Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 29, 2011

Keely rated it:

Writers who inspire a genre are usually misunderstood. Tolkien's reasons for writing were completely unlike those of his followers. He didn't have an audience, a genre, and scores of contemporaries. There was a tradition of high adventure fairy tales, as represented by Eddison, Dunsany, Morris, MacDonald, Haggard, and Kipling, but this was only part of what inspired Tolkien.

His writing was chiefly influenced by his familiarity with the mythological traditions of the Norse and Welsh c More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 19, 2008

Lizzie rated it:

Some will shout with joy, others will scream in derision. However, we can all agree on one thing:

It's long.

4 comments like (13 people liked it)

Sep 17, 2007

Heather's Mum rated it:

Who can resist the charm of J. R. R. Tolkien's brave little hairy toed Hobbits, awesome Gandalf the Grey, Aragorn, Tom Bombadil, Elf-lord Glorfindel, Half-elven lord Elrond, beautiful Arwen, Boromir, Lady Galadriel, Gimli the Dwarf, and Legolas the Elf.

Tolkien describes Hobbits: "I picture a fairly human figure, not a kind of fairy rabbit as some of my British reviewers seem to fancy: fattish in the stomach, shortish in the leg. A round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 23, 2007

Amanda rated it:

I first read The Hobbit at the ripe old age of 12, and remember having to really concentrate to finish it. (I was probably still emerging from a really heavy Judy Blume phase at the time.) Even then I already had a true sense of loyalty of Tolkien, thanks to that great animated cartoon I watched as a little kid. When I later read the trilogy in high school, it was far easier to immerse myself in Tolkien's writing. Though I love all of the books, by far my favorite is The Two Towers. I think i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 19, 2009

J.C. rated it:

Well, I don't really have this boxed set, but of course I've read all the books.

I get more out of them with each re-reading. Tolkien would be one of those guys who, if I could invite any 3 people to have dinner with, would get a seat at the table.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 05, 2008

Zeph rated it:

I was obsessed with this series when I was twelve or thirteen and it fueled my imagination for years. When I re-read it as an adult, though, I was disappointed by it. I realized how much racism is built into the Nordic mythologies that Tolkein mined to create his world (the paler the elf, the "higher" its race; white=good, black=bad). The whole story rests on a simplistic good/evil, hero/villain binary and I realized that my adult self doesn't find that as convincing as I did when I wa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 01, 2007

Maca rated it:

Fantastic. Entertaining. Unputdownable.
When I read these books I had all the time in the world, so I read them all in a few weeks. The Hobbit is a separate story where Bilbo goes through different adventures with the dwarves. The Lord of the Rings saga is incredible. These are the books that may take you some time to read, but they are worth it. I had seen the movies before I read the books, but still Tolkien managed the entice my imagination. It was a pleasure to read these books. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 03, 2011

Dan rated it:

The Lord of the Rings story represents to me the epitome of an epic adventure saga. It's a traditional hero's journey, fraught with danger and adversity, friends and enemies, war and the noble quest to bring peace. I have never felt more a part of a world than Middle Earth during the Second War of The Ring. Also, in comparison to other adventure stories, especially those of this nature, the Lord of the Rings stands alone for me as feeling like the largest scale. Tolkien does a great job of d More...

0 comments like

Aug 18, 2009

Christian rated it:

The Fellowship of The Ring: On Bilbo Baggins birthday he felt like he needed to give his major possession that he had found years before, to his favorite cousin , Frodo Baggins. Although, Bilbo didn't understand what the ring's purpose was, the only thing he knew was that it turns him invisible. Bilbo had a great friend-his name was Gandalf- that suspected the ring was one of a legend. Bilbo then gave Frodo the ring and told him to take it away from the shire because he knew Sauron's powe More...

0 comments like

Aug 01, 2009

Shanna rated it:

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy continues the story begun in The Hobbit and more fully develops the world of Middle Earth. In this epic saga, ordinary beings must use their small gifts in a struggle against great evil. Frodo, a peace-loving hobbit of the Shire, is given the Dark Lord's One Ring of Power, which his Uncle Bilbo found on his adventures. Soon he is forced to flee his home, pursued by the Dark Lord's servants. All the strength of Middle Earth -- men, elves, dwarves, wizards, and hob More...

0 comments like

Nov 04, 2009

Grace rated it:

Again, I can't do epics. I will watch the movie rather than read this again any day of the week. The writing's very dense, and it's clear that Tolkien was a major history buff. He's created a world that is fully, fully fleshed-out. He probably could have written you a tome that details every moment of Middle Earth for 5000 years (which may be "The Simarillion", actually -- I don't know, I only made it fifty pages into that one).

But I just don't have the patience for i More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2011

Aaron added it

This review is only on "The Hobbit." The novel takes place in the fictional land of Middle Earth, following the lead characters as they travel from the small village of Hobbiton through wild forests and goblin infested and dragon inhabited mountains.

Bilbo Baggins begins as a cautious and conservative hobbit, well respected and considered a pillar of the hobbit community. When he reluctantly sets out on a quest to recover the stolen treasure of a band of dwarves, he encount More...

0 comments like

Aug 10, 2011

Akshay rated it:

No matter how many times I read this series over, it never ceases to amaze, enchant and fascinate.

Truly one of the most masterful works of fiction ever created and one of the most unique fictional worlds ever conceived - with a depth that few (if any) have ever truly achieved.

In my view, the only series that I would put in the same class as this would be the Dune series by Herbert - that is the scope and depth to be found here.

A world and adventure entirely of fiction - in Tolkiens own though More...

0 comments like

Jan 27, 2012

Laura rated it:

I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy almost immediately after The Hobbit - I was only nine at the time. Although I was already a devotee of Bilbo, I struggled with TLR. I was far too young and illiterate then to appreciate the series. Much later on, I read again, my love of JRR never having left me. Although my literary prowess had improved, I still found the lengthy genealogy of the Hobbits and topography of Middle Earth a little tiresome. I love good descriptive writing that enables the inner More...

0 comments like

Oct 04, 2011

Bookworm rated it:

It's a genuinely good series. Very inventive and original. The reason I gave it 2 stars is because it was so god damn boring. Descriptions were tedious, fight scenes were tedious. I couldn't wrap my head around the story in general. Sometimes I skimmed whole paragraphs and pages and understood everything that was happening just fine! Honestly, I'm still wondering where the hell I got the patience to sit down and read the whole series. The only thing I loved was how bad-ass Eowyn is. She pretende More...

0 comments like

Jan 28, 2011

Brianna rated it:

this is a great book. If you like the lord of the rings movies and books you should read this. its the prequel to the story. Its all about how he got the ring and how it all started. tons of fighting and action but also at times calm. As you can tell from the title its about the hobbits but it also has the elves, dwarfs, and many other creatures. There is also a dragon and you get to meet gollum, the weird little creature that alway says "my precious", who at a time was also a hobbit u More...

0 comments like

Jan 10, 2010

Kathy rated it:

I first read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings in about the sixth grade. I believe the next Christmas I received the boxed set as a gift. A few years later I bought them in hard back. The trilogy has been read so many times that the cover is falling apart. I think I read this set about once a year for probably thirty years. Now, unfortunately, I have a DVD player and if I ever get sick (which is a great opportunity to buckle down and read this set) I am watching a movie or something inst More...

0 comments like

Oct 18, 2010

Nathan rated it:

These books, Kept me on the edge of what ever I was siting on! I felt like I was there seeing all the action, I could not wait to turn to the next page, to see what was going to happen next.
This book has Love, fantasy, adventure and a very good story plot, But I also loved how the author brought out a lot of Christianity, like the way to salvation, you have Power in the Holy Ghost, also that theres adventure serving the Lord and that in the adventure there is constant war-fare between goo More...

0 comments like

Dec 19, 2007

Linda rated it:

My favoritestest series ever!!! I could lose myself in Middle Earth forever. I have read this series cover to cover during every life changing, painful period of my life. Yes, I have read it seven times.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 22, 2010

Immen added it

Just finished the whole damn thing in Chinese, very pleased with myself. There's an emotional distance when I read in Chinese, the impact dulled by the work of unentangling meaning, but i felt it when Bilbo appears in the end, behind the elves, swaying on his pony. I have a lot of scattered notes, but trying to cohere my thoughts just makes me want to reread the whole damn thing again in English while taking better notes. Tolkien has some funny ideas about racial purity and the action of fate. A More...

0 comments like

Jun 26, 2009

Bobby rated it:

I admit, that while I read the Hobbit much earlier, I did not read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy until becoming involved with my husband and aware of his passion for Tolkien. I enjoyed the adventure and spirit of the novel, but was more into the characters who sought military action more cautiously and the fact of the magic and strength of those who we would normally overlook. I think, this magic and strength in characters is responsible for my husband's passion. I also admit, that my love of More...

0 comments like

Jun 13, 2011

Owen rated it:

Given that Tolkien did not just invent a world, new creatures and weapons, but invented an actual freaking language, he gets 5 stars from me (I'm sure he was anxiously awaiting my approval). I could do without the 80 pages on tobacco production, but Tolkien wasn't writing a story; he was writing a history of a place that had never existed. I resisted reading them for years as I thought they were a level of dork I was not ready for. Then I saw the first movie and had to know what happened. I' More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 07, 2009

Wattle rated it:

I honestly thought that I would enjoy the books more than I did. I found them to be very dry and long winded, with too long sentences and paragraphs and found myself drifting from what was on the page.

I eventually worked out that it was best to read some passages out loud to myself (mainly the ones I found to be dull) so I was able to take it in and make better sense of it. There's no doubting that The Hobbit and LotR are classic stories with a great tale within them, but they were j More...

0 comments like

Jul 09, 2011

Lucille rated it:

I am a huge nerd and this book made my inner dork scream out in joy. I really enjoyed the book, which I read after the watching the movies, and found that the movies did the books great justice. No one understands how much I am looking forward to the hobbit movie.

Tolkien has a great way of detailing everything he writes about. Several times I had to put the books down and breathe, trying to process the severly drawn out details, but I found myself reading continuously. More...

0 comments like

Oct 05, 2010

Giladren rated it:

I honestly don't think anyone can ever say anything bad about these books if they're a fan of fantasy. Tolkien's control of tone and language is superb - the sophistication of the writing changes throughout, adding to the characterization and so on so forth. If I had the book in front of me, I'm sure I could pick more things out, but I am without :(

Read The Silmarillion if you want to know more about the elves, but be warned - it is definitely not for the undisciplined reader. That bo More...

0 comments like

Dec 04, 2008

Scott rated it:

Best fiction of the 20th century. First time was like going to Chinatown--you know its exotic and the experience is intoxicating, but afterward you only have impressions, and half of it you didn't understand. When I reread it as an adult, I couldn't even recall whether I had finished the trilogy as a kind, until I came to the finding of the White Tree seedling, and the final attack of Gollum against Frodo and Sam on the slopes of Mount Doon--those were about the only parts of The Return of the K More...

0 comments like

Oct 18, 2009

Celeris rated it:

As a fourth grader, my teacher read "The Hobbit" aloud to my class. It wasn't until two years later, though, that I discovered the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy and decided to start reading the books. In so many ways are the two different!

As a lover of literature (with a special passion for the fantasy genre), this trilogy is an excellent match for me! However, I've met several people (and am even related to a few) that can't stand Tolkien's writing style (for t More...

0 comments like

Jan 05, 2009

David rated it:

Yes, I'm one of those people who read these after the first movie came out. The Hobbit was thoroughly enjoyable. The Trilogy was a drag. They were great books, especially for their time, and it's cool they influenced a lot of Led Zeppelin songs, but this is one of those instances where the movies were better. There were just so many pieces in the books that were unnecessary to the plot and didn't push the story forward at all. Like, Tom Bombadil (if that's how you spell his name), and all the el More...

0 comments like

Feb 20, 2011

Joe rated it:

The greatest fantasy series in the world bar none. This is the granfather of all the others that came later. The series that started it all and none I have found so far can equal it. The depth that Tolkien writes with is amazing. Complete histories of all the races along with the difficulties they have living with each other. Middle earth is a more black and white society in its version of good and evil without so much grey but still it's refreshing. Deep and wide in scope, it is no w More...

0 comments like

Jan 28, 2008

Bryn rated it:

I agree with Michael Moorcock: racist petit-bourgeois bullshit.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

reviews