The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King. It takes place in the fictional universe of Middle-earth. It was originally published on 29 July 1954 in the United Kingdom. The volume consists of a foreword, in which the author discusses his writing of The Lord of the Rings, a prologue titled "Concerning Hobbits, and other matters", and the main narrative in Book I and Book II.
Other than that, I don't have any complaints, and it's one of my favorite series
“The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien is a book that is meant to be enjoyed slowly (but not too slowly). This is the second time that I have read the novel. The difference between the first and the second time is that when I first read the novel, I read it in the aftermath of the films. The films loomed so large over my teenage existence and you really could not get away from them. I started reading the novel and I got through the first half. Then I watched films and became annoyed at the novel because it the narrative was not linear and the images in the book did not match the ones in the film. I am saddened today by this fact – I remember the images in my mind from my reading of the first half without the film influencing my imagination. I also …
“The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien is a book that is meant to be enjoyed slowly (but not too slowly). This is the second time that I have read the novel. The difference between the first and the second time is that when I first read the novel, I read it in the aftermath of the films. The films loomed so large over my teenage existence and you really could not get away from them. I started reading the novel and I got through the first half. Then I watched films and became annoyed at the novel because it the narrative was not linear and the images in the book did not match the ones in the film. I am saddened today by this fact – I remember the images in my mind from my reading of the first half without the film influencing my imagination. I also read the novel for the first time over the course of three years where I would pick up one book, read it for it a bit, then set it aside for a few weeks. Because of this, I don’t think I considered the novel as a single work. And I think my reading was a bit unfair.
This time, I picked up the book because I wanted to have something that had nothing to do with my academic work – I wanted a book to get lost in. I had not watched films in years and so I thought that I might finally have enough distance to give the book another goes. I had two stipulations when reading it: I would read it in a single-volume edition and I would read it more quickly than before. I moved along steadily and read consistently but I found my second reading was a revelation. It took my about six months to reach the end of the journey. How do I feel? In a film, you can see the forest. It is immense and grand. But in the novel, you see the trees, you feel the texture of the bark, the glow of the leaves. It is the details of this novel which make it breathtaking—the imagination of one man enveloped in a world of his own creation. A mark of this prodigious imagination is how a single word or name could be underpinned by complex and well-rendered backstories. The novel is enjoyable if not the best written work but it is the work going on behind everything that makes the work truly shine. I bow to Tolkien’s joy and his craft. I recommend reading the physical book. It is not the same as reading an electronic copy. I also recommend simple going slow and savoring the details. But one should be careful not to good too slowly and get caught up in those details—leave some of them for a subsequent reading! The novel has much more coherence than I remember from my first reading. To read such a long work at a steady pace is an exercise in patience but one I think is well-worth the effort.
You may notice that I have not really described the content of the novel. I think that would take too long and do a disservice to the reader. Go, pick it up with no expectations and enjoy the journey.
I was having a bad day, then i remembered this comes out in 5 months and suddenly i have a reason to live again.
And oh my fucking god, when did the cover reveal happen??
Edit: the cover on Bancroft's website is absolutely gorgeous (as expected from this artist), why is it different from the one on here?
favorite novel of all time. better than any other fantasy world imo. Tolkein is a mastermind.
Dear Gandalf,
Noooooooooooo!
just beginning the journey of an epic adventure read of a great perilous journey.
Some would say it has a slow placing, but for me it was more of a steady world building.
Paths are getting darker and the story more gripping.
As it is not a book with a complete story in itself, I shall only fully review it after finishing all the volumes of this epic trilogy.
Onto the next one, The Two Towers.
Dear Gandalf,
Noooooooooooo!
(Note: review based on one of numerous rereading of the book.)
What started out as a request for another story about hobbits (after the success of "The Hobbit") grew in the telling until it became an epic tale about the quest to destroy the One Ring of Sauron; and how it was the 'least of heroes', unlooked-for even by the wise, would prove to be one to fulfil the quest and free Middle-Earth from domination by the Dark Lord.
This book has been released in many editions and in many forms over the years. The one I read was a one-volume edition that celebrates the birth of J.R.R. Tolkien and includes fifty paintings specially commissioned from artist Alan Lee.
Reading it now after watching the Peter Jackson films, it is easy to put the actors in the film into the scenes from the book, modified by the illustrations of Alan …
(Note: review based on one of numerous rereading of the book.)
What started out as a request for another story about hobbits (after the success of "The Hobbit") grew in the telling until it became an epic tale about the quest to destroy the One Ring of Sauron; and how it was the 'least of heroes', unlooked-for even by the wise, would prove to be one to fulfil the quest and free Middle-Earth from domination by the Dark Lord.
This book has been released in many editions and in many forms over the years. The one I read was a one-volume edition that celebrates the birth of J.R.R. Tolkien and includes fifty paintings specially commissioned from artist Alan Lee.
Reading it now after watching the Peter Jackson films, it is easy to put the actors in the film into the scenes from the book, modified by the illustrations of Alan Lee of the various places in Middle-Earth. And after all these years, the words in the book still have the 'power' to bring the reader to Middle-Earth and put you in the footsteps of the Fellowship of the Ring as they strive to do what they can to thwart the plans of Sauron and distract him for the peril that is slowly entering his stronghold on hobbit feet.
Let's be real, I'm never finishing this series and I just need to accept that. I love the lore and the world. I love the stories. But I HATE the prose. I'll stick to the extended versions of the films, thank you.
In 1980 Heinlein published a novel called The Number of the Beast. It involved parallel universes, The World as Fiction, and dragged in Lazarus Long, as Heinlein seemed to do in most of his later books. While parts of it were fun, it was also confusing and disjointed in my opinion. I will read any Heinlein for the writing alone, so I am a fan (in fact, I was for a time the webmaster for The Heinlein Society), but I can see that some of his stuff is better than others. So when I heard there was an alternate version of this novel, I had to check it out. And The Pursuit of the Pankera keeps the same basic setting and has the same beginning as The Number of the Beast, but I think it is much better. The plot is a lot more cohesive and the novel just flows …
In 1980 Heinlein published a novel called The Number of the Beast. It involved parallel universes, The World as Fiction, and dragged in Lazarus Long, as Heinlein seemed to do in most of his later books. While parts of it were fun, it was also confusing and disjointed in my opinion. I will read any Heinlein for the writing alone, so I am a fan (in fact, I was for a time the webmaster for The Heinlein Society), but I can see that some of his stuff is better than others. So when I heard there was an alternate version of this novel, I had to check it out. And The Pursuit of the Pankera keeps the same basic setting and has the same beginning as The Number of the Beast, but I think it is much better. The plot is a lot more cohesive and the novel just flows in way the previous didn't. This is the one I will reread in the future. And as a huge fan of the Lensman universe the part of the book that goes there was quite a treat. For those who don't know, the idea of The World as Fiction is that fictional worlds are real in other universes, so the characters here visit Barsoom, Oz, and the Lensman universe. Tons of fun.
There is nothing hard about it if you are able to follow instructions that the author has laid out for you.
Third time re-reading this and it gets better each time. The perfect way to cap off my goal of reading 100 books this year.
As with the other books I really liked it—at least the story bits of Volume 5 and 6. It is great to see how closely the movies followed the books.
After that, some of the appendixes are interesting, but some are not really easy reads.
I am glad that after 20 years of lingering on my to-read list I finally managed to finish this series.
Professor Aldous Crane, knowledgeable about the occult, but a skeptic, is called to retrieve some rare bottles from a fanatic wine collector's cellar. With an exceptionally well-done ambience and a strong narrative voice, the book manages to be entertaining, funny, and chilling at times.
The plot itself is relatively simple and linear, with flashbacks of Aldous' life intertwined into the main narrative. Still, the descriptions are nicely done in a way that creates tension, anticipation, and suspense. The flashbacks are quite entertaining and serve as a way to back up Aldous characterization.
The Professor is the main character and the most well-developed one. The dialogues do a great job of characterizing him, and he was quite funny at times. Boudin, the wine collector, is the only other character we get to know, and his past is mysterious, weird enough to give him a dangerous and enigmatic aura, without going too …
Professor Aldous Crane, knowledgeable about the occult, but a skeptic, is called to retrieve some rare bottles from a fanatic wine collector's cellar. With an exceptionally well-done ambience and a strong narrative voice, the book manages to be entertaining, funny, and chilling at times.
The plot itself is relatively simple and linear, with flashbacks of Aldous' life intertwined into the main narrative. Still, the descriptions are nicely done in a way that creates tension, anticipation, and suspense. The flashbacks are quite entertaining and serve as a way to back up Aldous characterization.
The Professor is the main character and the most well-developed one. The dialogues do a great job of characterizing him, and he was quite funny at times. Boudin, the wine collector, is the only other character we get to know, and his past is mysterious, weird enough to give him a dangerous and enigmatic aura, without going too overboard to risk disbelief. Other characters serve as a great way to enhance both Boudin and Aldous' characters and history but are not really developed further than that.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like a read with a great and chilling ambience. It is a bit short but feels like the right length for the story that is being told. The narrative has some humour intertwined that works really well to give some laughs between the tension — all in all, an entertaining read.
No sound should be there when you're alone."
I forgot that Number of the Beast was my least favorite Heinlein...well, now it's tied for last place.
A whole lot of singing, walking, and hungry hobbits.
This is the first book I've read in 2020, the year I have the goal of reading longer books and those that intimidate me. I've read the Hobbit twice, once in fifth grade and then again last year, and I think it's a fun story, but I've never read the Lord of the Rings and haven't read much high fantasy.
I read this front to back, including the foreward and prologue - this made me very concerned that this book would be incredibly dry. It is noted that the trilogy is an attempt at "a really long story that would hold the attention of readers." Thankfully the meat of the story is usually not very dry.
I feel it reads well going into it thinking it will read like a DnD campaign rather than a "typical" novel - there are long journeys, battles, moments of rest, and I can imagine …
This is the first book I've read in 2020, the year I have the goal of reading longer books and those that intimidate me. I've read the Hobbit twice, once in fifth grade and then again last year, and I think it's a fun story, but I've never read the Lord of the Rings and haven't read much high fantasy.
I read this front to back, including the foreward and prologue - this made me very concerned that this book would be incredibly dry. It is noted that the trilogy is an attempt at "a really long story that would hold the attention of readers." Thankfully the meat of the story is usually not very dry.
I feel it reads well going into it thinking it will read like a DnD campaign rather than a "typical" novel - there are long journeys, battles, moments of rest, and I can imagine the successes, twists and turns, and failures as being controlled by a roll of the dice. (I'm not sure how typical this is for fantasy.)
There are slow moments, a lot of songs, and a lot of names of places and people, but I really enjoyed the importance of nature and the merging of human-like beings with the natural world.
Maybe it's just my current priorities in life that have colored my reading, but there were strong themes of stewardship of the land and immersion into nature. Nature is neither good nor evil in this text, rather it's shaped by the people around it. When nurtured and tended to such as Tom Bombadil and Galadriel have done, the land is abundant and nuturing back. In other regions, there is no steward for the land, and it is wild and is neither kind nor harsh.
The corrupt and imperialistc forces destory the natural world. Sam has visions of trees being felled in the Shire and smoke pouring out from a new brick building and he wishes to be home to protect it. Sam is also the character who is gifted soil with which he can garden when his journey is over. (And presumably rebuild.)
I wasn't really expecting the strength of this message of the goodness of working with the land to create bounty rather than its neglect and/or exploitation for one's personal power and gain. This message was a nice surprise because it isn't very well conveyed in the movies.
Overall, a different type of reading experience, but I enjoyed it.
