The king of the home library (The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien)

Member Name: artem

Product:	The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Date:	28/06/01 (120 review reads)
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Lord of the rings.

-----Plot-----

**Hobbit**

Once upon a time there lived a hobbit. He was small and furry, like all other hobbits and he lived quietly until some wizard called Gandalf decided that he really needs a hobbit for his ‘special adventure’ and so they go, along with a dozen or so dwarfs all to get the treasures from the mountain. And on the way they have bout a thousand different troubles and situations like 3 trolls who were really hungry, many spiders who were really hungry too, orcs an wolves who were also as hungry as anyone else and wanted to eat the poor hobbit with his dwarf friends. But on the way they have a very important adventure. The hobbit (whose name was Bilbo by the way) gets lost in the caves in the mountains. It is really dark and while he was crawling on the floor he found something and put this something in his pocket (gypsy!!). The he heard someone screaming “My precioussssss, losssst…” and went to check it out. It was a creature called Gorlum who has lost his ring. They play a little riddle game. If Bilbo wins – Gollum will show him the way to the exit. If Gollum wins, he will eat little hobbit. And the last riddle that Bilbo asked is “What’s in my pocket?” (a ring) and Gorlum doesn’t get it and goes pretty angry. And Bilbo while pegging it from the creature discovers that the ring makes you invisible. Then they get to their mountain, meet the dragon, he gets killed, they get the treasures…. Then there is a battle of 4 armies and so on. So this is how the story begun.

**Lord of the Rings**

The book (3 volumes) is about Frodo, the nephew of Bilbo who gets the ring after Bilbo decides to go into his last journey away from the Shire. And this time it is much more complicated. The ring was created by the evil Sauron who made rings for elves, dwarfs and people too and the last on “to rule them all”. And if Sauron who
had lost his ring when Bilbo found it (in the Hobbit) gets it back the whole world is screwed. So Frodo has to destroy the ring and gets a team of 3 other hobbits, a hard-a** fighter dude who is amazing in all ways, and elf, who is a god with a bow and dwarf who is small and strong with his axe. They also have Gandalf who is a great wizard and Boromir who is a hot-shit fighter, but he gets killed by the orcs in the first book. On the way many different and unexpected things happen, the team separates, there is a huge battle of good and evil at the end. I’m not going to go in all the detail because it will take too long, but this is the main story line.

-----The World of Wonder-----

As long as I’m concerned Tolkien planned to write a little fairy-tale for his daughters to read before they go to sleep. So he started on Hobbit. And you can tell that by the beginning. It is very childish for little kids and many people give up reading after the first 2 pages. But the more Tolkien wrote, the more he got into this new world that was opening up in front of him and the more complicated the book grew. And by the end there is nothing from a fairy-tale. It is a serious novel with its politics and issues. And the Lord of the Rings is even better. Right away at the beginning it is not a tale, it is a beginning of a decent adventure story. And the way it is written is just fantastic. The language and the style go perfectly well with what is going on and the sudden unexpected twists in the storyline will just keep you on the edge of the seat. The way Tolkien conveys the relation between different races and the line between good and evil lets the readers fully live the characters lives. The descriptions are very detailed and it is easy to imagine yourself running away from the orcs in the tombs of Moria or climbing mountain in Mordor with Gollum behind you. It really is important to read the book thoroughly to understand everything that happens to the
characters, especially at the end when the team splits into three groups and you have to understand what is happening in more than one part of the middle-earth.

I was always amazed by the way Tolkien describes the battles. They are so detailed that you can actually sense every swing of the blade and know there you would put yours for a block. You suffer when little hobbits suffer and rejoice when they manage to win another battle with their destiny. You really get into this world and after a week of non-stop reading you can’t even imagine yourself without your little world of elves, hobbits and magic. And even when you are not reading you still think why Sauron decided to turn his face to the dark side of the power or how many kills will Aragorn get in his next battle. The story line takes your breath away and Tolkien’s style helps it a lot.

-----The Store of All Wonders of Middle-Earth-----

When you come to the shop and ask for Lord of the Rings, the shop assistant will probably offer you about a dozen different editions of the book. The big tomes containing the whole of the book or 3 separate volumes, big and small, you can even find the modern language edition, but most of these things are pretty bad and really don’t make the life of Frodo fans easier. The best choice (in my opinion) is 3 separate volumes and the original language edition. The language adds to the atmosphere and the impression and the separate volumes make it easier to read. Well at least you can take it with you on the train or something. But every edition contain a map of the land where hobbits travel and their route is marked so people know where stuff is and where their favorite characters have been. I think that the general set out of the book really helps understanding what’s going on and makes reading much easier.

-----Wind up-----

Well I think I made it quite clear that if you haven’t read this book you are reall
y missing out and you should run to the book shop as quick as you can and get yourself the best fantasy book ever written. And even if you are not a fan of fantasy you definitely will be. Just remember – if you don’t like the first 4 pages it doesn’t mean you can throw the book against the wall and forget about it until the next time you decided to wash the floors and come across it. Just read and love it like most others people in this world and hope to be born an elf in you next life.

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