missbrookss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
adventure_on_every_page's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
sonofatreus's review against another edition
4.0
This is an odd collection. The title really does say it all: it's a set of unfinished stories about Númenor and Middle-Earth. But what that actually means varies pretty widely throughout the volume. In some cases, it's pretty extended narratives (I think the longest is around 100 pages), with characters and plots and whole story arcs. In other cases, it's more or less notes about the history of various people or things within Middle-Earth, such as a topography of Númenor or the origins of Istari. In the less developed bits, Christopher Tolkien has his own commentary (and occasionally chimes in for the longer narratives too), about the nature of the manuscripts and how/whether the scraps can square with what was previously published. These interjections could be pretty interesting because they help to outline Tolkien's thought process as he developed characters or stories. It is a little odd, though, because Christopher Tolkien almost treats it all as historical fact (i.e., some things are true and some are not) rather than all fictive creation, but I suppose that makes sense. Then there are the endnotes at the end of each story. These are usually how each story ties in to other published works, including their appendices. I can't say I read every endnote, not least because endnotes are evil, but they aren't exactly the most exciting either.
The stories themselves are broken up into four parts: the First Age; the Second Age; the Third Age; and then the Drúedain, Istari, and Palantíri. I think I've learned about myself that I really don't like how Tolkien does early history. Between this and The Silmarillion, I don't care much for the First Age or even much for the Second. There were some stories in each that bored me practically to tears. Once it got to the Third Age though, I was really into it. These are also the less developed of the bunch, with plenty of gaps and missing text (though much of it is covered in The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. If the entire volume had been in the First and Second Ages, I'd probably give it a 2 or 3 star rating; if it were just the Third Age and the Drúedain, Istari, and Palantíri, I'd give it 4.5 or 5 stars. In the spirit of fellowship, I'd give it a modest 3.5.
The stories themselves are broken up into four parts: the First Age; the Second Age; the Third Age; and then the Drúedain, Istari, and Palantíri. I think I've learned about myself that I really don't like how Tolkien does early history. Between this and The Silmarillion, I don't care much for the First Age or even much for the Second. There were some stories in each that bored me practically to tears. Once it got to the Third Age though, I was really into it. These are also the less developed of the bunch, with plenty of gaps and missing text (though much of it is covered in The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. If the entire volume had been in the First and Second Ages, I'd probably give it a 2 or 3 star rating; if it were just the Third Age and the Drúedain, Istari, and Palantíri, I'd give it 4.5 or 5 stars. In the spirit of fellowship, I'd give it a modest 3.5.
sampb742's review against another edition
5.0
Great book, took me a long time to get through, but its worth it for the intricacies of the world and the excitement of the story.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
This was good, but I absolutely do not recommend the audiobook. In fact, I'd advise against it. Not because the audiobook was bad in anyway, but because of the sheer amount of footnotes that are included. It really grates on you hearing "note number X: blah blah blah end of note" every five seconds in the middle of a sentence. I tried not to let this affect my rating, but I will still have to reread it physically to really confirm.
This was good, but I absolutely do not recommend the audiobook. In fact, I'd advise against it. Not because the audiobook was bad in anyway, but because of the sheer amount of footnotes that are included. It really grates on you hearing "note number X: blah blah blah end of note" every five seconds in the middle of a sentence. I tried not to let this affect my rating, but I will still have to reread it physically to really confirm.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
5.0
∞ read: 17/09/21 - 04/10/21
Rating: 7 stars
I did an oopsie. But it was a very fun oopsie. I really enjoyed it. So what if I have already read The Lord of the Rings this year, I read it in the split editions, and they are very different. Ok, they're not and we all know that. Well, earlier this year I read it along with the Rob Inglis audiobooks, which were great, I'm not knocking them, they are fantastic in their own right (I spent the last five minutes trying to find an adjective to describe them. I decided to follow the Ninth Doctor and use "fantastic"), but they don't match the Andy Serkis ones that just came out!! (You can really see the Gollum/Sméagol sides of my brain conversing there.) I was fortunate enough to be able to exchange my Inglis audiobooks for the new Serkis ones, but I was fully prepared to purchase the new narration on top of the old one and just have two editions (I have six, soon to be seven, physical copies of The Lord of the Rings, I don't think having too many Tolkiens is ever something I am going to worry about) and if that is a situation you happen to find yourself in, in my biased opinion, I 100% recommend going for it. Who cares if you have two (well, six) audios of the same book? I can speak from experience, the Andy Serkis narration is absolutely worth it. They are flawless.
Well, almost flawless. There was a slight mishap with one of the chapter titles, but I just laughed when I saw it. A chapter in The Two Towers required the letter "í" for the word Palantír, but all that showed up was the code for that letter. So it read: Chapter 11: The Palant& #x00CD;R (this is the third time I am explaining this because I keep getting too complicated and jargony).
Ok done. I have come to accept that I will never be able to write a cohesive review of The Lord of the Rings, so this is all you are getting.
∞ read: 24/09/20 - 28/09/20
Rating: 5 million bajillion stars
Reasons AGAINST rereading The Lord of the Rings:
- I had two other high fantasies on the go (Malice and Promise of Blood) and didn't need a third
- I was already rereading The Wheel of Time
- I had already reread The Return of the King this year
- I had already reread The Hobbit this year
- I should probably reread The Silmarillion because I had only read it once and barely understood it then
- I needed to start The History of Middle-earth and there is a lot of those and I haven't read them yet
- Most people reread The Lord of the Rings during the autumn or winter, but it is spring where I live
Things I did to STOP myself rereading The Lord of the Rings:
- Continue my Wheel of Time reread because at least I've only read the series once
- Start The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1 (the first book of the History)
- Read a biography of Tolkien
Reasons FOR rereading The Lord of the Rings:
- I bought a fourth set and they were pretty
- It was 1:00 am in the morning and I wanted to
What I did:
- Reread The Lord of the Rings
That's it. That's the review.
Rating: 7 stars
I did an oopsie. But it was a very fun oopsie. I really enjoyed it. So what if I have already read The Lord of the Rings this year, I read it in the split editions, and they are very different. Ok, they're not and we all know that. Well, earlier this year I read it along with the Rob Inglis audiobooks, which were great, I'm not knocking them, they are fantastic in their own right (I spent the last five minutes trying to find an adjective to describe them. I decided to follow the Ninth Doctor and use "fantastic"), but they don't match the Andy Serkis ones that just came out!! (You can really see the Gollum/Sméagol sides of my brain conversing there.) I was fortunate enough to be able to exchange my Inglis audiobooks for the new Serkis ones, but I was fully prepared to purchase the new narration on top of the old one and just have two editions (I have six, soon to be seven, physical copies of The Lord of the Rings, I don't think having too many Tolkiens is ever something I am going to worry about) and if that is a situation you happen to find yourself in, in my biased opinion, I 100% recommend going for it. Who cares if you have two (well, six) audios of the same book? I can speak from experience, the Andy Serkis narration is absolutely worth it. They are flawless.
Well, almost flawless. There was a slight mishap with one of the chapter titles, but I just laughed when I saw it. A chapter in The Two Towers required the letter "í" for the word Palantír, but all that showed up was the code for that letter. So it read: Chapter 11: The Palant& #x00CD;R (this is the third time I am explaining this because I keep getting too complicated and jargony).
Ok done. I have come to accept that I will never be able to write a cohesive review of The Lord of the Rings, so this is all you are getting.
∞ read: 24/09/20 - 28/09/20
Rating: 5 million bajillion stars
Reasons AGAINST rereading The Lord of the Rings:
- I had two other high fantasies on the go (Malice and Promise of Blood) and didn't need a third
- I was already rereading The Wheel of Time
- I had already reread The Return of the King this year
- I had already reread The Hobbit this year
- I should probably reread The Silmarillion because I had only read it once and barely understood it then
- I needed to start The History of Middle-earth and there is a lot of those and I haven't read them yet
- Most people reread The Lord of the Rings during the autumn or winter, but it is spring where I live
Things I did to STOP myself rereading The Lord of the Rings:
- Continue my Wheel of Time reread because at least I've only read the series once
- Start The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1 (the first book of the History)
- Read a biography of Tolkien
Reasons FOR rereading The Lord of the Rings:
- I bought a fourth set and they were pretty
- It was 1:00 am in the morning and I wanted to
What I did:
- Reread The Lord of the Rings
That's it. That's the review.
steffyt2's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome series. I loves the characters and the magic of the book. so easy to get hooked.
astelianervosa's review against another edition
5.0
I prefer this lovely book to the movies because there is so much more detail!
fendeviper's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
amanda1011's review against another edition
5.0
I had no idea of the level of depth and detail that Tolkien went into in creating the universe of Middle Earth.
I was pleasantly surprised with this collection of stories, essays, and details that filled in the "holes", history, and rounded out the untold stories we're left with from LOTR.
Worth the read for any avid Tolkien fan.
I was pleasantly surprised with this collection of stories, essays, and details that filled in the "holes", history, and rounded out the untold stories we're left with from LOTR.
Worth the read for any avid Tolkien fan.