Goodreads | The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)

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The Lord of the Rings	1	02/25/2008 11:46AM

John rated it:

06/05/08

bookshelves: fantasy

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in January, 1968

In the year I was born, J.R.R. Tolkien published this grand fantasy which spawned a whole genre of sword and sorcery novels. After five decades, it is still reputed to be the greatest and most profound of these thousands of tales, and is clearly among my all time favorite “good-reads.”

Lord of the Rings takes place in the mythical land of “Middle-earth” which is inhabited by elves, dwarves, men and a diversity of other intelligent creatures. There is a growing polarization of thes...more In the year I was born, J.R.R. Tolkien published this grand fantasy which spawned a whole genre of sword and sorcery novels. After five decades, it is still reputed to be the greatest and most profound of these thousands of tales, and is clearly among my all time favorite “good-reads.”

Lord of the Rings takes place in the mythical land of “Middle-earth” which is inhabited by elves, dwarves, men and a diversity of other intelligent creatures. There is a growing polarization of these peoples as the Dark Lord Sauron gathers those whom he has bent to his will from the lowliest to the most exalted. But Sauron lacks one thing yet to make his power supreme in Middle-earth, and that is a ring of power he forged millennia ago. And so the tale is about how a humble man, only three to four feet tall, came upon the lost ring, and how it became his mission to destroy it with the help of a fellowship of eight friends and warriors.

When our main hero learns of the power of the ring, and the peril facing him and everyone else in Middle earth, he comments to Gandalf the Wizard, “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” whereupon Gandalf responds “And so do all men who live to see such times, But that is not our choice, all that is given to us is to decide what we shall do with the time given us.”

As a teenager this sentiment resonated in my heart. I grew up with a keen awareness that my Century was the bloodiest in history, and I also knew enough of prophecy to understand that such death and destruction would continue and grow more pervasive and more deadly, until it should nearly destroy all mankind. And so my heart also despaired, and I wished it need not happen in my time. And at such times I too would often would hear an incomparably wise voice whisper; “That is not your choice, yours is only to decide what you will do with the time you’ve been given.”

One of the dominant themes of Lord of the Rings is how the Dark Lord subverts the will of both great and small, how he brings them under his domination. Through close association with the One Ring a person’s will begins to ebb, he begins to assume the traits of evil, and becomes more easily subject to the wishes of the Dark Lord. And I learned that so it is with us when we harbor sin in our pockets. Soon our close association with evil subverts our will, and changes our personality, and we begin inexorably to follow and obey Satan. Our sins may seem precious to us because they promise power or pleasure, but in the end, they only lead us to ashen despair, and utter slavery.

I suspect nearly all readers of this grand trilogy will empathize with Frodo, who voluntarily, though reluctantly assumes his quest, not unaided, but still in great measure alone. Most of us have felt alone with our own burdens. The Fellowship of the Ring provided Frodo protection, advise, and comfort for a time, but the burden was still his alone to bear. When circumstances disbanded the fellowship, he continued on his journey aided only by his closest companion Sam, and finally in the end, he faced the demons without and within, alone, by himself.

Despite the fellowship of good and noble souls, and the close companionship of my dear wife, I too often feel alone in the battle for my soul. I know that Satan desires that all should be miserable like unto himself, and I know that his promises of power and pleasure are lies, attempts to seduce us into yielding our wills to him. I have seen many in my world who “look fairer, but feel fouler” for having succumbed to the dark power. And like several characters in L.O.R., I have felt the twisting of my personality by sin, the stretching thin of my soul, as I lose will, and grow in despair. I know that in this world these feelings are not the result of magic, and they are very real.

The Lord of the Rings is a godly tale that assumes an overarching power watching over Middle Earth, and guiding the destiny of great and small. Though it is only occasionally and obliquely referenced, it is clear that this power providentially turns evil against itself, and brings good and heroic deeds to their final triumph. In Tolkien’s masterwork, the destiny of all is guided in strange, inscrutable ways toward the final triumph of good.

What Tolkien there assumes, I here declare with conviction; There is a God in heaven watching over us. He knows our sorrows, our suffering, and our battles. He has an heroic destiny planned for each of us. The powers of darkness are real, and we are on a grand quest. If we see it not, it is because our close association with evil has blinded our eyes, and twisted our passions. I also declare that in our battle against sin, we are never completely alone. We have a savior in Jesus Christ who will guide us, and stand beside us in our most public and most private battles. He can cleanse us from the effects of sin, he can quench the fiery darts, turn back the poisoned blades, and heal the wounds to our soul. This I know.

There is a growing struggle in our world between the gathering forces of good and evil, and the most humble among us has an important part to play in that battle. There is an unseen world, it is not a fantasy, but a real component of our lives. This world not magical, but it is governed by laws unknown to the vast majority of mankind. Millennia ago, the greatest hero of all ages suffered, bled and died to save us. He left us with the sword of truth, and the Shield of Righteousness to protect us. And one day soon He will return even more glorious and powerful, and will personally lead the forces of Good in triumph over the armies of the evil one. Until then, with power unseen, He will whisper comfort and guidance to all who have the courage to accept their mission with integrity, honor, courage, and faith. This I know.
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William rated it:

03/17/08

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in June, 1972

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This book changed my life. Before it I was a spotty 14 year old hooked on my science studies. Then I read LOTR, and, at the same time, discovered women existed and.....but thats enough of that. You want to hear about the book.

By now there are few people who haven't at least heard of LOTR, and most of them have an opinion. There are the fans, almost fanatics, and there are the people who have read fifty pages or so, sometimes five or six times, but just can't get it, and don't understand wha...more

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Wes rated it:

01/19/08

Read in September, 1989

recommended to Wes by: my Dad
recommends it for: anybody

It's nice to have favorites. When you have a favorite -- a favorite menu item, a favorite car, a favorite shirt -- you can enter at least one corner of the maelstrom of subjective choices that life presents to you and evaluate the choices in that corner not with respect to some external criteria, but rather with respect to one specific thing.

For example, when asking oneself what the greatest book of all time is, one might first have to ask, "what makes a book great?" -- which is...more

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Darin rated it:

12/11/07

bookshelves: good-literature-and-fun-to-read, my-top-20

The Lord of the Rings dominant theme (for me) is attempting the impossible, feeling the anguish of defeat, but continuing to try anyway. And in the end, when all is dark and gloomy, finally the happy moment arrives when you finish the task, overcome the trial, arrive at the destination. But there are many other inspiring messages and themes in this great book. Each reader will find their own.

Aside from the Mormon cannon of scripture, I have found this trilogy to be the most enlightening, ...more The Lord of the Rings dominant theme (for me) is attempting the impossible, feeling the anguish of defeat, but continuing to try anyway. And in the end, when all is dark and gloomy, finally the happy moment arrives when you finish the task, overcome the trial, arrive at the destination. But there are many other inspiring messages and themes in this great book. Each reader will find their own.

Aside from the Mormon cannon of scripture, I have found this trilogy to be the most enlightening, the most inspiring, the most faith promoting book (it really is one book) I have ever read. And it contains no explicit references to religion at all! But Tolkien’s masterpiece (although he might himself claim the Silmarillion to be his masterpiece) is full of religious themes—although they are wrapped in fairy tale. Tolkien did not like allegory. But Tolkien did believe his works were ‘applicable’ to life. That’s how I read The Lord of the Rings, and I find all sorts of ways to apply the major themes to my own life.

I read The Lord of the Rings at least once a year and sometimes twice. Maybe some day I will find a new favorite.

Here are some of my favorite passages:

"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renenwed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king." A poem about Aragorn, but it presents strong imagery of another "crownless" who will come and be king.

"Fair speech may hide a foul heart." good advice in times when even the very elect are deceived.

"You can only come to the morning through the shadows."...The morning brings light and hope!

"It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them." Frodo to Sam. But for me, it applies to losing your life in service so that others may have life and enjoy life also (especially in my family.)

"It's like things are in the world. Hopes fail. An end comes. We have only a little time to wait now." This is spoken after the ring has been destroyed and Sam and Frodo are left to die on the side of Mount Doom. However, they are rescued at the last moment by Gandalph and the eagles. Professor Tolkien referred to such moments with a new word he penned: "euchatastrophy".

"Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night-sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach." This happens to Sam in Mordor. It is my experience that the Lord sends these 'tender mercy' moments to each of us in time of trial.

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Eurydice rated it:

07/04/08

The book can be said to be excellent, but with an added caveat: it is overly long. This edition includes all three Lord of the Rings books, and its size indicates the massive work undertaken by Tolkien when he sat down to fulfill ‘the desires of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story’. It is a massive undertaking for the reader as well, and despite Tolkien's remark that the book is ‘too short’, one is left with just the opposite impression.

The story could have been par...more The book can be said to be excellent, but with an added caveat: it is overly long. This edition includes all three Lord of the Rings books, and its size indicates the massive work undertaken by Tolkien when he sat down to fulfill ‘the desires of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story’. It is a massive undertaking for the reader as well, and despite Tolkien's remark that the book is ‘too short’, one is left with just the opposite impression.

The story could have been pared down in places without really losing much. Sometimes it seems to take forever for Frodo to simply walk over a hill or go to sleep. That complaint put aside, it must be added that Lord of the Rings is a truly wonderful sword-and-sorcery tale, beautifully told, and a wonderful book for lovers of fantasy fiction, and is in fact the sequel of The Hobbit.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins comes away with a magic ring that, when put on the finger, makes one invisible. That was the extent of its power until Tolkien sat down to write The Lord of the Rings. Then it is learned that this particular ring is the ring that binds other magic rings and creates, for the holder of the ‘One Ring’, the ultimate power over the entire world. It is, in other words, the Ring of Rings, and has been sought by an evil force ever since its loss many years prior to Bilbo's finding it.

The Lord of the Rings opens with Bilbo celebrating his ‘eleventy-first’, that is, his one-hundred and eleventh birthday. He chooses this birthday to pass on the Ring to Frodo, his heir. In doing so, it is Frodo who becomes the central character of the novel.

Shortly thereafter, the sorcerer Gandalf the Grey appears with vague warnings about the approach of evil encircling the power of the Ring:
“The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening....The enemy still lacks one thing to give him strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance, break the last defenses, and cover all the lands in a second darkness. He lacks the One Ring."

The ring Frodo holds must be destroyed. But the only means to destroy it is by throwing it into the depths of Mount Doom far away in the land of Mordor. The quest is set; Frodo and others, in particular another good hobbit named Sam, must set off to destroy the ring. However, danger looms ahead and many dark forces lie in their way, including the ‘Dark Riders’ or ‘Ringwraiths’ of Sauron patrolling the highways out of Hobbiton.

The true saving graces of this book are Tolkien’s astounding imagination coupled with his wonderful ability to put them in writing. Despite its length there are numerous parts where the book manages to grip the reader’s attention. A book replete with dozens of wonderfully imaginative characters and creatures, it’s easy to see why it is a fantasy classic, or as some would have it, the fantasy classic. Lord of the Rings is, when all is said and done, an amazing achievement.
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Dolly rated it:

(review of isbn 0618346244)

07/18/08

bookshelves: fantasy, thought-provoking

Read in October, 1986

recommends it for: people who read fantasy and/or philosophy

I read Lord of the Rings first when I was about eleven or so, and then stayed up all night at a hip boy/girl party in the bathroom with Nathan O. ... talking about ents and elves and whether Tom Bombadil was God. Yes, I was a geeky child. However, all these years later, the story has stuck with me.

First a warning: Don't read Tolkien if you don't appreciate true-omnicient-narrator-style epics. Tolkien isn't ...more I read Lord of the Rings first when I was about eleven or so, and then stayed up all night at a hip boy/girl party in the bathroom with Nathan O. ... talking about ents and elves and whether Tom Bombadil was God. Yes, I was a geeky child. However, all these years later, the story has stuck with me.

First a warning: Don't read Tolkien if you don't appreciate true-omnicient-narrator-style epics. Tolkien isn't a master character builder: he leaves all that to the reader's imagination. The agony in the Aragorn/Arwen romance -- so blatant and operatic in the movies -- was a longing look on Strider's face at Rivendell, an odd comment from Bilbo, and a short no-nonsense Appendix. As with many of the themes in this work, the romance and deep character relationships must be picked from between the lines.

And there is so much between the lines here. The world of Middle-earth lives, utterly lives. Instead of tugging on what-ifs, this fantasy forces readers to imagine. Tolkien's work is the fullest realization of literary world building ever penned.

It is also sophisticated writing, drawing on older forms (epic, romance, tragedy). Tolkien doesn't waste time writing snappy dialogue: the story is too epic to dwindle to individual persons. However, voice shifts subtly depending on point of view: chapters dealing with hobbits contain much more dialogue and detail; chapters dealing with Rohirrim have a poetic rhythm reminiscent of extant Middle English works; chapters dealing with elves are magic and blurry and hard to wrap a mind around. These shifts in style, far from being a novice writer's oops, are intentional and serve as mass characterisation of races and groups. So, what Tolkien foregoes in terms of dialogue he replaces with style and action: a classic example of show not tell.

Having just spouted all that praise, I have to admit that all the criticisms are true: the story does resound with Luddite anti-industrial metaphors, overt Christian themes of salvation and spirit, a structural decision to include songs that doesn't quite work, and fantasy tropes that are now cliche ... now that everyone else has copied them, that is. The thing to remember is that this book started the genre: everything fantasy, from Philip Pullman to George RR Martin, exists in the shadow of this opus.

So, no, it isn't a popcorn read. Get over it. If you invest the time and spirit to read this work, you will be glad you did....less

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Phil rated it:

(review of isbn 0618346244)

02/24/08

recommends it for: Fantasy fans, people with a fondness for language.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I'm still a bit ambiguous about The Lord of the Rings. On the one hand, it's set in a very detailed universe, without so much as an atom out of place (apart from Tom Bombadil, who was meant to be an anomaly). Everything's thought through in exhaustive detail and there is a terrific sense of time and place about the whole thing. On the other hand, it's long. I could almost say it's overlong, but then my version of this book is an enormous one-volume paperback and that could easily influ...more

I'm still a bit ambiguous about The Lord of the Rings. On the one hand, it's set in a very detailed universe, without so much as an atom out of place (apart from Tom Bombadil, who was meant to be an anomaly). Everything's thought through in exhaustive detail and there is a terrific sense of time and place about the whole thing. On the other hand, it's long. I could almost say it's overlong, but then my version of this book is an enormous one-volume paperback and that could easily influence my opinion. Although it's an exaggeration to say that Tolkien will spend a page describing a rock, there are times when that exaggeration doesn't seem all that drastic.

The books have plenty of high points. The encounters with the Ringwraiths, Saruman, Gríma and Gollum are among my favourites. The Fellowship's arduous journey through Moria is very dear to this old dungeon-crawler's heart. But at the same time there's stuff that makes me cringe.

The religious imagery might not be immediately obvious, but once you're clued into it (lembas wafers / Eucharist, Gandalf's resurrection, Gandalf calling on Théoden to cast aside his stick) it does grate a little. This might be my own personal prejudice getting in the way again, though: don't let that put you off.

Similarly, the hobbits themselves aren't really to my liking. Don't get me wrong, I like the bits of characterisation that Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Ted Sandyman and arguably Gollum get, but the rest of them? What was it Moorcock said? The only good hobbit is a roast hobbit. I'm inclined to agree. With a few brush strokes, most of them are painted as stereotypical stolid yokels who 'don't hold with wearing ironmongery, whether it wears well or no'. It's a nice line, but it's so cheesy that I could grate it up and serve it on a baked potato.

All the same, it's not a bad read. Tolkien was determined to get his vision across, took his time, and tied up all the loose ends he could. He was a man very much in love with language. It shows. Pace yourself and you may well find something to enjoy.

If you haven't the patience, though, pick up the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation. It's wonderfully acted and the late Michael Hordern is the definitive Gandalf. I'd rate it over the movies any day.

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David rated it:

07/22/08

Read in May, 1980

To even attempt to review Tolkien's epic is like measuring the coastline - the deeper you go, the more there is to find (or, as the more cynical might put it, the longer it gets.)

And it's because it is so many different stories and, indeed, types of story, all melded together into one (at times unwieldy) whole. So, for example, you can read it as a poetry book. Skip all the narrative sections and just read the verse. You'll be surprised at how much of the narrative structure remains intac...more To even attempt to review Tolkien's epic is like measuring the coastline - the deeper you go, the more there is to find (or, as the more cynical might put it, the longer it gets.)

And it's because it is so many different stories and, indeed, types of story, all melded together into one (at times unwieldy) whole. So, for example, you can read it as a poetry book. Skip all the narrative sections and just read the verse. You'll be surprised at how much of the narrative structure remains intact, and how the themes of loss, redemption, love and courage are still present. Likewise, I often tell people who got frustrated with the "hobbit stuff" at the start to skip straight past that and just read Aragorn's story instead, which is far easier to relate to.

So the shifts in tone and style are not signs of bad writing, they are deliberate echoes of the different mythic forms he used as his original model for creating the world of Middle Earth. And it's this underpinning that makes the book so special - his characters live in a world that has its own intricate mythos that they can casually refer to, almost as though they expect the reader to know the stories just as intimately. In the way that an author today could refer to, say, the story of Romeo & Juliet and expect the reader to know the basics, here Aragorn talks about Beren & Luthien in the same way - and we (as readers) realise that we have no idea who these people are - but that those characters do. And, more importantly, that that story has absolutely nothing to do (in plot terms) with the one we are reading (except insofar as establishing a parallelism for Aragorn & Arwen.)

It's a common flaw, especially in fantasy fiction, for the world to exist solely for the story that is being told; what makes Middle Earth so special is that, for all its inconsistency and implausibility, it really does have large parts of history that are nothing to do with The One Ring.

Tolkien originally set out to create a mythology for England. He ended up doing more than that - and for that we should all be grateful....less

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Natalie rated it:

12/01/07

bookshelves: couldn-t-finish, epic-fantasy, fantasy

Everything that people like about these books is pretty much what I dislike.

There's a cool story here, it's just a chore to actually get to it. I personally find Tolkien's writing to be agonizingly bland, and he is terrible at exposition -- he's always just dumping history lessons in the middle of things where they serve little purpose. Good fantasy writers drop these in unobtrusively. I don't mean to discount Tolkien's contribution to the fantasy genre -- although to be honest, I have n...more

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Eric rated it:

06/22/07

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in July, 1994

recommends it for: Gnomes

Every genre has a source. Modern Fantasy has an urtext; it is The Lord of the Rings. The act of creating a completely different world and telling a story based in that world had its apeothesis in this book. Even J. R. R. Tolkein's contemporary C. S. Lewis, with his epic The Chronicles of Narnia, was r...more

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Ahmad rated it:

03/16/08

Read in January, 2001

recommends it for: Fantasy Reader

First time I read this book, I thought that it was very very boring. Because, I read it after reading the previous story: "The Hobbit", that was very exciting for me(It's simple enough but was full of many things to be learned). But, after seeing the movie, and read It once again, I had changed my mind. It was very very great books!
The world that the writer made (in this case was Middle-Earth) was a very realistic world. It was like making own world ourselves. Maybe it was normal for...more

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Sarah rated it:

04/04/08

I have to start out by saying that this is my favorite book of all time. I’ve read it multiple times, I’ve studied it, I’ve written a paper about it, and I’ve read books about it. For some, this can be one of those life-changing books. The first time I read it, I was astounded, not simply at the story, but the incredible beauty of it. Tolkien started his long writing career by trying to create a mythology for his beloved adopted country of England. He created two languages, Sindarin and...more

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Werner rated it:

(review of isbn 0618517650)

04/26/08

bookshelves: classics, fantasy

Read in January, 1980

recommends it for: Anyone who appreciates fantasy

Actually, I read Tolkien's masterful Middle Earth fantasy corpus, beginning with The Hobbit in the early 70's and finishing the Lord of the Rings trilogy almost a decade later, before this anniversary edition came out. (I also read all four books to my wife in the early 80's; she loved them too!)

This body of work is, of course, the genre-defining classic of modern fantasy --especially epic, or "high" fantasy -- which popularized the genre as the publishing market for...more

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Jon rated it:

(review of isbn 0618346244)

06/29/07

Read in January, 1985

recommends it for: Everyone

LOTR has its faults, yes: it can be excessively descriptive; female characters (even the important ones) aren't as fully fleshed-out and realized as male characters (Arwen spends most of the books making a flag); Gandalf annoyingly and constantly points out how everyone else's decisions are wrong; the refusal to interweave chapter-by-chapter the stories of Frodo & Sam with the stories of everyone else results in literally hundreds of pages going by without mention of the majority of t...more

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Paul rated it:

09/30/07

Read in September, 1982

J.R.R. Tolkien has received so much attention over the last several years that it is becoming a popular sport to claim a dislike for his works. The title of "Father" of modern fantasy fits him well and anyone who has such unmitigated success is bound to attract a significant number of naysayers.

For my own taste I find Tolkien to be charming and delightful, the stereotypical English county gentleman. His work is well crafted, the storyline is one that easily suspends disbelief. Tha...more

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Tim rated it:

12/17/07

Read in April, 2001

recommends it for: Everyone on Earth

What can I say. It has all been said before. The greatest work of fiction ever written? Lots of poeple seem to think so, I'm inclined to agree although being fair a lot of people haven't read every work of fiction ever created, so really, it's a bit biased, because as we all know once something gets a certain amount of fame then really, there's no stopping it. Just look at Paris Hilton.

But really this deserves to be loved (whereas Paris deserves to be unilaterally censored by media agenci...more

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Brownie rated it:

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