The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) in Nerds & Encrenqueiros

Nov 30, 2022 Lanko rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, 2022

I tried reading it multiple times, but only this year (after probably a decade trying - and this volume over two years) I managed to pass through Bombadil's parts and then things proceeded smoothly.

I was never much of a LOTR fan, having only watched the movies back then and knowing very little of the lore. Recently Lord of the Rings returned to proeminence thanks to Amazon.
Unfortunately the show for me was utterly terrible.

Then I discovered there were actually Extended versions of the movie (mor I tried reading it multiple times, but only this year (after probably a decade trying - and this volume over two years) I managed to pass through Bombadil's parts and then things proceeded smoothly.

I was never much of a LOTR fan, having only watched the movies back then and knowing very little of the lore. Recently Lord of the Rings returned to proeminence thanks to Amazon.
Unfortunately the show for me was utterly terrible.

Then I discovered there were actually Extended versions of the movie (more than 3h each). I rewatched them and was amazed at how good they still are and how they hold despite being ~20 years ago. Watching them felt like taking a hot shower after seeing Rings of Power.

Then I picked up the book again. This time it was nice to know more details - the Council of Elrond part is more complex and addresses a lot of things that were left out of the movie (and shouldn't have), like why not giving the Fellowship more warriors and allowing Pippin and Merry to go.
Some things the movie really changed for the better, like the Gandalf-Saruman meeting is just a short exposition in the book, but the movie really brings such an important moment to life by showing it, and moving it back in the timeline as well.

Credit to Rings of Power, characters like Elendil and Celebrimbor showing up, and places like Numenór and Eregion having some visuals actually helps with the book as it frequenly mentions "the heir of Elendil", what Celebrimbor did, "the old glory of Numenór" and so on, which coming first into the books may just look like a list of backstory characters and places which can drag, but now I could visualize it with a better understanding of things.

Another great thing with the book is the care with supplies and distances. After seeing everyone in the recent show completely disregard distances, walk on foot ridiculous distances without carrying supplies, blankets and arriving with the same clothes they left, it was actually refreshing to see the care with these things in the book.

I usually get bored when characters keep traveling and camping and considering the logistics of it. But seeing the show and how the quality of the story also drops dramatically when you just shrug off and ignore these things made me appreciate these aspects much more.

Another big difference from the movies are the mines of Moria, my favourite part. In the movie it's a quick tour, but in the books it really shows how massive the dwarven civilization was, as the Fellowship actually spent WEEKS in those mines.

Some parts, specially some dialogue, can feel dated. But most of the writing still hold phenomenally well, and I liked how Frodo looks much more proactive and thoughtful, as the movies sometimes doesn't really show this (sometimes I even got annoyed at Frodo in the movies).

Gimli is also substantially different in the book, offering more insight and having more to say, while having been reduced to comic relief in the movies, a true crime. Aragorn, however, so far for me felt better in the movies than in the book. Legolas actually doesn't have a quiver with infinite arrows, he has to scavenge the field for some!

Onwards to The Two Towers! ...more

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