Scan barcode
dayoldtea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As someone who had been raised on Tamora Pierce and who read her first N.K. Jemisin when I was 15, Tolkien seemed quaint and outdated to me. I wanted to understand it and be in on the fandom - people seemed to be having fun! - but it wasn't clicking for me and I never could get past the first ~150 pages. The movies came out slightly too early for me to imprint on them (though I did marathon the extended editions with friends as a teenager). I can now report that Tolkien is indeed quaint and outdated - but nevertheless charming and a fun time if you reset your expectations. The problem was that I expected Serious Epic Fantasy when I previously attempted to read this series. While there are Serious Epic Fantasy moments, this world is GOOFY and a playground for a fiddly old academic to dump his pet languages and lore.
LOTR: Rings of Power has made me invested in understanding the world and has given me space to appreciate the original trilogy despite my critiques (seriously, we've met 4 women so far and none of them feel like real people [bitchy hobbit aunt, Goldberry, Arwen, Galadriel]).
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and War
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
cursed10fold's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Ableism and Fatphobia
anjasshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Confinement and Grief
Minor: Slavery and Injury/Injury detail
celery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
katrina_golov's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: War
julianh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: War
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
hjb_128's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
annapox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Minor: Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
noellegrace8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Rob Inglis, the narrator, also gets 5/5.
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Racism, Torture, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
As this is fantasy, some of these mild warnings are metaphorical rather than literal. For example, I included "racism" in the mild section because the different races of Middle Earth, particularly elves and dwarves, have preconceived biases toward one another that lead to animosity and contention.