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dayoldtea's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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
It took the Rings of Power coming out to finally get me to buckle down and read this book. My previous attempts all ended because I couldn't get into it. So much walking! Random disconnected events! Absolutely NO women other than a bitchy hobbit aunt!
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who had been raised on Tamora Pierce and who read her first N.K. Jemisin when I was 15, Tolkien seemed quaint and outdated to me.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 I can now report that Tolkien is indeed quaint and outdated - but nevertheless charming and a fun time if you reset your expectations.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]).
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who had been raised on Tamora Pierce and who read her first N.K. Jemisin when I was 15, Tolkien seemed quaint and outdated to me.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 I can now report that Tolkien is indeed quaint and outdated - but nevertheless charming and a fun time if you reset your expectations.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]).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and War
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
cursed10fold's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
The narration was fantastic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Ableism and Fatphobia
celery's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I wanted to like this so much more than I do... The first half was so slow and so much extraneous information. I thought there would be a lot of more character and relationship building but I should have known how hard into worldbuilding it would dive. I did love Tom Bombadill though. The second half I liked lot more because I just considered it a dnd podcast which it really reads like. I did want more of Arwen, or any woman. I was fully invested by the end and I am curious how I will feel about the rest. I do still like the movie better though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
hjb_128's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
annapox's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- 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
3.5–4 stars for most of the book. I would give the Frodo and Sam scenes more than five stars if I could.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
gvstyris's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
4.25
And that is another reason why the Ring should be destroyed: as long as it is in the world it will be a danger even to the Wise. For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.
I was surprised by how nostalgic I felt reading this first LOTR volume, which I’ve never read before — the ‘epic’ sense of adventure reminded me a little of reading Percy Jackson and Harry Potter as a child.
I’m rooting for Aragorn and Sam, always <3 (but can’t believe Arwen is so much less present here than the films!)
But yeah, if we’re being honest, there’s a lot of slightly dull walking around various parts of the wilderness that require patience to get through.
Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
noellegrace8's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
There is nothing I can add to already-established discourse about this book, series, or author. Y'all know the drill. 5/5, forever.
Rob Inglis, the narrator, also gets 5/5.
Rob Inglis, the narrator, also gets 5/5.
Content Warnings
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.aceofsphades_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail