The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. TolkienMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
My review from January, 2015:
The Lord Of The Rings Book #1: The Fellowship Of The Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien
★★★★★ and a ♥
Synopsis: The dark, fearsome Ringwraiths are searching for a hobbit. Frodo Baggins knows they are seeking him and the Ring he bears—the Ring of Power that will enable evil Sauron to destroy all that is good in Middle-Earth. Now it is up to Frodo and his faithful servant, Sam, with a small band of companions, to carry the Ring to the one place it can be destroyed—Mount Doom, in the very center of Sauron’s dark kingdom.
In A Sentence: This will always be a classic favorite of mine.
My Thoughts: “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them. One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.” Every fantasy fan knows this line and knows where it comes from. The die-hard fans could probably even recite this line in Elvish. I may not be a die-hard fan who has numerous LOTR collectibles, but I still really love the series.
There’s a very good reason why this series is so popular; it’s highly creative and it’s very well-written. Tolkien is one of those authors who takes great care with his word choices, and the results show in a really positive way. He is also an incredible world-builder. Middle-earth has a lot more depth to it than what we see in the story itself, and we constantly get a peek into the immense size of this world from little references made by the characters. Because of these little details, Middle-Earth feels a lot more real and complete.
The use of hobbits is also genius. Hobbits have all the things we can relate to; they have homes on streets, and they have a comfortable culture that we can identify with more than any other race in this story, including that of man. Because the hobbits take center stage as the main protagonists, the story becomes a little more real to the reader, and we can kind of feel like the story is about us, and not about some hero with special abilities.
It’s funny, but the character everyone seems to love is the one character I don’t like. I’m not a fan of Frodo Baggins. I’m sorry, all you Frodo fans, but he’s the only protagonist I don’t really like. I know the ring is pushing its power upon him throughout the story, but I feel like Frodo is a bit weak. He kept on wishing he could go on an adventure like Bilbo, but when the adventure actually happens, he backs off and pretty much says he doesn’t want the adventure anymore. I will say my favorite characters are Merry and Pippin, and Legolas and Gimli. I also think Sam Gamgee is by far the strongest character in the series.
One more thing: listen to the audio-lecture regarding this series. It’s called Rings, Swords, And Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature. The professor’s name is Michael D.C. Drout, and he does an excellent job discussing and analyzing The Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. He also talks about J.R.R. Tolkien’s life and of his other works. If you like fantasy, you should definitely listen to this lecture.
My Review From April 2014
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien
★★★★★ and a ♥
Synopsis: The dark, fearsome Ringwraiths were searching for a hobbit. Frodo Baggins knew they were seeking him and the Ring he bore--the Ring of Power that would enable evil Sauron to destroy all that was good in Middle-earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam, with a small band of companions, to carry the Ring to the one place it could be destroyed--Mount Doom, in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom of Mordor.
In A Sentence: couldn't help myself, but I had to read this favorite of mine again.
I Couldn't Resist: So I was listening to an audio-lecture on Ancient Rome and started getting bored with it (too much stuff packed into one lecture), so I went to my favorite stand-by, Rings, Swords, And Monsters, with Professor Michael D.C. Drout. It's an audio-lecture discussing fantasy literature, and Drout does an excellent job discussing J.R.R. Tolkien and his works. This is the third time I'm listening to this lecture, and every time I listen to it, I want to read the Lord of the Rings books. So of course I had to read the Fellowship again!
Always A Great Read! These books are fantastic. J.R.R. Tolkien has a great way with words. He comes up with such wonderful, memorable phrases. One example: "One Ring To Rule Them All, One Ring To Find Them, One Ring To Bring Them All, And In The Darkness Bind Them. In The Land Of Mordor Where The Shadows Lie"-- a line so memorable that I didn't even need to refer to the book to write this down. His stuff is so subtly good, that you don't realize it until you compare it to some other fantasy work.
What Else Can I Say? This book has become one of my go-to books when I need to something to read. I love reading it. If you haven't read it yet, I would strongly recommend it.
Try The Audio-Lecture! The lecture is really interesting and it's available on Audible if you want! It's from Recorded Books The Modern Scholar and it's called Rings, Swords, And Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature. The professor is Michael D.C. Drout, and he does an excellent job in describing various fantasy novels. His lectures on the life of J.R.R. Tolkien and his novels are especially fascinating, and I think they are even available separately from the rest of the lectures if you're interested in only Tolkien and his works.
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