Patricia Hamill's Blog: I read too much! - Posts Tagged "hobbits"

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Fellowship of the Ring is an epic fantasy set in Middle Earth starring hobbits, dwarves, elves and even a few men.

I love this story. I remember the first time I read it, at twelve. It took me three days to get through the Hobbit and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. All I did was eat, sleep, and read.

I remember the chills that ran down my spine as Frodo and Sam first hid from the mysterious black riders (Ringwraiths) as they raced through the Shire and later on the road to Rivendell. The simple ring of invisibility (from The Hobbit) having taken on a dark purpose and the formation of the fellowship of the ring to take it into the very heart of Mordor captured my mind and drew me on.

The characters, the places and the enemies are what make the story so memorable to me. So I wanted to list each below with a brief description (most are spoilers if you haven't read this before, but probably not that bad if you've seen the movie).


The fellowship:

(view spoiler)[Gandalf the Grey, powerful wizard who still suffers the self-doubt and worry that plague all mankind.
Strider, mysterious ranger who both fears and desires to take on the responsiblities cast upon him by his sires.
Gimli, dwarf from the Lonely Mountain on a personal quest to discover the fate of Balin and his crew who disappeared into the Mines of Moria never to be seen again.
Legolas, the woodelf from Mirkwood, who comes to Rivendell to report the loss of the prisoner Gollum.
Boromir of Gondor, who sees in the ring a chance to turn the tides against the darkness in Mordor.
Merry and Pippin, Frodo's dear friends who conspire to join him in his quest before they know what it is, simply because he is their friend. They come as a pair until their paths diverge in the later books.
Sam Gamgee, Frodo's gardener and loyal companion who is determined to help his master succeed in his quest and make it back to the Shire alive.
And, of course, Frodo Baggins himself, Bilbo's heir, who volunteers to take the ring and destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom, "though he doesn't know the way," although he does know there is every chance he will not survive the attempt. (hide spoiler)]


The places:

(view spoiler)[The Shire, the ideallic home of the hobbits, neverchanging, peaceful, and pure.
The Old Forest, borders The Shire and home of vindictive willow trees with mesmerizing voices, but also home of the jovial Tom Bombadil and his lovely Goldberry, the river daughter, who help the hobbits reach Bree in one piece.
Bree, an outpost community where hobbits and men live together in peace, where the Butterbur, the forgetful barman, redeams himself.
Rivendell, home of elves and the Lord Elrond, half-elven, and his daughter Arwen Evenstar (recently arrived from Lothlorien), the last homely home.
The Mines of Moria, deeply delved, filled with orcs and something much, much worse.
Lothlorien, the golden wood, home of the elves and the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn. The Lady keeping secret one of the three elven rings of old.
The Great River, Anduin, the last road of the fellowship before it is sundered for good or ill. (hide spoiler)]


The enemies:

(view spoiler)[Ringwraiths, nine ancient kings of men who were seduced by the power of their rings under the One Ring. They are no more than shadows of their former selves, though the beasts they ride are real enough.
Sauron, the ancient enemy who gained power under the dark eaves of Mirkwood before being driven out and returning to Mordor to cast his shadow over the entire world.
Gollum, scrawny, pathetic former owner of the ring who desires and fears it more than anything else.
Saruman the White (Saruman of Many Colors), the leader of the white council who studied the darkness too closely, becoming it's servant.
Birds, ominous clouds of fowl who spy for the enemy. No place open to the sky is safe from their piercing eyes.
Wolves and Wargs, minions of Saruman who hunt the fellowship and drive them into the Mines.
Orcs and Trolls, dwellers in dark places and servants of the enemy, they are numerous and foul and always seem to turn up at the worst times. (hide spoiler)]

Besides the awesomeness, there are a few things to consider (though they don't change my rating):
One, the songs are lengthy, numerous and everywhere. Not too bad in print because you have the option to skim past (though I think it worth it to read them all at least once), but I hear you have no choice but to listen to all of them in the audiobook. However, I do have a favorite among them: the longform version of Hey Diddle Diddle, which I believe comes along in the town of Bree.

Two, this is a long book, purposely so according to the note from Tolkien in the frontmatter of the book. His goal was to write a long book, and he succeeded. But he did it well, so that doesn't bother me. Considering some of the epic fantasies written since whose individual books are longer than the entire combined Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I don't think they're too long.

Three, there is no three. I like everything else.

I recommend this to anyone, preferably in print. If you find you can't tackle the book, go see the movie. It's not an exact match, but it definitely channels the best of Tolkien in a format most can enjoy.








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The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Two Towers is the second book in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings. The story picks up right after the Fellowship tasked with destroying Sauron's One Ring parts ways for good.

First up, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli set out to rescue Merry and Pippin, who were taken by the orcs of Saruman at the end of the previous book. Running for three days, they encounter Eomer of the Rohirim (or Riders of Rohan) who inform them that the orcs have been slain and no hobbits spotted. In return for a promise to return them, the three companions borrow three riderless horses to complete their journey to Fangorn Forrest hoping against all odds that Merry and Pippen live.

Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin are in the clutches of the evil orcs of Saruman and are dismayed when they are joined by orcs from Mordor. They rest on the edge of a knife as the two factions argue and posture for control of the valuable hobbits, not to mention the occasional reminder that the orcs wouldn't mind finding out what roast hobbit tastes like. Despite their predicament, one of them drops tokens along the way for their friends to find and when the Riders attack, manage a narrow escape, only to meat the mysterious Treebeard (whose official name is Fangorn). Their story and the actions of Saruman inflame the normally mellow ent and they go to war.

This half of the book continues with the two parties embroiled in their separate battles against the forces of Saruman the White.

The second half of the book returns the story to Frodo and Sam shortly after they slip away from the Fellowship. They quickly realize they have no idea how to get to Mordor, and even if they do, they have little chance of reaching it let alone making their way past its borders. Soon evidence of pursuit arises and Frodo and Sam suspect Gollum has picked up their trail. Sam captures Gollum shortly afterwards, earning his eternal hatred, but Frodo convinces the miserable creature to join with them and show them the way into Mordor.

Later, the trio meet Boromir's brother, Faramir of Gondor. Faramir cautions them against trusting their guide but ultimately allows them to continue their journey into darkness.

Throughout the second half of the book, my favorite element is the rising duality of Gollum's personality: Smeagol vs. Gollum. Gollum, an obsessed and devious creature who craves The Ring like a fish craves water, and Smeagol, starved for love and almost remembering the person he used to be before the ring. Pledging loyalty on the precious, Smeagol fawns upon Frodo while Sam looks on suspiciously, but Gollum refuses to be forgotten and slowly corrupts the nearly redeemed Smeagol.

The story is action packed, the characters fascinating and larger than life and the battles intense, but one of the things that always makes me think is the title, The Two Towers. Which two towers? Based on the cover of my movie tie-in edition, the answer is simple: Orthanc (Saruman's tower in Isengard) and Barad-dur (Sauron's tower in Mordor). The two play a huge part in the first half of the book as Saruman makes a play for power by sending his orcs after the hobbits and when that fails by sending his hordes to attack the Riders of Rohan. At the close of the battle, the eye of Sauron is drawn to Pippin through Saruman's orb, setting off the push into Gondor featured in The Return of the King.

However, the second half of the book focuses on two different towers: Minus Tirith and Minus Morgul. Minus Tirith guards the lands of men from the might of Mordor. Minus Morgul, its twin, guards the pass into Mordor and is home to the dreaded King of the Ringwraiths. As Frodo and Sam near Minus Morgul and the secret way that Gollum leads them towards, the two towers, light and dark, are compared and contrasted and the tragic history of Minus Morgul is revealed.

The rich world of Middle Earth, the intricately woven history, and the struggles and victories of the shattered Fellowship are the epitome of epic fantasy. Tolkien is a master of his art.



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The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Riveting conclusion of epic proportions...

Return of the King begins with the Gondor story line where The Two Towers leaves off. Sauron's eye is focused on the city and his forces are gathering for a final strike. Ringwraiths, men, ogres, orcs and trolls are on the move. In Gondor, Faramir struggles to gain the acceptance of his father, Denethor. The young hobbit, Pippin, swears fealty to Denethor on a whim and soon finds himself garbed as a soldier of Minus Tirith. As Denethor loses his grasp on reality, Pippin must decide whether to stay true to his oath or true to his conscious.

Likewise, Merry has sworn his services to the King of Rohan. But the King, unlike Denethor, does not want his small vassal in harms way and decides to leave him behind. His plight is noticed by another who would also fight, despite being told to stay behind, and the two join up and follow together, a decision that just might mean the difference between victory and defeat in the final battle.

Meanwhile, Sam and Frodo continue their desperate journey into Mordor. Frodo grows ever weaker under the weight of the Ring and the eye of the Dark Lord. Sam, for loyalty and love of his Master, gives up his portion of the rations and carries Frodo, at some points literally, towards the final goal. Soon, they realize that this mission will likely be the end of them, even if they succeed in destroying the ring.

I absolutely love The Return of the King. The world is beautifully described, the emotions of love, fear and loyalty are expertly derived, and the story is exciting. The final scene at Mount Doom is one of the most exciting conclusions of any book I've ever read (though about 100 pages of wrap-up remain at that point).

To be balanced, I must admit that the story gets a bit wordy (or a lot wordy, depending on your point of view). Also, I don't care for the poems and songs that the characters sometimes break into, though they are easy to skim past. Luckily, this final installment in the trilogy seems to go light on the poetry.

Unlike others, I won't denounce the movie. I think it's an excellent way to enjoy the story, especially for those with neither the time nor the patience to tackle this classic story. I will say that folks who only see the movie will miss out on the hobbits' epic return to the Shire and the associated battle that the movie skipped.

All in all, The Lord of the Rings is truly an epic fantasy, and for some, like me, it is the gateway to a lifelong love of the genre.



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