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Summary: Wonderful book to read again and again
Review: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is wonderful. They are the best books that I have ever read in my entire life. The books are very intriging and are page turners from the beginning. Once you read the first book, you have to know what happens to Frodo and the gang and to see if they ever accomplish their destiny. I strongly suggest that you read these books, they live on in your minds after you finish them so much that you have to go back and reread them; just to be back in Middle-Earth, and back with the hobbits, who become so impossibly real to you. Not to read the book is a denial to yourself of so much splendor.
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Summary: Greatest story ever told?
Review: For a good adventure story, first you need a great villain. Sauron is pure evil with no redeeming social value, and has magic power besides. His goal, of course, is to conquer the world. We never meet him. We meet his servants. The villains we meet are interesting enough, particularly the ringwraiths and the traitorous wizard Saruman.Secondly, you need some wonderful people to root for. This book has some great heroes you'll remember all your life. Wizards, elves, dwarves, hobbits, and men. Don't leave the women out either. What greater scope can you have than the rescue of the world from evil? With all of these ingredients, you can't miss. Particularly not in the hands of JRR Tolkein, master storyteller.
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Summary: Lord of the Rings
Review: This is the best book that I have ever read. After reading it I was introduced into a whole new world of fantasy. I especially liked the freedom Tolkien grants your imagination in the novel. I have read the Trilogy over 5 times and I still can't find a fantasy book as good as this.
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Summary: Specifically about the "Millennium Edition."
Review: This is NOT a review of LOTR: It is, rather, specifically about the "Hardcover boxed, Millennium edition (October 1999)" from Houghton Mifflin. First off, LOTR is divided here into six volumes (plus a volume of appendix material) -- not the three volumes one usually sees. The titles of the three usual volumes have therefore changed; but it's not stated where the new titles came from. Are they from Tolkien himself? From his son? Or from some lesser source? (Yes, I know, the original LOTR has Book I, Book II, etc.-- but not different titles for each of these). Second, on the whole these "hardcovers" look a little cheesy to me. The bindings certainly aren't leather: They look kinda like nothing more than cardboard with a glossy lamination. The books' spines have no "give," either: They, too, are of stiff, unbending cardboard. And finally, it doesn't appear that the paper on which this "Millennium Edition" is printed is acid-free (which lasts longer and doesn't yellow with age). Like the covers, the paper also appears, to my eye, a little cheap. (If a book's paper is acid-free, that fact is usually stated on the copyright page.) So all in all the PHYSICAL aspects of this edition (epecially at a list price of $70!) seem suspiciously second-rate. On the positive side, this edition claims to be free of a large number of typographical errors, misprints, and other textual mistakes that marred earlier editions. Also a plus: The maps of Middle Earth here are clearer and easier to read than those in earlier editions. Yet even this has a down side, however: These nice maps appear ONLY in the 7th and final volume of the boxed set, i.e., in the appendices! Why, oh, WHY weren't the maps run in EACH of the six volumes of the story, so that a reader could easily glance at a map as the tale progresses from volume to volume? Some of the volumes in this edition have several *blank* pages at the end, and therefore they could EASILY have accommodated the maps! Wasn't anybody thinking of the READER when this edition was put together?
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Summary: Beautiful Edition
Review: Without a dought one of the revolutionary books of the century, with memorable charecters, and a great plot, but a would like to comment on the edition. It has all six books in small hardback size, with leather covers and a leather box, damned beautiful. Buy this edition if you already love LotR, if not, buy it anyways it will make a nice dent in you bookshelf. I also purchased the paperback and hardback editions of LotR in one book, the new Hobbit/LotR paperback box, and new copies of hobbit/LotR in hardback.
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Summary: Should place this next to Shakespeare
Review: If you have any taste at all for fiction than you should place this beautiful one-volume edition next to your copy of The Arden Shakespeare(one volume collection of plays, etc.)...then take it off of the shelf and read it on new year's eve. I agree with another reviewer, this is one of the great literary works of the 20th Century. From Tolkien's forward to the fascinating appendices, this book is a rich reading experience. An adventure that mystifies and excites and is very moving...a defining moment in the fantasy genre timeline. Tolkien proves that he will be forever known as one of greatest storytellers of our time. I found the the chapter The Shadow of the Past,to be incredibly moving-my personal favorite. This is because it cleverly evokes the history of middle-earth in wonderfully swift literary strokes, defining the nature of the book. It contains the classic poem which tells the epic history of the one ring. Well, you must buy this copy. I did...feels great to only have to refer to one volume, with beautiful illustrations and text.
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Summary: I return to these books time after time........
Review: When I was 13 years old I would escape into middle-earth for days at a time.Now I am 35 and I still find myself reading these books.I turned so many people on to them as well.I am an artist & this past year I wrote a story set to music called MILLENNIUM A POP OPERA for my band THE MONTGOMERY CLIFFS.If I had never read THE LORD OF THE RINGS,I know I would have never been able to come up with such a fantasy epic.So I thank J.R.R. Tolkien for writing these great books.They have been an inspiration throughout my life!
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Summary: One of the best!
Review: One of the best works of Catholic fiction this century! Tolkien's subcreative art must surely rank with the likes of Sigrid Undset, Graham Greene, Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, etc. One of the worst things about reading The Lord of the Rings is finding a satisfying book to read afterwards. I recommend Sigrid Undset's medieval historical fiction.
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Summary: LORD OF THE RINGS
Review: I was sixteen when i first read the hobbit and I was naive as young lads are but this book captivated me in ways i cannot explain to any person. I then went for the big one and I will admit the book was the most touching one I read I don't consider myself easily moved by books. But the story of Aragorn and Arwen in the apendixes moved me to tears and I hope to one one day find a woman like her. I guess you could say I and Aragorn have a lot in common and I daresay we are alike. But to any person who's given up or going to try to read this moving and compeling novel do it! You only live once and it's somthing I am sure will move you to tears if you read the novel from start to finish. My favourite part is The Lady Galadriel she reminds me a great deal of my best friend and her character's is forever in my hear and soul. This book has a bitter but happy ending and I would advise all to read it! Good luck Ollie Smith
Rating: 
Summary: Best book ever
Review: i'm not typical book reader, but i couldn't stop reading..
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