Reviews

Gandalf is back on his bullshit at the start of this book, having discovered the secrets of The Ring and enlisted another poor hobbit to do his bidding, this time departing on a quest to save the world from the forces of The Enemy. He has discovered that Bilbo’s ring is, indeed, the one ring Saruman forged granting him power and dominion overall. Frodo agrees to take the ring and leave The Shire at Gandalf’s behest, and departs with his friends Sam, Merry, and Pippin to meet up with Gandalf along the way to better understand his quest. But Gandalf doesn’t come, and the hobbits are chased by fearsome black riders across the land. These Black Riders, or Ringwraiths are looking for Frodo and the ring. The hobbits meet the Ranger, Aragorn, friend of Gandalf, who helps them on their journey, and they are ultimately reunited with Gandalf at the council of Elrond. The council agrees that the ring must be destroyed, and Frodo agrees to bring it to the fires of Mordor, thus ending the ring. A company of nine is sent to aid him on this journey. The company travels across the land; losing Gandalf as he saves them all from a Balrog; running from orcs; and keeping company with elves. The company reaches the Pillars of the Kings, and Frodo realizes he must face the rest of this journey alone. He cannot subject his friends to their sure death, and greed and lust for the ring is already sewing dissension among the rest of the company. Sam and Frodo depart in secret, ready to face the rest of their journey alone.

What a story! Tolkien’s writing, use of descriptive language, and limitless imagination breathe life into an already fascinating story. He has built up such strong characters, and set the foundation for a fantastic remainder of the series.

Hobbits, yet again, prove to be a source of levity in these books, and Tolkien continues to provide humorous commentary, as if he himself is personally telling us the story as it unfolds.

I can see from what I have already read why he is widely regarded as the father of fantasy. Looking forward to the remainder of the lord of the rings!

readingamber's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

scrubjayspeaks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

joanybaloney's review against another edition

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2.0

Oh my gosh. This may be the first time I preferred the movie to the book - besides Mary Poppins.

I don't get it. I like fantasy. (Or so I thought.) I loved The Hobbit. But The Fellowship of the Ring was so boring. I ended up reading and re-reading the same passages over and over again (and still not getting what was going on). I like poems. (Or so I thought.) But every time a new song or verse came up I groaned inwardly and steeled myself mentally for the challenge of getting through.

The pacing was slow, the nature-related escapades were torturous, and Tom Bombadil? What the hell was up with him? I kept expecting him to morph into an evil being and gobble up the hobbits. I also wanted to slap him in the face and knee him in the groin every time he burst into song. In fact, that imagery was my only moment of pleasure that spurred me through the first half of this volume.

Despite the massive respect I have for Tolkien and the literary world he created, the obvious care and precision he takes with his creations, and the generations of fans he inspired, I think I was just expecting something different. I may prefer fantasy light to deep fantasy! The horror.

Taking a break before I continue on with The Two Towers.

st_urmer's review against another edition

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5.0

June 2022- Third read of this. My appreciation grows with reach rereading. I first read it for a class in 1987 or so. I then read it to the kids in 2013. Now I am reading the trilogy for myself and am happily getting lost in it.

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