23 August 2016

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien

This review is going to follow a different style. The Lord of the Rings is considered to be a trilogy by most however I have decided to combine all parts of the books into one blog post! Instead of a long review about each book, there will be a mini review. Hope you enjoy :)


Title: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Book 1)
Author: J.R.R.Tolkien
Pages: 531
Genre: Fantasy
Book Description:
The first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure. 

In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord's evil dominion.

Thus begins J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale, which continues in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.






My Opinion:
This is the first book in the trilogy. It begins from the formation of the fellowship and the beginning of their journey.

Since this is considered a classic series, I was expecting it to be slow. However as I was reading this, I found it to be quite captivating and I was eager to read on. There was certainly a lot of unnecessary (in my opinion) detail to most parts yet I was able to deal with this nicely.

The concept created by Tolkein is incredible. I love the detail that went into the creation of this world from the names of the characters and their species all the way to the history of Middle Earth and the characters! At the end of Part 3 (the last book) over 1/3 of the book was dedicated to an Appendix in which an alphabet, timeline and histories of this fantasy land was listed. It just goes to show the vastness of the authors mind and creativity which is really inspiring for me.

The ending of this book lead really nicely onto the next book and intrigued me to explore the world and join the journey the fellowship had been given!


Rating ★
4 out of 5 stars 



Title: The Two Towers
Pages:
Book Description:
The second part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS

The Company of the Ring is sundered. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin - alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

Thus continues the classic tale begun in The Fellowship of the Ring, which reaches its awesome climax in The Return of the King.



My Opinion:
As I mentioned above, I expected these books to be slow however I was determined to persevere. Compared to the first book, I found this one to have a much slower pace. I think this is because the first book was introducing the characters and the world and explained how Frodo was given the journey to destroy the Ring. However this middle section was a very dragged out section about the characters perusing this quest. There were still some interesting scenes as the characters met new species and characters as well as the mystery that followed.

Something I discovered whilst reading this was that I had to sit down and read this book in chunks in order to really immerse myself in the land of Middle Earth and connect with the characters better. It was much more difficult to read in smaller parts as my mind wandered more and I got bored quickly.

Overall I didn't enjoy this second part as much as the first. I much preferred the story of Frodo and Sam to Pippin's adventures with Aragon and the other half of the fellowship. However the ending of this book was equally fantastic (with a cliffhanger!) as the first part and really urged me to continue onto the final book.

Rating ★
3 out of 5 stars 


Title: The Return of The King
Pages:
Book Description:
The third part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS

The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads even wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves and Ents unite forces to do battle against the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring.

The devastating conclusion of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale, begun in the The Fellowship of the Rings and The Two Towers.
 




My Opinion:
This is the final part of the Lord of the Rings. Here we follow Sam and Frodo as they meet their final destination, as well as following the other half of the fellowship into battle to protect their land.

As mentioned earlier, I found Sam and Frodo's journey much more captivating and actually really enjoyed the strength and character development illustrated here. This isn't something I saw as much with the other characters, perhaps why I didn't find reading their parts as enjoyable and difficult to maintain and interest in. (As ashamed as I am, I must admit that I did skim read parts of the battle!)

This was a much longer journey than I expected. I knew that the books were long and highly detailed however I felt that even the ending dragged on more than I was prepared for. The final chapter was the most enjoyable part of the ending for me as it ended on a happier note and summed up the characters/ concluded the books really well!

Overall I'm glad that I managed to persevere and read all 3 books (even if I skimmed parts of the last book!) It was a good series and I understand why it had received so much recognition and praise over the years. I haven't actually read The Hobbit (the prequel) to this series yet and would like to read it, however it may be some time before I pick it up.

Rating ★
3 out of 5 stars 

 Next book I'm going to review:
Quiet by Susan Cain

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hello and thank you for commenting! I advise you to tick the box that says 'Notify me' so you will be sent an email when I reply to you! I will do this asap.
If you have any further questions don't hesitate to send me an email!