Rating: 
Summary: How could you not love these books?
Review: This is undoubtably one of the greatest stories ever told. Tolkien was a master. His world is so complex and his characters are incredibly real. Harry Potter is childish compared to this epic tale. It is, however, a long detailed book. Certain readers may fall asleep during the battle scenes. Others will revel in them. I suggest looking at the story as a whole rather than in three parts. That way you will get a more complete picture of the story. It is not necessary to read The Hobbit to understand The Lord of the Rings, but it certainly doesn't hurt. The Hobbit is a little less weighty than the other books, but it is still a delightful read. If you feel you can't read through the whole thing, get the audio books. They're wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm Glad I Finally Finished!
Review: I don't want to write a long review on "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (I feel like I have wasted enough time on them already).I liked "The Hobbit" for the most part and the first book in "The Lord of the Rings" was not too bad, but from there it was all downhill, in my opinion. This was just a wordy, long series of books that I never thought I would end. During the last two books of "The Lord of the Rings" I thought I was going to lose my sanity. This series should have been cut in half to two books, and even then it would probably be dull in parts. If you are thinking of reading these books, I would say go ahead and try it if you are known for endurance and perseverance. If you're not, go buy the Cliff Notes or just wait for the movies.
Rating: 
Summary: 2 stars and I'm sticking to it!
Review: I'll be the first person to admit that Tolkein laid out a rich, detailed history of another world, (middle earth), and peopled it with interesting inhabitants. His work made it possible for other fantasy writers to find an audience, and for millions of people to rekindle the fires of their imaginations. I wasn't of those people though. LOTR is written in that archaic semi-Victorian style. A long, winding introduction filled with geographical details and almost no character development. Nowadays the first five chapters or so would be cut from LOTR. Does that mean that we have a shorter attention span, a lower threshold for information? Probably, but every generation defines their own preferences, and in the past, longer was usually better, so that's a minor point. When the action does get going I always felt removed from it. My heart never raced and I never, ever feared that the hobbits would encounter a situation that some well-placed character wouldn't resolve for them. Tom Bombadill being the biggest piece of Deus Ex Machina that ever lived. (and the most annoying! Bombadill ho, bombadill eh) There's always some trusty man, elf, or innkeeper who saves the day. When Frodo is stabbed by one of the nine's knife, it barely registered for me. And when I stopped to re-read the paragraph I wasn't at all worried because I knew someone or something would help him. And while I do believe that everyone should be able to share their burden with someone, (a point of Christian charity Tolkein was trying to make, perhaps?) I have never been rescued as much as those hobbits. And women. There are men aplenty but when women appear they are, "Lithe, ethereal, slender, beautiful." The physical description of women in the story belies their non-existence, "ethereal" suggests something so light that it is barely there. The women are like mist, ornaments that could float away singing at any moment. It's a boys club in middle earth. Back to the narrative, you read through a lens of the author's distance and it lacks immediacy. The story get a very dull with so many characters, and so little character development. For all that, I would recommend it nephews and nieces, (though looking at the reviews and thinking back to acquaintances, men seem to prefer the book over women, probably because their gender is well represented, whereas women play such a small and clichéd role of beautiful, slender elf queens et al). I would recommend it because so many people do seem to love it with all their hearts and reading, any reading is better than no reading at all. And, even with all it's faults, LOTR is a good book for the pre-teen group, as it deals with good and evil, and the potential for both within us all.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to like but stimulating
Review: As pure diversion Tolkien is superb, but for those of us who are a bit more on the non-fiction side it can be a bit pompous. Not recommended for anyone not at least dimly familiar with the story or who didn't read it in self-defense way back when it was nearly required to have any discourse in high school ('60s-'70s). You know what I mean.
Rating:
Summary: The very best ever
Review: This is the mother of modern fantasy stories.
"Te lord of the rings is the tale of the Middle-Earth. The biggest proof of its grandeur and its quality is the fact that almost everybody has heard at least something about Tolkien's talent and his unforggetable characters like Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, Elrond and Sauron, just to name a few. The quiet hobbits, simbolyzing the purity and innocence of a world where the existence of Evil is incredibly strong, must travel to the heart of an accursed kingdom, and there destroy a powerful ring in the flames of the mountain where it was forged. During their journey they meet strong allies to get safely to the end of their quest, always trying to defeat the enemies the Dark Lord, who also wants the ring for its incredible power, sends in the fellowship's way. "The Lord of the Rings" is a story with many meanings and can be read in many ways. Bottom line, it's the Story of Good against Evil, but can be interpreted as, for example, a re-reading of the story of Christianity. Besides, Tolkien's dedication to his work is impressive, writing an unique and complete tale, including inventing a whole new language for the elven people, a complete genealogy for the "houses of men", complete maps of the places where the story was past. "The Lord of the rings" must be read and re-read many times, and the fantasy in its pages is a timeless source of pleasure for one who likes adventures like this. Grade 10/10
Rating:
Summary: Gold star
Review: im 17 and i dont write reviews on books because being not all that well read i dont consider myself knowledgeable enough to give an accurate review. However, after reading Lord of the Rings I was inspired to write not a review as such, but a personal opinion of the books .
I wont bother with the plot because other people will have described that for all you who dont know it already.
The story to me although obviously created within the essential boundaries of good vs evil radiated pure originality and inspiration. The songs and poetry peppered throughout the book , for me, created the feeling of hope and of an insight of hidden beauty within the darkness and trauma of a land in dark times. Tolkein brings a whole world alive through the sheer depth of the novel. Different races are conjured purely from imagination and yet seem so intricately real and alive; whole histories are written about and from the anscestors of each race. Detailed descriptions are given of the little insignificant traits of the hobbits while the legends and myths of the world within the story create the feeling of an ancientness and depth - a real world, not of one that has been created. It is all the detail that creates the vividness of the novel. seemingly lengthy descriptions bring alive a world taking it from tolkeins vast imagination and almost creating a reality in itself.
Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee - hobbits.
Simple and insignificant. Yet thats the power of the story. The novel generates power - it is about power and it is because of power that Frodo is the ring bearer - the strongest. He alone can resist the great power of the ring because he is a hobbit - because he is not great and wise like Gandalf, the wizard or Aragorn the king. power is what feeds on power. Beauty is contrasted so strongly with all that is ugly and bad in Lord of the Rings that beauty vs ugly, good vs evil is intensified.
the interactions between all the people creates mostly accurate reflections on human behaviour. However, I feel Tolkeins weakness lies in the romanctic aspects of the book.
While the arwen and aragorn 'relationship' can be justified enough (barely) in the appendix and with the 'hint' at the beginning of the journey in rivendell with aragorn standing next to her, Eowyn on the otherhand I was disappointed in. I felt it was a hurried tieing up of loose ends in one tiny section when it should have been given a lot more depth to have been realistic and successful. my expectation was that everything should be in depth to carry on with the style previously. however it is all crammed into a tiny section which makes you wonder that tolkein can spend pages describing a tree or a landscape but brushes quickly over a relationship, a love shared between two people?
However, all I can say is that overall,
FANTASTIC!
Rating:
Summary: A few very annoying printing errors
Review: The tale within is obviously 5 stars. I dock this edition of that tale down to 3 stars due to some incredibly annoying printing errors. I have no clue why this is, since I thought the last time Houghton Mifflin reset the printing was over 5 years ago. But in either case, this edition has some errors that will certanily annoy you if you are looking for perfection. If this is your first time reading the trilogy then by all means get this pack, it's a great value and the artwork is solid. But if you are looking for a gift set or what have you, check out some of the nicer hardback editions, such the red leather collectors edition of Lord of the Rings, and the green one for the hobbit.
Rating:
Summary: An eternal classic !
Review: This trilogy is absolutely fantastic. It tells the story of Frodo Baggins whose mission is to cast the "One Ring" into the scorching fires of Mordor, and hence destroy the source of all evil. Filled with many characters of unique description, and lands of picturesque beauty and treacherous evil, you will be compelled to follow the journey of Frodo Baggins as he tackles all sorts of evil. This trilogy is filled with adventure, deception, evil, and good; action that's seemingly non-stop, and locks your attention to it; and pure creativity unlike other banal writing. J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy is a masterpiece of all fiction writing. Telling the treacherous and dangerous adventure of the hobbit Frodo Baggins, this book deserves all the acclamations of literature. It is filled with suspense and you will not put it down until you are done J.R.R. Tolkien is the best. He is the most superb author! His defined novels are the masterpieces of clearly intelligent work. His books are the only pieces of literature that deserve all the accolodes they can attain. No one else's will do the same This is a tale that should be read by everyone at least once. In the same genre is The Price of Immortality by C.M. Whitlock if you love Tolkein you will love Whitlock. I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Thoughts on Lord of the Rings
Review: This book brang me so much joy!! I am absolutly in awe of how these books were written!! J.R.R Tolken does the most fabulous job in describing things as well!! I don't think I could recomend a better fantasy novel - it's fantastic! In fact I enjoyed the story so much, now that I'm done reading it it's almost depressing!! In fact, I am having trouble finding another book to keep up to it's standards!! But completly worth your time reading it!!
Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit
Review: The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are the best books you will ever read! They are written very well, with very good descriptions that lead your imagination from a quaint, bustling village, to an ugly, barren wasteland. The story is interesting from the first and once you pick up the series, you won't be able to set them down. Forget about lunch! In these books you can BE the characters, or share their hunger or delight by walking along side them. While reading them, you will begin to love and cheer for some characters and hate others. There are also lots of humor in them that even children will laugh over. I love these books, and everyone that I know does too. They are a must read and deffinately beat Harry Potter! Beware, because once you read them, you will be hooked to them for life. They quit being books and become part of you. Great books for children and adults alike. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a set of books that can never be mastered by anyone else. They are a master series. Also recommended: Robert Jordan's WOT, Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and C. M. Whitlock's The Price of Immortality an awesome read that I HIGHLY recommend!
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