The Lord of the Rings

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hardcover, 1147 pages

English language

Published Aug. 13, 1994 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

ISBN:: 978-0-7394-0825-4
OCLC Number:: 54432689

(21 reviews)

Originally published from 1954 through 1956, J.R.R. Tolkien's richly complex series ushered in a new age of epic adventure storytelling. A philologist and illustrator who took inspiration from his work, Tolkien invented the modern heroic quest novel from the ground up, creating not just a world, but a domain, not just a lexicon, but a language, that would spawn countless imitators and lead to the inception of the epic fantasy genre. Today, THE LORD OF THE RINGS is considered "the most influential fantasy novel ever written." (THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASY)

During his travels across Middle-earth, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins had found the Ring. But the simple band of gold was far from ordinary; it was in fact the One Ring - the greatest of the ancient Rings of Power. Sauron, the Dark Lord, had infused it with his own evil magic, and when it was lost, he was forced to …

But now Sauron's exile has ended and his power is spreading anew, fueled by the knowledge that his treasure has been found. He has gathered all the Great Rings to him, and will stop at nothing to reclaim the One that will complete his dominion. The only way to stop him is to cast the Ruling Ring deep into the Fire-Mountain at the heart of the land of Mordor--Sauron's dark realm.

Fate has placed the burden in the hands of Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's heir...and he is resolved to bear it to its end. Or his own. --jacket

69 editions

Anthony Burgess reviewed The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Obviously the typical fantasy book.

4 stars

This one is like Beatles songs: You notice how they sound kinda similar but "simpler" to other pop songs, until you think about, how they built the whole genre. Everyone after them builds on their formula and this is why they sound similar, but they still have their uniqueness to them.

The Lord of the Rings is the same: Every conversation is a big speech and they don't sound like people would, if they actually just talk to one another. Big descriptions of how the world looks like. Many weird names of places and people (but Tolkien just throws around names like he's paid for the amount of them) and many other things.

But it still has its own story. It's filled with songs, which is an understatement. It seems like people in middle earth are just eager to sing as often as they can. Tolkien tries to make decisions …

All together a fantastic book, obviously a must read for every fantasy fan, but it's not totally my cup of tea. Most conversations felt a bit stiff. They seem like everyone is talking in front of a camera and are nervous about it, because every dialog is unnecessarily big and it seems like they always try too hard. The whole Saruman plot is weird. Without getting into spoilers, he seemed like this wise and mighty wizard in the movie, but in the book, he's like this stupid coward. How could this person be the "chief of the wizard order" ?

Still, if you like fantasy, give it a read, I still enjoyed reading it!

tivasyk reviewed Tolkien 12 SW (Lord of Rings) by J.R.R. Tolkien

Review of 'Tolkien 12 SW (Lord of Rings)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

перечитав. точніше послухав аудіоверсію перекладу французькою. що сказати… класика. але сьогодні я вже не додав би це до улюбленого: місцями наївно (том бомбадил ніколи мені не подобався, як персонаж серйозного фентезі — суто підліткове щось), місцями нудно (розлогі міркування гандальфа та наративи у другому томі). для дорослого читання ніяк не дотягує до «гри престолів» ;-) але — класика.

Merkaba reviewed Tolkien 12 SW (Lord of Rings) by J.R.R. Tolkien

Review of 'Tolkien 12 SW (Lord of Rings)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A phenomenal work and one that I could hardly do justice to with a review. Lord of the Rings is the sort of book that will last for ages to come and it's characters and stories should be passed on from generation to generation.