Rating: 
Summary: Very mixed feelings
Review: On the one hand, I appreciate the amount of effort (roughly Tolkien's whole life) that was spent on creating Middle-Earth. Yet I have to say, regrettably, that I think Lord of the Rings is grossly, grossly, overrated.The dialogue is execrable. The poetry and songs are (largely) grating. The descriptions are (largely) uninspired. Most of all, the characters are as tangible as a Ringwraith without a cloak. It can't be that it seems cliched to me (it is the first - and last - fantasy novel that I have read). It can't be that I am too cynical (I thought The Hobbit was excellent). It's just that this fat lump of a book is plain poorly written. Sorry, Tolkien fanatics.
Rating: 
Summary: Why not five stars?
Review: Well the most important things have been said before, it's an enchanting tale filled with imaginative characters that carry the story, it's an instant classic, it's one of the best fantasy books ever and it's a book that'll survive even my grandchildren, but the reason I didn't give the book a five star rating is that it was a slow beginning. I had to read it 3 times before I passed the magical number of 100 pages, I couldn't get into it at first, but after I tried it the fourth time I was swept, like most of the other readers, off my feet. But it did take a lot of concentration and persistence to reach that far.
Rating: 
Summary: Thrust your blade, even a Hobbit can be great.
Review: Valiant you be, will no fear ever hinders. Water is Gold spring, feast always for the day. High foiled the sky, then from legend backs the king.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: Well I finally finished this volumus book. Even though it took me all summer it was fantastic. Tolkein is the master of the fantasy and this novel is easily the best one written. Those some times tedious in details of every event you are drawn into the novel from the first page. If you have the time read this, you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: This is the best fantasy book ever written. If you have not read it, order it now!
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever written....
Review: When I say it is the most exciting and exhilerating book imaginable, i tell no lies. It still boggles the mind how one could write with such depth and accuracy such a time ago, before television, when the mind was the great time killer. A classic book that will live forever.
Rating:
Summary: A true classic by J.R.R. Tolkien
Review: J.R.R. Tolkien, yet has died, but the literature, and words of wisdom, will remain for generations to come. This will be remembered as the classic of 20th century trough this millenium, like we remember such great titles as Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. By no means think this epic tale has no wisdom of life in it, because it does, and that rises it from the swamp of the usual fantasy literature. It tells a story of rather weak ( by size; not by heart ) race, called Hobbits, fighting a great evil, Sauron and his armies. I won't spoil the plot, nor details, to you; because this story is going to take you along, and soon you notice you're in the last chapter of Return of the King ( assuming you buy this one-volume edition ), desperately wanting it to continue. When this story ends, it isn't the end, because you can read it again ( and you'll always find something new, I promise ) or buy Silmarillion ( or book of the lost tales ) to study the past. But this is the main story, others are builded around it, and the world of middle-earth is large. One world created by a single genius, so wonderfully generated, that it creates so real atmosphere you really believe Hobbits existed, and this is a true story after all. Never I have seen languages so complicated ( well, for one example Star Trek's Borg-language ), nor world so large, being created. With these kind of details and atmosphere. This book borrows some biblical "events", like good is the God, hobbits are Christ -like, and bad the hellish force, and Sauron itself the devil. Read this and you can see it yourself. Read this yourself, and enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: One Book to Rule them all...
Review: When I was a kid I always knew that there was this series called the Lord of the Rings in the back of my brain, but I never got around to reading it until high school... It has been voted Book of the Century for a reason, folks. This is an incredible epic, containing everything you could think of, good vs evil, adventure, battles, mystical people...this an entire world with it's own history and everything, you could make a living by studying Middle Earth. I can't really describe this book...it's impossible...so all I can really say is that is just amazing. There is nothing else quite like it anywhere. It is awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Your life is not complete without this book!
Review: Tolkien has got to be the most imaginative and gifted writers of all time! I just finished reading this trilogy for the second time now, and plan to read it again in a few years (by the way, I'm 14)! The story in itself is absolutely incredible, but Alan Lee's paintings add a lot, being very beautifully detailed. This book is a must for all imaginative people who seek the enthrallment of fantasy - engrossing for adults, teens, and children (although the reading can be rather challenging for kids under 12 or so). Tolkien was a genius!
Rating:
Summary: C. S. Lewis: Midwife to THE LORD OF THE RINGS
Review: Dear Amazon.com Readers: Due to the largely negative feedback on this review, I looked over the text, and while I still agree with the central argument, the way it was communicated was not the best. I revised and posted it on Amazon's UK site. As I say in the first paragraph, I want to bring this element out to show readers a little acknowledge fact about the most important novel of the twentieth century. Of all the reviews I've written for Amazon this stands as the one with the most important thing to say. Ideally, reviews, etc, should be used as enhancing literature and "comparing notes" as Lewis says in his EXPERIMENT IN CRITICISM. This is what I mean to do here, to enlighten and compare notes. The enthusiasm of the original review is tempered with a more mature voice. Tolkien's work is strictly his own, but I feel Lewis should get acknowledged for his contribution to fantasy literature by his encouraging Tolkien. However, I am getting ahead of myself. I hope this review helps you better understand the powerful literary group that was the Inklings. Mike London, 8-22-01. The Review: It is often customary to sing the praise of Tolkien and his accomplishments, but in this review I purpose to bring out an aspect often neglected in the circle of Tolkien fans, and that is the influence his Christian brother C. S. Lewis had upon him. Because there is so much else covering Tolkien's achievements, I, in this review, will stress Lewis and how, in keeping a keen interest and continual encouragement in this work, is, in an indirect way, as much responsible as Tolkien is, though this book is none of Lewis's creation. I only choose to stress this because it seems it is not very often pointed out. C. S. Lewis has accomplished many things as a writer and a Christian, which an incredible amount to contribute to the world of literature. Some will argue what is his most important literary contribution, wether it be THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, TILL WE HAVE FACES, literary criticism, or his apologetic works. But these arguments always leave out what I feel is the single most important contribution he ever made to the world of literature. THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Without Lewis, we would not have the genre of fantasy as we know it, because Tolkien would not have finished his masterpiece. In Tolkien's own words, he says, "But for the encouragement of C.S.L. I do not think I should ever have completed or offered for publication THE LORD OF THE RINGS," in THE LETTERS OF J. R. R. TOLKIEN, #282. Lewis said that he had no influence on Tolkien in the conventional way - that is, Lewis had no influence on WHAT he wrote. His main contribution was just to listen. He said of his own role to his famous friend was that of a midwife to Tolkien's works, not a father. As far as any substance or influence goes, I think the only appearance of C. S. Lewis in the works of Tolkien is the character Treebeard, which, according to Carpenter's biography TOLKIEN, whose voice is modeled after the speech patterns of Lewis, with his great "ho hum" voice that had a tendency to be rather booming. In Lewis's own fiction, the character of Elwin Ransom from his space trilogy is modeled after Tolkien, for Ransom, like Tolkien, is a philologist, and according to Tolkien some of his ideas and concepts regarding the discipline of philology were "Lewisfied" (Tolkien's terminology, not mine) in the character of Ransom (again, Carpenter, and I think this information is also in THE LETTERS OF J. R. R. TOLKIEN.) Without C. S. Lewis, Tolkien would have never completed THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and it wouldn't be published, and the fantasy market would be totally different today - if indeed it existed at all. As far as literature goes, C. S. Lewis has nothing that can compare to this (although his body of work is better than Tolkien's). It makes the accomplishment of Lewis even more drastic than before, and although it is none of his invention, in an indirect way Lewis is as much responsible, even barring THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, for the fantasy market as Tolkien (although Lewis's greatest accomplishment in life is leading people to Jesus through his writings). So much has been said of the accomplishments Tolkien did little needs to be said here. Essentially, with the publication of this book (it is NOT a trilogy, as Tolkien was always quick to point out) Tolkien single handedly invented the fantasy genre as we know it today. Almost every fantasy novel today has a debt to Tolkien and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, even if the writer has never read it (which is highly unlikely). This is fantasy's masterpiece, the one that started it all. Like the Amazon.com review said, this is the Bible of fantasy. It is also, perhaps, the single greatest Christian novel ever written (Tolkien was a staunch Roman Catholic, ans his views and worship came from Middle-earth). Several poles have been taken, naming this the book of the century. Without C. S. Lewis, none of this would have been possible, because Tolkien would not have finished it. (The same can be said of his son Christopher, who read it as it was being written). So you see, it's because of C. S. Lewis that and Tolkien's son Christopher that Tolkien finished what has been hailed as the most important novel of the twentieth century. We owe C. S. Lewis a tremendous debt in the field of literature, and this only greatly increases that debt for the enrichment he as brought the realm of written word. This book is the single most important thing contribution he ever did in the field of literature simply because he stood fast and encouraged his friend Tolkien to see it to completion. Bravo Lewis! And of course a hearty applause for Tolkien.
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