One Book to Rule Them All (The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien)

Member Name: nlingwood

Product:	The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Date:	15/08/00 (11 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A world of delight

Disadvantages: I've already worn out one copy

After he created the classic Hobbit, Tolkien developed its setting into an entire world and mythology. An expert scholar and linguist, he created histories and languages, an incredible work of imagination taking years. Most of this depth remains below the surface – unless you scour the appendices and other volumes published more recently – but provides the foundation for Lord of the Rings. When the book passes through an area, or characters tell stories, every one is rooted in its own background.

The depth of Middle Earth is matched by a story so good it has been referenced and plagiarised by countless successors. The magical ring found by Bilbo, reluctant hero of the Hobbit, is found to be the centre of an ancient evil. The wizard, Gandalf, advises Bilbo’s young relatives as they attempt to deal with this by taking the ring to its destruction.

The elements of the plot, and many of the characters, seem clichés today because they have been reused so many times. But Tolkien’s writing is timeless, and remains the greatest story of the genre. The adventures of the travellers, and the world they pass through, are brought to life as if they have always been. Scenes of battle, menace or contentment are as convincing after dozens of readings as the first time. Although long (over a thousand pages), the story and surroundings carry you eagerly on.

This is one of the books that I keep and treasure. Others might be great to read several times, but Lord of the Rings is a book for life. You can dip into a favourite chapter (although I usually end up carrying on to the end), even start to relish the other tales and background that surround it. So addictive it should be illegal! I’m probably preaching to the converted, but this epic is worth every word of praise.

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