flarion's review
5.0
The artworks shown in the book are awesome and a must for all fans! The descriptions however have been written in a style which is too academic. However, it provides many many details!
rhodesee's review
5.0
This book feels more like a peek behind-the-scenes than an "art book" and I really love that about it. I can see how it may be disappointing for some people if they were expecting something a little different. For me though, it is so cool to see the process and evolution of maps and some key visual bits of Tolkien's world, like the Doors of Durin and the White Tree of Gondor, among others. It is also cool to see the small bits and scraps of paper, marginalia and other things that show his thought process and how it changed over time. You also get a peek into the nuts and bolts of publishing and printing as well with information about how the images went from Tolkien's first sketch to finished and printed in the books. Overall, very cool and informative to read cover to cover with "flip through" value as well.
jake_wont_shut_up's review
Amazing to see the attention to detail in the world building. Sad to think that Tolkien thought so little of his own skill, but his perfectionism sure led to a great result.
thebookishell's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Wirklich informativ und toll anzusehen, wie sich die Geschichte und Gestaltung entwickelt und gegenseitig beeinflusst haben.
Tolkien war ein besserer Künstler, als er von sich glaubte.
Etwas störend ist, dass oft über Bilder geschrieben wird, die sich auf anderen Seiten befinden und man dadurch viel hin und her blättern muss, um mitzuverfolgen, um was es gerade geht.
Ansonsten ein sehr schönes Buch, auch einfach nur zum Schmökern.
Tolkien war ein besserer Künstler, als er von sich glaubte.
Etwas störend ist, dass oft über Bilder geschrieben wird, die sich auf anderen Seiten befinden und man dadurch viel hin und her blättern muss, um mitzuverfolgen, um was es gerade geht.
Ansonsten ein sehr schönes Buch, auch einfach nur zum Schmökern.
ladyvictoriadiana's review
5.0
A beautiful book with many reproduced drawings and sketches by JRR Tolkien. A must-have for every Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fan.
eatreadgamerepeat's review
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. I got this book by accident when I wanted to buy a different book and idk it said Lord of the Rings so I was intrigued so I kept it. I did enjoy it overall, it had some nice little tidbits of information I didn't know and the art that was there was pretty - but there wasn't as much art as I thought there would be - like a lof of the art was JRRT writing in elvish or Dwarfish and a lot of sketches on scraps of paper. Like yea it was interesting but I also expected a bit more?
siili's review against another edition
4.0
A great book for all Tolkien fans. The pictures Tolkien drew while he was writing "The Lord of the Rings" are more like sketches and doodles in miscalleneous papers that helped him to plan the story and also how it's places would really look like as he said he didn't have time nor want to fully illustrate "The Lord of the Rings". Map sketches and book cover desings are very cool looking and also all the other stuff will certainly satisfy any Tolkien fan who likes to know more about his works.
rivensbane's review
3.0
Enjoyable enough, but not entirely what I was expecting when I purchased this.
It's mostly full of half-finished scribbles and sketches drawn by Tolkien, a lot of which were more of a look into his thought process as he wrote than actual pieces of artwork he intended for others to see. There are a few of his finished paintings, which are gorgeous, but I was hoping to see more of those tbqh. Additionally, the dialogue felt? a little bit redundant. I would have much rather had a book full of his finished LotR artwork, especially considering the price tag ($50) of this one... yowch.
It's mostly full of half-finished scribbles and sketches drawn by Tolkien, a lot of which were more of a look into his thought process as he wrote than actual pieces of artwork he intended for others to see. There are a few of his finished paintings, which are gorgeous, but I was hoping to see more of those tbqh. Additionally, the dialogue felt? a little bit redundant. I would have much rather had a book full of his finished LotR artwork, especially considering the price tag ($50) of this one... yowch.
oftheabyss's review against another edition
4.0
This one didn't have quite as much charm as the Hobbit art book for me because it had a lot less actual art and a lot more just rough sketches with less of a balance between text and images which made this one more slow to get through. But the art is really interesting to see and it's all very well researched and compiled. I love the maps and dust jacket designs especially.