Rating: 
Summary: The Masterpiece.
Review: I was introduced to the world of Tolkien b a friend, after we were talking about our favorite books by the time. He did mention of Tolkien, and how his Triology had changed his life. (in a sense) I decided to give it a try. I was done with "The Fellowship of the Ring" in four days, finished "The Two Towers" in two and completed "The Return of the King" in five. No wonder I did terrible in school back then, and gave a radical twist to my already intense medievalist ramblings. This is the Holy Book of modern fantasy, from Robert Jordan and Star Wars, to even Squaresoft's Final Fantasy Series, it is all based upon this. Please, read it, you really won't regret doing so. On a side note: I really hate it when some people make fun, either of the book or the people that read it. Now don't take me wrong, I have nothing against the people who have read the story and didn't like it, (you can't please everybody) after all, each head is a universe, and we all have different points of view. Who I don't like, are the ones who go making fun, and have not even read the books, either because they are childish or stupid, or both. Don't fall into that abyss, read them, and make your own unbiased opinion.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully crafted story
Review: I must say, I thought the three books that make up the Lord of the Rings are some of the greatest books I have ever read. The reader becomes immersed in the world of hobbits, dragons, good, and evil. Probably the best epic ever written. I would recommend that you read the Lord of the Rings before the movie comes out in a few months, because the movies from a great book are almost never as good and it will ruin the experience of the book if you read it after having already seen the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasure rooted deep in the unconscious
Review: I first read Tolkien when I was skiing in the Rocky Mountains. A copy of "The Hobbit" was lying around the cabin where we were staying, and I innocently picked it up. Some twenty years later, I am still can't put down any of Tolkien's writings. And in the "The Lord of the Rings," Tolkien distills his already phenomenal talents, imagination and learning into its most potent form. But what is the power of the trilogy? There are stories that are more action-packed, more prolix in their descriptions and (with the notable example of Robert Jordan) much longer. But Tolkien has created a peculiarly bewitching book, with a blend of his love of mythology and folklore, his vast learning in the area of languages and the skill at writing he honed through being a part of the academic world at Oxford University. Tolkien participated in a group at Oxford called "The Inklings" who included several people including C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and (by honorable mention) Dorothy L. Sayers. From the reading of several of their works, they had a particular concern for the "Mythopoeic" aspects of literature. Recently when dabbling in some of the collected works of C.G.Jung, I was struck by how much his ideas of the collective unconscious tapped into the same vein of inspiration that is so present in Lewis and Williams, and above all in Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." I went back and re-read my "Lord of the Rings" after reading Jung. The experience was astonishingly vivid. Figures with terrible primeval power seemed to stalk from Jung through Tolkien into my imagination. It made our conscious world of rational cause and effect into a pale shadow beside the images Tolkien has conjured out of the dark misty world of the unconscious. Like most epic myths, the characters are in some way secondary to the vividness of the story. While Tolkien's characters are human (or a reasonable variation thereof), they are also representatives of elemental ideas. Strider/Aragorn is more than a mere heir of Kings, he is the essence of Kingship. Gandalf, more than just the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring, is the very archetype of the wise old man who leads people to mature self-knowledge. Frodo Baggins (the protagonist and hero of the trilogy) moves inexorably from being a part of the mundane world into the realm of being a hero in the mythopoeic world. As Frodo changes, the "viewpoint" of the story changes - from being Frodo's own personal viewpoint to being that of him observed by his servant Sam Gamgee. Frodo, through his actions, moves from history into myth, from prose into poetry, from flesh into spirit. The "Lord of the Ring's" epic power springs from its ability to connect with deep human intuitions or beliefs or attitudes about the nature of life, of good and evil, and of time and eternity. Vivid and flashing, the images move directly from the written page into our own unconscious. To those with whom Tolkien connects, the response is visceral and overwhelming - and something that can't quite be explained by the rational mind. I suppose to someone, with whom Tolkien doesn't connect, this is all vaguely unsettling and a bit mystifying. To someone who was expecting a standard sword and sorcery confection, Tolkien must appear ponderous, heavy and leaden. In summary, for everyone with the slightest interest in mythology or folklore, Tolkien's work can not be missed. Go elsewhere if all you want is a quick-read escapist confection of swords and wizards.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best book series of all time
Review: The Fellowship of The Ring sereies is an incredible tale of hardships and courage. It also tells us something; too much power can easily corrupt you. As we see the evil Sauron has had use of the Ring for many many years, and the more times that goes by without him having it he becomes more brutal and wants the ring more and more, for he can invoke the magical powers that are imbued upon it. While he is seperated from the ring he becomes more evil, gains more power, and eventually he has become so evil that he cannot help himself but to destroy everything he sees. I hope you buy this series and read it a few times, because it is an incredible tale.
Rating:
Summary: *The* Magnum Opus of the century...
Review: Whenever a new fantasy novel is published and appears in the nearest bookstore, one can find - after having been lured to the work by a quite pleasing, wonderful artwork on the cover - some of the following reviews on the blurb: "Reminds one about Tolkien" or "This is definitely our new Tolkien" or even "Better than Tolkien". The comparison with the Oxford Professor of Anglo-Saxon seems to be a quite common and prefered way to give the reader an impression of how the work that he is going to buy would be. And yet... All of these reviews, how poor they will prove after the dazzled customer opens and starts the novel! No other work of fantasy literature that has appeared or still will appear after "The Lord of the Rings" deserves it at the least to be compared with Tolkien's epic. What Tolkien has created with his opus on a literary basis, exceeds with no trouble all other works of fantasy, lets authors like Feist, Jordan or even Williams look like right fools. Tolkien has not only written an outstanding novel or shaped a wonderful world, but he has managed to give readers all over the world one thing back, which they were likely to lose in a world as fast living as ours: Their own fantasy, their own imagination. In doing this, Tolkien is not pleased to simply tell a compelling and entertaining story, but he presents a world with its own mythology, an existence of its own in the truest sense of the word. Even though some critics may dispute Tolkien's literacy in comparison to Feist or Jordan (let me just laugh a little!), I won't be blinded by your comments! Now, for the second time, I started reading "The Lord of the Rings" - this time in its original language, after having read the German translation in no more than three days without sleep - and it seems, as if I have never left Middle-Earth and its fabulous flora and fauna. But now I truly understand the profundity of this masterpiece. Perhaps Jordan and Co. might have the talent to arrange some of the scenes in a more exciting way, yet their works lack one of the most elementary features of faerie (as Tolkien calls it) and fantasy: the language, and I don't mean the creation of new languages like the Sindarin or Quenya, but the language of the novel! Tolkien shows remarkably that it is the language of the protagonists (let me remind you of the wizard Gandalf!), the language of the scenery, the language of the history that helps the reader to imagine an independent albeit foreign world that is not so different from his own. And remember the fight of Gandalf against the Balrog in Moria! Whoever did not devour each word, each syllable in this scene as if spellbound, I think noone can ever help these people... In my honest opinion, all those new "bestsellers" do not deserve to stand in line with Tolkien's work. Even though "The Lord of the Rings" sometimes reads sluggishly due to its preference for distinctive and eloquent description of landscape, this novel is nevertheless the ultimative in fantasy literature. Many works of fantasy, if not all, are far, far away from such gloria perpetua. Giving 5 stars for this milestone of literature in each genre, is simply not enough, but not even 10, 100 or thousands of stars could fathom what treasure one of the most wonderful authors has laid in our laps. I thank Tolkien for this legacy, and I will carry it within me - until Morgoth will rise again...
Rating: 
Summary: Caveat
Review: At the outset let me state that I prefer prose to poetry; taste to texture; action and plot to description and setting. I unabashedly admit enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo more than Don Quixote and am liable to devour a book whole rather than delve into its heart and soul like that time I gorged on the first seven books of the Wheel of Time in seven days straight. Perhaps for the preceding reasons I may be classified more of a casual reader than a serious bibliophile. Nevertheless, please don't ignore my protestations completely. I guess it is inevitable that review lists like this will have many more reviews from supporters of a book than reviews from detractors, especially a series of such stature as Lord of the Rings. Loyal devotees would naturally be drawn here while those dissatisfied would likely not even bother. As one of the few detractors though that has bothered to post, let me at least weigh in and try to counter the imbalance I perceive. First this warning to all those out there that have not read or bought LOTR yet, especially those who may have been drawn to it via other popular fantasy fare: contrary to what some of the posts here would have you believe, LOTR is not for everyone. Although this series figured prominently in the establishment of the fantasy genre as we know it today, and is deservedly considered a classic, it is my opinion that it would also suffer from all the stereotypes associated with a "classic." Lord of the Rings is actually quite a different animal from the popular fantasy stories dominating the market today. It has pretensions of being highbrow and is not a soap opera. It is epic in the sense you'd characterize The Iliad, The Odyssey, or Beowulf (and equally dreary) and not in the sense Jordan's Wheel of Time (which I confess is probably a tad too fruity) is epic. LOTR has more in common with The Chronicles of Narnia (which I prefer) than contemporary populist fantasy. One reviewer said that no one would ever make a series to compare to LOTR. I agree. I think LOTR was the right work that came out at the right time. If another work had defined the fantasy genre and LOTR came out only now to compete with the current crop of fantasy, I suspect LOTR would be a commercial flop despite any literary merit or advantage it may have. Disagree? Please refer to the contemporary series that most closely follows LOTR in style and form if not substance. Not many very well known that I can think of. Most are of the soap opera variety, not classic epic. I would have thought that the imitators would be more recognizable and come in much greater numbers. Like another reviewer here, I had to force myself to keep reading LOTR. Unfortunately I had to keep it up even past the first 100 pages and I did not end up enjoying it. The reason I put up with it is probably the least arguable reason I can think of for reading LOTR. LOTR probably carries enough gravitas because of its significant role in developing fantasy to make it worthwhile to read just for the sake of reading it. Now at least I can say I've read it if nothing else. If you like symbolism and profound insight in a fantasy setting and don't think you'd get bored in the process, you might find it here. I wouldn't know for sure-that's not what I read fantasy for. If that was what I was after I'd read the Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, Qu'ran, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Catcher in the Rye, or something else. However, if a good story is the only thing you are after, it is debatable if you'll enjoy LOTR. A story that will have you at the edge of your seat with cliffhanger after cliffhanger LOTR is not and I doubt it is a series one would likely lose sleep over.
Rating: 
Summary: FULL OF DETAIL!
Review: "He stepped down and vanished."(Tolkien, 52). Now how in the world is that possible? And who vanished? The Lord of the Rings, part one, The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, will tell you. This story is full of detail and adventure. I highly recommend this book. Since J.R.R. Tolkien is so descriptive, whoever reads any of these stories can picture exactly what the scene looks like. He described the forest that the adventurers went through wonderfully. All throughout the story, "black riders" were following the main characters. These riders were trying to catch the main character, Frodo. I could see the whole scene. This story could have been a lot shorter if so much detail wasn't in the story. I'm not saying the detail is bad, but since so much detail was described, at times I did get bored while reading the book. Throughout the first part of the story, the travelers were going through the woods. Most of the beginning was description, but a little adventure thrown in to keep the reader reading. For example, when they were in the woods, they became tired and fell asleep under a willow tree. While they were sleeping, the willow tree opened up and surrounded two of the characters. They were in quite the predicament. This kept me reading to see what the outcome was. Wolves, and/or the black riders throughout the story would also attack them. An image in this book that has really stuck in my head is at the end when Frodo was coming upon Mordor, his destination. He was going down a river and ahead of him were two pillars on each side of the river. The river was in the woods, so I could see the trees, looking dark and gloomy since the weather was bad, and he was near an evil place. I could also see the little creatures attacking them in the woods. The picture on the cover illustrates a scene perfectly from the book. The reader would picture that same scene in his head. I immediately knew when I read that scene what the picture on the front of the book was. He described the horses coming out of the water, engulfing the black riders immediately after Frodo crossed the lake. I know who everyone is in that picture. If so much wasn't put in the book, I wouldn't know who was who or where the scene was from. When I've read other books, I couldn't tell what part of the book the picture on the front was, or I could, but I had a different picture in mind. In this story, I had the same exact image in my head as the one on the front of the book. I liked The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. I chose this book because it was recommended to me. Every person I talked to recommended that I read this story, along with the others, which go along with this story. I haven't yet read the next two books, but I do plan on reading them in the future. I'm glad I took my friends' advice, and now I recommended this book to anyone who likes adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Tolkien IS the Master of High Fantasy
Review: He is the Shakespeare and Homer of the 20th century. He takes a genre once associated only with acne-faced teenage boys and elevates it to literary excellence. His selection as Writer of the Century was well-deserved to say the least. Written mostly during Europe's WWII years, the symbolism of that war lies heavily in his novels (See especially "The Scouring of the Shire" chapter in Vol. 3 "The Return of the King") His epic story has a background color and richness that rarely exists in today's literary works. He built his own languages from the syllables on up, his appendices and notes lend depth and history to his works, he is truly the only fantasy write to literally create a world. Every sentence that spills from the mouths of his characters hints at a world that we are only scratching the surface of. The poetry and lore that his characters express hint at the many volumes that Tolkien could have written if time would have allowed it. Rarely have I seen a fantasy writer who could put such a large amount of high quality verse and rhyme into their works. Almost every fantasy author of the last 30 years must tip their hat in Tolkien's direction. I have yet to find a noteable fantasy author who didn't mention Tolkien in their list of inspiring/influencing authors. I can only hope that on the eve of the long awaited Lord of the Rings movies that would-be Tolkien Cinema fans take the time to read the epic fantasy saga that made the movies possible.
Rating:
Summary: The best i have ever read
Review: I just want to say, you have to read this book. you'll forget all around you. you'll be transported to another world. a world of fantasy. the best world i have ever been imagining. and then, you'll be surprised. you'll wish that dream never ends...you'll be transported to the World of Tolkien.
Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings ; my perspective
Review: Alright, well let me say this one thing before I begin, this is one of THE best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. This book is filled with suspense, clever characters, and awesome imagination!! If you like fantasy-type books, then this is the one to read. It's like the Godfather of all fantasy books! No kidding! well, at least I thouroughly enjoyed it and I know that someday (in the FAR, FAR future), my kids will too. I just know that you will adore this one of a kind book. Two thumbs up!!
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