of this extraordinary tale in which Frodo, a hobbit from the Shire in Middle Earth finds himself and his companions thrust into the matters of the world as he is suddenly the ring bearer, the one chosen to bear the ring to Mordor for its ultimate destruction and the end of the dark threat that the creator of that ring, Sauron, poses to the good peoples of Middle Earth. Contained within these well crated pages is nothing less than the most extensive, well thought out, extravagant fantasy tale ever written that transcends the fantasy genre to become a story not of Hobbits, Men, Orcs and other creatures but a story of people and the choices they must make in the harshest of conditions and the care that they have for one another in those circumstances. Overall, I highly recommend this novel and this wonderful version to any and all that wish to say that they know the true version, in all it's wonderfully glory, of "The Lord of the Rings" as master storyteller; J.R.R. Tolkien meant it to be. Not to take away from the accomplishments of Peter Jackson and the rest involved in making the movies as they're truly beautifully well made movies that are a pure joy to watch but they're but a mere shadow of what is written in the pages of this outstanding novel! {ssintrepid}
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Summary: A World of His Own
Review: I have come late to Tolkien's works, despite (or rather because of) the fact that they were cult reading when I was at school. One of my classmates, then aged about sixteen, proudly boasted that he had read the entire work about fifty times, and ever since I have tended to associate Tolkien with obsessive fanatics. I was, however, eventually persuaded to read the books by Peter Jackson's excellent trilogy of films. The plot of "Lord of the Rings", a novel of well over 1,000 pages, is too complex to be summarised here in any depth. At its centre is a magic ring (a motif Tolkien seems to have borrowed from Wagner). This ring can give its owner immense power, but can only be used for evil purposes. At the beginning of the work the ring is owned by the elderly hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who acquired it many years before (the story of how he did so is told in "The Hobbit") and has no idea of its power. He is warned, however, by the wizard Gandalf that the evil Dark Lord Sauron, who originally forged the ring, is trying to regain it in order to enslave Middle-Earth (the imagined world in which the story is set). The story has two interlocking themes. Firstly, there is the journey of Bilbo's nephew Frodo to destroy the ring, something that can only be achieved by casting it into Mount Doom, the volcano in which it was eventually forged. (During the early part of his journey, Frodo has a number of companions- the "Fellowship of the Ring"- but only one of these, his faithful servant Sam, stays with him to the end). The second is the war that is waged by Sauron and his allies against the peoples of Middle Earth- humans, hobbits, elves, dwarves and ents (walking trees)- and of their courageous resistance. The book is much more than a fantasy adventure. Many have tried to read hidden meanings into it, both religious and political, even though Tolkien explicitly stated that it was not an allegory. Certainly, it is not an allegory in the sense of "The Pilgrim's Progress" or "Animal Farm"- a book where every detail has a symbolic meaning or can be related to an actual historical event. (Sauron, for example is not simply another name for the Devil or a disguised portrait of Hitler). This does not, however, mean that there is no symbolism in "Lord of the Rings". The main symbol is the ring itself, which represents evil and its power to corrupt the human spirit. The heroes such as Gandalf and Frodo do not dare to use the ring against Sauron because they fear that if they do they will be corrupted by its power and become as evil as he is. The various races who people Middle Earth also have symbolic functions, especially the Elves and the Orcs. The former, in Tolkien's world, are not small fairy-like creatures but an ancient race, beautiful, wise and noble who represent the higher, spiritual side of human nature. The brutal and aggressive Orcs, by contrast, represent its lower, bestial side. The theme of good versus evil is one that is capable of either a religious or a secular interpretation, but Tolkien himself was a devout Christian, and some of the themes of the book seem to be directly related to Christian ideas. There is no single Christ-figure, but three of the heroes have Christ-like attributes. Frodo, the ring-bearer, symbolically bears the sin of the world. Gandalf the wise and benevolent sage rises from the dead after dying in a struggle with an evil adversary. The final part of the book is entitled "The Return of the King"; this relates to the reappearance of Aragorn, the lost heir to the throne of the kingdom of Gondor, but can also be taken as a reference to the Second Coming. So far, I have discussed the work in largely abstract terms, but it is not principally a book about abstractions. What sets it apart from many other fantasy works is that Middle-Earth is brilliantly imagined in all its concrete reality. It is a world that is in some respects a familiar one. Its geography, climate, flora and fauna are closely based on those of Europe. The hobbits, for all their small stature, hairy feet and habit of living in holes, are also reassuringly familiar; conservative and phlegmatic by temperament, they seem like the Middle-Earth equivalent of tweedy, pipe-smoking Englishmen. In other respects, Tolkien's world is highly exotic one. He spent many years of his life developing his ideas about the races who inhabit it, working out full details of their cultures, their histories, their mythologies and (most important from his point of view as he was an academic philologist) their languages. Many of these details are set out in the Appendices which, although they do not form part of the main story, are nevertheless a fascinating part of the work. Against this background, Tolkien creates a cast of characters who, even when they have a symbolic function, also come to life as individuals. (Something else that sets him apart from many other fantasy writers). Besides those mentioned above, I should also mention Sam, Frodo's loyal and steadfast servant, Saruman, a former colleague of Gandalf who was tempted by cynicism and self-interest to throw in his lot with Sauron, and especially Gollum. Gollum is the mysterious creature from whom Bilbo originally won the ring, and whose life is dominated by the desire to recapture it. He is vicious and treacherous, and yet at the same time capable of arousing pity. He both desires the ring and fears its power; at the end he will play an ironic yet vital role in its destruction. From evil, good can sometimes spring. Having read the work, I can now understand why it has such a fascination for many people, even if I have no immediate plans to read it another forty-nine times. In some literary and academic circles there may be a prejudice against the heroic fantasy genre, which is regarded (with some justification) as tending to produce shallow, one-dimensional works. The miracle of "The Lord of the Rings" is that Tolkien has taken this unfashionable genre and used it to produce a rich, multi-layered work, one which has taken its rightful place among the masterpieces of twentieth-century English literature.
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Summary: Beautiful Edition
Review: I bought this edition online at Barnes and Noble. The prices are better here, so by all means buy it from Amazon. I cannot even comment on how the book is so great. I will talk about the actual edition - IT IS BEAUTIFUL - when it arrived I was so overjoyed I screamed. It's my prized possesion!! It comes in a matching red case, and easily slides in and out. Designs similar to that of the Door to Moria made by Durin decorate the cover. Something I really like is the ink. There is both red and black ink, and it is clear and beautiful. Buy this as a gift for a Tolkien fan, or a mild enthusiest. I recommend the owner be at least 12.
WOW!!
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Summary: Timeless masterpiece!
Review: The Fellowship of the Ring tells the story of the Hobbit Frodo Baggins and of how he discovers that the invisibility ring handed down to him by his uncle Bilbo is in fact the One Ring of Power, the most dangerous of artifacts, forged by the evil lord Sauron to ensnare all the peoples of Middle-Earth and bent them to his will. It has to be destroyed! Following Gandalf the old Wizard's advice, Frodo leaves his quiet Hobbit hole in the Shire and with three of his friends, makes for Rivendell to seek the Elves' counsel. There he volunteers to be the Ring-Bearer, the one who must destroy the Ring by casting into the very fire in which it was forged, in the furnaces of Mount Doom. With eight companions, he sets off on a most perilous quest, over mountains and under them, on rivers and through forests beautiful beyond words, to the heart of Mordor. The adventure goes on in The Two Towers. The Fellowship has just been broken, and as the Hobbits Merry and Pippin are captured by Orcs to be brought to the traitor wizard Saruman, now the ally of Sauron, Frodo and his friend Sam are slowly making their way through desolate plains and treacherous bogs, to Mordor. Soon they realize that Gollum, a nasty creature who once possessed the Ring, is following them. Captured, and still under the irresistible lure of the Ring, the twisted wretch agrees to become their guide to the forsaken land. Meanwhile Aragorn the Heir of Kings, Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf are running across the grassy plains of Rohan, the domain of the Rohirrim horse masters, to rescue Merry and Pippin and later help Théoden, King of Rohan, defend his people against Saruman's army in the battle of Helm's Deep. In The Return of the King, as Frodo and Sam are ineluctably treading closer to the heart of danger, putting the goal of their quest in jeopardy every day a little bit more as Frodo's mind threatens to give in to the power of the Ring, Aragorn and his companions must defend the beautiful white city of Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor, in a hopeless struggle against Sauron's reckless army of berserkers. How does one go about writing a review of such a masterpiece, now that The Lord of the Rings is not only the second most read book of the twentieth century (after the Bible), but also a blockbuster movie trilogy? How does one do it justice? One just can't. That's it, I admit defeat. I simply lack superlatives to describe the tidal waves of emotions that overwhelm me each time I read this book. So I'll just say this: read it. And re-read it. And again. The Lord of the Rings is timeless, atemporal. Even though Tolkien himself was notoriously not fond of allegories, I can't help seeing that, in these dark and sad days of our time, it stands as a beacon, a bright message of peace, telling us that even when evil and fear threatens to drown us all, there's still hope... May it be tomorrow's Bible.
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Summary: Way better than 5 stars, a classic
Review: The Lord of the Rings in my opinion is the single greatest piece of literature to be written and conceived by a single man. Tolkien was am absolutely brilliant Philologist and was way ahead of all the scholars back then (when he was at oxford), and still is even after his death. He had a noble heart and was generous with his time to others. And Most of all he loved the natural world as god had created it untainted by industry. He was a lover of trees. He was and still is the greatest English Literary scholar of european and germanic languages, and read more than most people read in a lifetime. On the whole he knew the entire history of English literature, Could speak fluent anglo saxon, German and Greek and Latin. He knew the great tales of men's past not in their modern english translations but as they were originally written and conceived. Like the Iliad anf the odyssey, in greek, the kalevala in finnish, and beowulf in the original saxon. He had also read the Elder Edda and Younger Edda, sometimes known as the poetic edda and the prose edda, in original ancient german. He had read the whole corpus of Icelandic Sagas in their original language, and was a lover of the latin translation of the bible which he recited at catholic mass. Here is a book that should be taught in English classes in middle school and high schools and colleges. But the literary elite does'nt want that to happen because of their preference for post-modernism and reality based fiction. Plus he knew good literature, and not that snobby tripe they shove down our throats in school.
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Summary: The Greatest Book of the 20th Century
Review: I kid you not. This is, hands-down, the most encompassing, riveting, imaginative, breath-taking, awe-inspiring, wonderful masterpiece to be written and published in the last hundred years, perhaps longer. The Lord of the Rings is not simply the greatest fantasy novel of all time because of Tolkien's gift with prose, love of poetry, or passion for matters of war and conflict. Here, in these amazing 1000+ pages, we get an entire world. Tolkien was working on creating the lands and history of Middle-earth even as he sat in the trenches of World War I, and it shows. Each race, country, language, all feel real enough to once have existed in our own world, even as fantastic as they may seem. That's why these books are not only priceless, but timeless as well. What can I say about these? I love them, obviously. The story is my favorite ever told, beginning with a simple task undertaken by Frodo Baggins, adopted nephew to the renowned Bilbo Baggins, in The Fellowship of the Ring. From seemingly small beginnings springs an epic in ever sense of the word, as Frodo learns the true nature of The Ring of Power, and the Dark Lord that will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Along the way, he is helped by a fellowship of men, dwarves, elves, fellow hobbits, and even a wizard in his mission to destroy The Ring and end the dominion of the evil Sauron. The story and action continue in The Two Towers, as the fellowship is broken and its members are close to despair. Frodo and his loyal retainer Sam continue to Morder, meeting the creature Gollum, and murderous wretch driven mad by The Ring's power, but their only guide to the fires of Mount. Doom. The other members of the fellowship travel to the besieged land of Rohan, hoping to stop its destruction in a last stand in a mighty fotress. The Return of the King brings the saga to a fantastic close, as Frodo and Sam's journey takes them deep into the lands of Morder, where they are hunted from all sides. Aragorn, lost heir to the throne of Gondor, must defend the city of Minas Tirith against the hordes of Sauron, only to once again enter battle before the Black Gates of Mordor themselves, hopelessly outnumbered, a lost cause to buy enough time for Frodo's quest to succeed. Through the story, readers are treated to some of the most incredible and bizarre creations, humanoid and otherwise, ever to appear upon a page. Likewise, the depictions of the battles waged to save Middle-earth are second to none in modern literature, as is the heart-wrenching ordeal that Frodo goes through during his quest. To top it off, this is one of the best editions of the fantasy trilogy, with leatherette cover, box, maps, and the full appendacies. It is, in fact, the same version that my father read to me nearly fourteen years ago, and it still holds its own against the reissues and movie tie-ins that have come since. If you have never before read J. R. R. Tolkien's literary accomplishment, then this is quite possiby the best way to do it. You won't regret it.
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Summary: One of the great books of our time...
Review: The Lord of the Rings--a challenging, daunting title. The book is over 600,000 words long, and is not by any means a quick read. So why invest all of the time it takes to read this monumental work and everything attached to it? It has been suggested that Tolkien wrote these books in an attempt to educate the masses with ideas and notions from the medieval period. While that may be partly true, no one has really studied or even suggested the psychological reasons for Tolkien's undertaking. He was an Oxford scholar whose specialty was philology(study of languages). He greatly valued the medieval environment in which Lord of the Rings is saturated. There are many points in the books where the medieval influence tends to weigh the reading down, making it more of an advanced history textbook than a story, especially with all of the references to names and events of earlier times gone by. However, that is not to be held against a work of such magnificent significance. It is not simply enough to say that "Lord of the Rings is great!" The book can be approached (and appreciated) on a variety of levels--at the literary, lingual, historical, and for enjoyment for the most part. It is this versatility in which one can approach the book which makes it such a masterpiece. And if one would like to skip over some of the more detailed and descriptive parts, they could still take away a tale of a fantastic journey with enormous ramifications (although it is not recommended). The main point of consideration for these books is that Tolkien meant for them to be an open interpretation. This should mean to anyone what it will, not what the author intended it to be. And maybe, this is a reflection of how he felt about medieval culture, particularly the stories. And we must come back to the crux of this entire work--It is a fantastical world in which trials and tribulations are endured, and joy and mirth are rewarded to those who chose the side of good. For, isn't that the way things should be? As far as the creation of a fantastical world with a vast depth of history goes, the Lord of the Rings has no rival.
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Summary: The Lord of All Books!
Review: "The Lord of the Rings" is usually found in a single volume, or in three volumes: 1) "The Fellowship of the Ring", 2) "The Two Towers", and 3) "The Return of the King". My recommended reading age is 13+ years old, and I recommend reading "The Hobbit" first. When I was 15 years old in high school, I had to read "The Hobbit" for an English class. After reading that book, the teacher then let us borrow "The Lord of the Rings". Before I had started "The Return of the King", I had bought my own set of books. After I had read both books, I actually liked "The Hobbit" better than "The Lord of the Rings" at first - because the "The Hobbit" was brighter: a fun, grand adventure with more humor, whereas "The Lord of the Rings" was darker: a serious, grim life and death struggle for world survival. But by the time I was about 16, the historical significance of "The Lord of the Rings" began to appeal more to me. This is especially true if you read Appendices A and B of "The Lord of the Rings", and also read the "The Silmarillion". You begin to understand the rich history of Tolkien's Middle-Earth/ Beleriand creation. How the "The Silmarillion" brings out the significant events of the First and Second Ages, while the events in "The Lord of the Rings" are the culmination of the Third Age...each Age lasting thousands of years and ending with an immensely significant event. It was 25 years before I read "The Lord of the Rings" again, but Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, Legolas, Gimli, and many more had become household names! I had matured over those years, and my tastes changed. I was no longer a big fantasy/science-fiction reader: instead I was reading military history. I didn't expect to still love "The Lord of the Rings" the way I did as a teenager. I was happily wrong! This is still an exciting book, but I discovered what I really love...it is allegory-type stories. J. R. R. Tolkien himself has said that "The Lord of the Rings" is not allegory, because he hated allegory where he felt the author is dictating to the reader what is in their story...and that any other interpretation is incorrect. Tolkien wanted a reader to apply their own experiences and tastes to influence what they were reading. OK, but in real history one can still get allegory if their own experiences and tastes allow it. How many can learn about World War II and not apply the basic allegorical interpretation that good triumphs over evil? I've heard of, and can understand, several allegorical interpretations of "The Lord of the Rings". Frodo is like Jesus Christ: bearing the greatest of burdens for world salvation while being tempted to stray from his purpose, and the weight of the ring is similar to Christ's cross . The One Ring is like the atomic bomb: the ultimate weapon that corrupts whoever uses it, despite even good intentions, into a power-hungry creature of evil. There's an ecological message with the Ents trying to protect trees; and also the natural beauty of various places throughout Middle-Earth, while evil beings try to destroy it all (including the use of mechanical and polluting progress). I also get out of "The Lord of the Rings" a sense of a military mission: that Frodo & Sam are behind enemy lines on a mission that could end a war, and that Frodo realizes that getting back home or even staying alive doesn't matter - just completion of the mission...that's also sacrifice, perseverance, & camaraderie so prevalent in the military history I've read. There's prejudice with years of animosity between elves and dwarves, and how small, kind gestures can begin to erase all those blighted years...also, how people or races can put aside differences to solve a common problem. There's the recognition of the small, common people (citizen soldiers) that perform the greatest, toughest, and most necessary duty in any war. There's world peace in peril and that something needs to be done before it's too late. There's avoiding the easier way out, and facing one's problems and seeing them through to a conclusion despite severe hardships. I feel that Tolkien saw a little bit of himself in many of the good races of his world. The hobbits are like Tolkien because they love food, company, and talking about family. The ents are like Tolkien because of their unbounded love of trees. Gandalf the wizard is like Tolkien because of his exceptional intelligence and purpose of guiding others along the right path. Some men are like Tolkien because of their inner strength and gallantry, while other men show weakness by succumbing to evil...very realistic. But I believe he saw the beauty and enchantment of the elves in his wife, and why he loved both most dearly: that's why on their gravestone Luthien appears after his wife's name, and Beren appears after his name. The dwarves don't seem to resemble Tolkien, but they are present in much folklore, which is linked to his personal love of medieval languages. "The Lord of the Rings" is a masterpiece in my opinion, and it's size (over 1000 pages in any printed format) is pretty daunting, but give it a shot! It'll be time well spent. And get ready for adventure, terror, excitement, love, treachery, devotion, monumental historic events, unforgettable battles, military strategy, exotic languages & culture, etc. See what you get out of the book! I think most people will enjoy it and/or be moved by it. And who knows, maybe it'll become your favorite book too!
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Summary: 4.5 stars for this immortal book
Review: There have been few series that have been held in such high international regard than the Lord of the Rings books. Even before the LotR movies, Tolkien was synonymous with THE original classic fantasy works and now they're absolutely huge. With this set, you'll get to see what the fuss is all about. LotR is not a trilogy but a series in six books, with appendices. It is a monumental work detailing the struggle of the Fellowship of the Ring against the dark forces of Sauron and the quest to destroy the Ring of Power. This is clear to those who've either seen the movies (95% of people I think) or heard of them (99.9999%). This is what the content of the books is. Except obviously there's much more detail and it's much more epic in the sheer number of obstacles that are placed in the path of Frodo and friends. The thing that would probably be useful is the differences between the books and the movies. The books are very rich in extraneous material. It is said that one of Tolkien's main purposes of writing the series was to create a world with his own invented languages and populate it - the stories are just a background to the languages! The book contains a lot of mythology. There are a lot of poems relating to times gone by and current events (which I personally didn't find very readable). Overall, there are many profound and emotional parts in the book that aren't given much credence in the movie - a great feeling of melancholy and nostalgia over a world in deterioration. This is only touched on in the films with the atmoshere of the elves. The book contains a lot of journeying and this will also be a new feature. Rather than just getting to places like in the film, the characters spend a lot of time in the day-to-day marches. It is here that you begin to learn and appreciate the natural landscape of Middle-Earth, from the plains of Rohan to the little ecosystem of the Shire. The appendices will only be read by LotR fanatics. There are backstories of the kingdoms and lineages of noble families and notes on the languages. One thing that is recommended to browse through is the timeline, especially what happened to the fellowship after the events of the book. Overall, this is still the great book about timeless issues pertaining to good, evil, courage and hope. But it also has the extra emotional and descriptive elements. There is something that is missing, although I'm not sure what, that stops it from being 5 stars in my opinion. A great piece of literary history. Contains a whole universe that's as deep and rich as our one.
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