The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Simply the best there is.
The Lord of The Rings is in fact three books written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published by George, Allen & Unwin between 1954 and 1955. The trilogy begins with the Fellowship of the Ring, continues with The Towers and concludes in The Return of The King.
This review is a brief description of the events and why, even though it is over 50 years since it was published, it is still the best fantasy book of all time.
The individual books will be reviewed in full on this site, this is just a quick outline of the books as a trilogy and just why they are so good. The image to the left is of the 50th anniversary illustrated edition. The edition contains fifty full colour illustrations specially commissioned from artist Alan Lee to commemorate the centenary of J.R.R. Tolkien's birth. It also includes Tolkien's appendices and maps.
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 still 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.
The Lord of the Rings is a magnificent achievement, it is an epic tale of friendship, love and heroism. This book set down the benchmark for all fantasy novels to come, without it the world would be a poorer place. Perfection is a very difficult goal to achieve, the Lord of the Rings comes as close to it as is maybe possible.
Readers will be left with dreams of living in their very own hobbit hole and the journey that the Fellowship undertakes will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Tolkien's narrative is breath-taking and his beautiful descriptions of Middle-earth are a joy to behold.
Thirdly and finally, he said, I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT. He spoke this last word so loudly and suddenly that everyone sat up who still could. I regret to announce that - though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far to short a time to spend among you - this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!
It is hard to put into words the happiness that can be felt when reading literature as good as this and anybody who has never read it should set aside some time to do so. Is it the best fantasy book of all time? In my opinion, yes.
The Making of the Rings - the story behind the dramatisation of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings by BBC Radio 4
Praise for J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of The Rings
"Like Lightning from a clear sky ... heroic romance, gorgeous, eloquent and unashamed." C.S. Lewis
"One of the most remarkable works of literature in our, or, any time." Bernard Levin
" No fiction I have read in the last five years has given me more joy." W.H. Auden
"The world is divided into into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read them." The Sunday Times
Reader's opinions about the Lord of the Rings
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Jessie from Wales
This is the best book EVER! If you have watched the films and enjoyed them then buy the book, it's 100% better than the films and they are good.
Everything about the Lord of the Rings is magical and a book that can be read and read and read and read again.
This book will still be around and popular in hundreds of years time, that's just how good it is!
Duncan from Reading
Its the originator, its the first, many have been inspired by it, many have tried to emulate it and none have quite succeeded. Yes the first 300 pages are heavy going, but they are totally neccessary in understanding the story and the characters. The films tell you the basic story, but Peter Jackson changed too many things that detract from it.. He thought he could outwrite the master.. he should have realised that you shouldn't change what is as close to perfection as is possible. You may have seen the films, but read the books. you will wonder, you will feel every emotion there is and quite simply the book is the most comprehensive stunning work of fantasy there is. This book, is and will continue to be one of the classics, the books that people will still be reading in centuries time.
Lee from Manchester
This is a timeless classic. The characters that Tolkien invented have stayed with me for over 20 years and the book is as fresh in my mind as they were back then. The visual imagery is staggering and the themes running through the Lord of the Rings are essentially what makes this timeless.
Never has has one book had such an effect on my whole life and none have (yet) surpassed it.
Ollie from Nottingham
Now for the readability factor god this book is pure evil. The problem is that Tolkien describes everything in such detail you have to sort of make an imaginary time line in your head to try and get around the sheer size of waffle that’s in the book. Coupled with the fact that most of the book is just like reading the scribbling of a retarded child makes this book worse than the Bible... It’s even longer for Christ sake. But there are some good parts to this book, which kind of redeem the Lord of the Rings, but it doesn’t cancel out the gigantic amount of drivel in this book. Over-rated. Peace.
