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In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest --- to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom. THE LORD OF THE RINGS tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard, Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.… (more)
TomWaitsTables: Guy forges a ring of power. Everyone who refused to give up the ring has it taken away from them and they die, sooner or later. Except for Wotan, the only person to give it up voluntarily.
DCBlack: Tolkien himself gave Eddison high praise, saying he was "The greatest and most convincing writer of 'invented worlds' that I have read". Of Eddison's best known works, 'The Worm Ouroboros' is the place to start. If you like it you may want to try his Zimiamvia trilogy too.… (more)
Mildegard: Poems are an important part of "Cold Obsidian" the same way they are an important part of LOTR.
Relationships between characters are caring in both books.
I hardly need to review this book; everyone knows it, except for those who probably wouldn’t like it anyway. Although I like it, overall, it’s not one of my top favourite books: I like some parts of it, but have to tolerate other parts that I don’t really enjoy. In particular, although I don’t strongly dislike Gollum—he’s the product of his experiences, and perhaps pity is appropriate—I don’t seem to enjoy reading about him.
Tolkien was, I suppose, inspired by the legends of old, and wanted to create his own legend in the same style. He managed to do this while at the same time writing something that would appeal to 20th century readers, which is a neat trick. I don’t normally read the legends of old, they’re not my kind of fiction; but I’m willing to read this. The introduction of the hobbits was surely the key to this achievement; we can relate to them relatively easily.
Glancing at a few other reviews of this book, I found someone who was bored by it. Well, fair enough; it doesn’t bore me, but your reactions are as valid as mine.
I also found someone who complained about it being politically incorrect in some ways (sexism, racism, etcetera). I have less sympathy with this. Tolkien was born in 1892; if he had any notion of political correctness, it wouldn’t be much like yours, and it’s silly to expect it. Furthermore, he was trying to emulate the legends of old, when political correctness meant being polite to the king, and sexism and racism were merely normal human behaviour. Bearing all that in mind, I think the political incorrectness of this book is relatively mild.
There is also the fact that what we have here is a struggle between Good and Evil. I don’t normally like that: I prefer characters who are more like normal people, neither wholly bad nor wholly good. But Good and Evil seem more acceptable in the context of old legends, and I can tolerate them here.
Sauron seems evil to the core, as far as we can tell; although he remains out of sight throughout, so we know only what his subordinates do, and what his enemies think of him. Perhaps he loves his cat? It’s not clear what he gets out of life, nor what he wants to get out of life.
Gandalf and Galadriel seem prime examples of good; but both of them avoid the Ring because they fear being corrupted by it. Which suggests that they’re not really good to the core; at least, they don’t believe they are. ( )
I liked Lord of the Rings well enough, but didn't love it. I prefer The Hobbit, the style of which is completely different. But Lord of the Rings...I don't read a lot of high fantasy literature, so until I read LotR, I didn't realize what flat and uninteresting characters archetypes make. Because that's what the characters in this trilogy are--archetypes. LotR has lots of plot but very limited character complexity and character development.
As you may know, many fantasy novels and series get accused of imitating Lord of the Rings too closely. For instance, I read Dennis McKiernan's Iron Tower Trilogy first, and it is widely accused of ripping off Tolkien. So is The Sword of Shannara. So while reading LotR, I took some notes on what elements I have seen imitated in other books. I might add to this list later, but I noticed the following:
-Ringwraiths chasing Frodo and companions: analog in McKiernan's The Dark Tide is the Vulgs chasing and attacking the Warrows on the way to Challerain.
-"Morgul-Lord": could be source of the word "Morgol" in McKillip's Riddle-Master trilogy.
-R.A. Salvatore uses orcs and the name Luthien.
...
Other comments:
I did not expect what happened in the last two chapters of Return of the King are unexpected, and the ending was puzzling.
The issue of Sauron is very frustrating. Sauron never personally appears in Return of the King or the entire trilogy. He is only spoken of. He amounts to some very bad man who wants to find the One Ring, which will allow him to rule Middle-Earth.
The characterization in Lord of the Rings is limited; some characters have depth, but others are cardboard. Legolas is the most shallow character, being nothing but an elf who travels with the Fellowship, occasionally speaks, occasionally fights, and banters with Gimli the dwarf.
Some Goodreads reviewers claim the relationship between Frodo and Sam becomes homoerotic. I really think that is overstated. Sam is very affectionate, but after the part of Return in which he rescues Frodo, he doesn't act like that so much; and near the end, Sam marries a female hobbit, so he would not seem to be gay.
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
Dedication
First words
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.
[Note on the Text] J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is often erroneously called a trilogy, when it is in fact a single novel, consisting of six books plus appendices, sometimes published in three volumes.
[Note on the 50th Anniversary Edition] In this edition of The Lord of the Rings, prepared for the fiftieth anniversary of its publication, between three and four hundred emendations have been made following a exhaustive review of past editions and printings.
[Forward to the Second Edition] This tale grew in the telling, until it became a history of the Great War of the Ring and included many glimpses of the yet more ancient history that preceded it.
[Prologue] This book is largely concerned with Hobbits, and from its pages a reader may discover much of their character and a little of their history.
Quotations
I regret to announce that—though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you—this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began. Now far away the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too quick to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.
But who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?
And yet, Eomer, I say to you that she loves you more truly than me; for you she loves and knows; but in me she loves only a shadow and a thought; a hope of glory and great deeds, and lands far from the fields of Rohan
I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.
[Note on the Text] Fifty years into the published life of The Lord of the Rings, it seems extraordinary to me that we have not only such a masterful work of literature but also as a companion to it an unparalleled account of its writing. Our gratitude as readers goes to both of the Tolkiens, father and son.
[Note on the 50th Anniversary Edition] We will also explain archaic or unusual words and names in The Lord of the Rings, explore literary and historical influences, note connections with Tolkien's other writings, and comment on differences between its drafts and published form, on questions of language, and on much else that we hope will interest readers and enhance their enjoyment of Tolkien's masterpiece.
[Note to the Second Edition] A complete index, making full use of the material prepared for me by Mrs. N. Smith, belongs rather to the accessory volume.
[Prologue] It is said that Celeborn went to dwell there after the departure of Galadriel; but there is no record of the day when at last he sought the Grey Havens, and with him went the last living memory of the Elder Days in Middle-earth.
The Hobbit is the prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, comprising three novels: The Lord of the Rings consists of six Books, frequently bound in three Volumes:
Volume 1: The Fellowship of the Ring, consisting of Book I, "The Ring Sets Out" and Book II, "The Ring Goes South";
Volume 2: The Two Towers, consisting of Book III, "The Treason of Isengard," and Book IV, "The Ring Goes East"; and
Volume 3: The Return of the King, consisting of Book V, "The War of the Ring," and Book VI, "The End of the Third Age," with Appendices.
This LT Work consists of Tolkien's complete work; please do not combine it with any constituent part(s), each of which have LT Works pages of their own.
Also, please distinguish print editions from any dramatization. (Audiobooks, being the same text unless they're abridged, should be combined with their original Work; but dramatizations, being adaptations, should be distinguished from the original.) Thank you.
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest --- to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom. THE LORD OF THE RINGS tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard, Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
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Haiku summary
Halfling bears the Ring from Bag End womb to Mount Doom, hence Return of King. (ed.pendragon)
Take ring to Mordor! Why did they walk all the way? Should have used eagles.
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Tolkien was, I suppose, inspired by the legends of old, and wanted to create his own legend in the same style. He managed to do this while at the same time writing something that would appeal to 20th century readers, which is a neat trick. I don’t normally read the legends of old, they’re not my kind of fiction; but I’m willing to read this. The introduction of the hobbits was surely the key to this achievement; we can relate to them relatively easily.
Glancing at a few other reviews of this book, I found someone who was bored by it. Well, fair enough; it doesn’t bore me, but your reactions are as valid as mine.
I also found someone who complained about it being politically incorrect in some ways (sexism, racism, etcetera). I have less sympathy with this. Tolkien was born in 1892; if he had any notion of political correctness, it wouldn’t be much like yours, and it’s silly to expect it. Furthermore, he was trying to emulate the legends of old, when political correctness meant being polite to the king, and sexism and racism were merely normal human behaviour. Bearing all that in mind, I think the political incorrectness of this book is relatively mild.
There is also the fact that what we have here is a struggle between Good and Evil. I don’t normally like that: I prefer characters who are more like normal people, neither wholly bad nor wholly good. But Good and Evil seem more acceptable in the context of old legends, and I can tolerate them here.
Sauron seems evil to the core, as far as we can tell; although he remains out of sight throughout, so we know only what his subordinates do, and what his enemies think of him. Perhaps he loves his cat? It’s not clear what he gets out of life, nor what he wants to get out of life.
Gandalf and Galadriel seem prime examples of good; but both of them avoid the Ring because they fear being corrupted by it. Which suggests that they’re not really good to the core; at least, they don’t believe they are. (