The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) in J.R.R. Tolkien Epic Reads

Dec 30, 2017 RM(Alwaysdaddygirl) rated it it was amazing

Reread.

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Mar 20, 2018 Carolyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, classics, fantasy, witches-warlocks-magic, books-read-2018

5 stars.

Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

The Lord of the Rings has always been on my to-be-read list but I never got around to picking it up. I had always planned on reading the trilogy before watching the movies but it just did not happen that way. Me and my boyfriend watched the trilogy a few weeks back and I instantly fell in love. I ha 5 stars.

Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

The Lord of the Rings has always been on my to-be-read list but I never got around to picking it up. I had always planned on reading the trilogy before watching the movies but it just did not happen that way. Me and my boyfriend watched the trilogy a few weeks back and I instantly fell in love. I had never seen them before since I was too young when they were released. Also, the length of the movies always was a turn off for me...which is funny because now I love the extended versions of the film way more than the theatrical releases even if they add an extra 45 minutes to the viewing time!

But anyway... so I LOVED the films and instantly wanted to read the book. I have finished the first in the trilogy and I honestly do not understand all of the criticism it receives. I found the book to be quiet exciting and loved reading the parts that were left out or changed in the movies. I actually think that because I watched all three films multiple times and watched various youtube videos on various elements within Middle Earth that it made my reading experience way more enjoyable than if I had went into the novel blind. I would recommend that people be some what familiar with Tolkien's world before jumping into this epic trilogy.

I adored the parts with Gandalf in the beginning as well as how Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin came together to venture on the quest. Aragorn's character in the book is perfect and Viggo did an excellent job at bringing him to life in the movies.

If epic/high fantasy does not interest you, then I would not recommend this book to you. If you don't enjoy high quality world building, then I would not recommend this book to you. To me, it is a quick paced exciting story but is written very different from how books are written today. There is a lot of 'info-dumping' (which I loved) but understand others may not. To others, the world building is excessive and unnecessary to the plot, and I disagree completely. Tolkien set out to create a world as real as the one we currently live in, and I believe he accomplished that and love all the extra bits of history and lore thrown in to the novel.

This has become quickly become one of my new favorites! LOTR is a classic and I cannot wait to continue on with The Two Towers and The Return of the King ...more

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Feb 28, 2022 Tara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, tolkien, mythgard-academy

I generally tend to write reviews as much for myself as for potential readers or other fans. They serve to remind future me what I particularly loved or disliked about the book, or what had affected me most while reading it. This is why I find it so difficult to write reviews for books that were just middling to me. What is there to say in that case? But I struggle to write a review for The Lord of the Rings for entirely different reasons.

I first encountered this saga not through the books, but I generally tend to write reviews as much for myself as for potential readers or other fans. They serve to remind future me what I particularly loved or disliked about the book, or what had affected me most while reading it. This is why I find it so difficult to write reviews for books that were just middling to me. What is there to say in that case? But I struggle to write a review for The Lord of the Rings for entirely different reasons.

I first encountered this saga not through the books, but the Peter Jackson films. I'm not really much of a fantasy reader and hadn't heard of Tolkien in my teenage years. But to say that I was obsessed with the films is an understatement. I have seen them countless times (extended version only please), as well as the hours of behind-the-scenes content. I recently re-watched Fellowship, and while it still holds up 20 years later, the impact is no longer the same. Why you ask? Well, having read the books many times over the years, you tend to see where they went wrong. And here I don't mean the excising of Tom Bombadil or making Frodo much younger and naiver. I feel as though they missed the real strength and beauty within the spirituality of the world. Despair and hope, falling to temptation and then finding redemption, leaning into the fortitude that faith can provide when you yourself have none, how good ultimately wins out over evil because God's plan cannot be overthrown. Those are the hallmarks of these books for me. And reading them has fundamentally changed my life. It sounds hyperbolic, but it is nonetheless true. How can one adequately "review" such a book? There doesn't seem to be much point really, other than perhaps to help me crystallize my thoughts and feelings into more coherent ideas.

Like so many other readers, I feel as though I could live in this world, and I didn't want the book to end. This book is a comfort to me when I need to find a place of solace. I often fall asleep listening to it, as I find it rhythmic and calming. I haven't read it cover to cover for a few years now but moving forward I intend to read it every year, just as Christopher Lee did, as you can never read this book too many times. Every time you read a book you can discover something new about it. Something that strikes you in particular due to your mood or what may be going on in your life that time. Or perhaps you are just attending to different parts more closely and catching bits that you had skimmed over in the past.

So, what struck me most forcefully in this reading? Sam is far and away my favorite character in The Lord of the Rings. He is perhaps best known for his qualities of loyalty and steadfastness, literally carrying Frodo when he could no longer go on. But there is so much more to him than just that. He is also highly perceptive and sensitive. I was touched by the times when Sam openly wept, once when they had to leave behind Bill the Pony outside the gates of Moira, and then when Frodo was determined to abandon him, along with the rest of the Fellowship, to carry on with his burden alone. Far too often in modern times, tears are seen as weakness, or a lack of masculinity. But I see it as a sign of openness. Sam lives his life out in the open. He feels what he feels, and he says what is on his mind. And I think this clarity and openness gives him a sense of peace that no one else in the Fellowship seems to have. It is remarked time and time again how sound and untroubled his sleep is. While others lie awake or have nightmares that haunt them, Sam is dead to the world. I also don't know that I ever noticed before how he single-handedly saves Frodo from the Watcher in the Water. He sprang to action while everyone else was frozen in horror and dread. Quite a mighty soul in such a small (yet sturdy) body. My favorite part of the trilogy as a whole is the journey of Sam and Frodo in Mordor, but I will save my thoughts on that for when I get to The Return of the King (or The War of the Ring as the professor would have had it).

I have so much more I could say about this book, but I think I will leave things here. Until next year at least... ...more

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Feb 07, 2019 Nickleby rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: for-addy, classics, epics

Can be a bit of a trudge at times. But journey is incredible. And the mythologies are remarkable.

I find no reason to judge or choose between the book & the film. Sure there are differences. But overall I think both are equally enjoyable & entertaining in their own right.

Other than aforementioned the occasional trudging, the main faults, I see, are 1) the simple Dualism, but tis is the story &, the more grievous 2) the near complete absence of female characters, which is down right hilarious, sad ...more

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