The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Hobbit
Book Review: THE HOBBIT
Summary: 5 Stars
Bilbo Baggins is back in an amazing tale of the hobbit.Bilbo now celebrating his one-hundred and eleventh birthday(111)when an unexpected visiter comes to his front door.
whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit hole in bag end by gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, bilbo baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of smaug the magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.
Book Review: The unoverlookable prequel to The Lord of the Rings.
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a well-off, quiet little halfling (a Hobbit) who'd never wanted any adventures in his life, and of how he became the reluctant participant in a perilous treasure hunt.It all began one afternoon, when Gandalf the wizard came knocking at the round door of his cosy Hobbit Hole. The next morning, thirteen dwarves were crowding his living-room and enrolling him to steal the gold guarded under the lonely Mountain by Smaug, the last of the great dragons.
So off he went, through forests old and mountains cold, deceiving trolls, solving riddles in the dark, escaping from goblins and elves, and most of the time rescuing the dwarves from the many perils he himself inadvertenly put them in, thanks to a magical ring he found in Gollum's cave, a ring that has to power to render him invisible.
This was the second time I read The Hobbit, and looking at it now with the critical eye of the (amateur) reviewer, I'm afraid to admit I was somewhat annoyed at the beginning by Tolkien's paternalistic tone, by how he sometimes addresses the reader and makes references to the real world, or hints at what's coming up later in the story. This makes the book seem clearly targeted to a young audience, and indeed, The Hobbit would be perfect for reading aloud to a child. However, this tone changes in the course of the story, and especially during the final Battle of the Five Armies, where it reaches a more epic scope, more suitable for young adults. Mark you, I'm not saying I didn't like it, but was just slightliy disappointed not to enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Oh, the heresy!
Book Review: Unforgettable
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first book I ever read. I think I read it when I was about 11, before that I'd never had the slightest interest in reading, but in the 9 years since I read the Hobbit I've read around 140 fantasy books. The strange thing is, I can't remember what the majoirty of them were about whereas every part of The Hobbit still stands out in my mind.There are some chapters in a book ( "A" book, not "THIS" book, just to make myself clear) that you will always remember but there are often a lot of chapters that you get no real enjoyment from and forget about a week, no, a day later. Well for some reason I can remember every part of The Hobbit. There are no "Page Fillers" as I like to call them. Every part of the book is clearly memorable to me. I can name probably every little bit but I don't want to spoil it for anyone. Just read it for yourself!!
If you would like to forget intracate plots, realism and anti-heroes for a while then read The Hobbit. It takes fantasy back the very basics. A group of companions setting out on an adventure that you REALLY don't want to miss! Trust me!
Book Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
In an earlier time, and in a different place, there was once a time of magic--a time of wizards and dragons and elves and dwarves. And, in an unnoticed corner of the world there lived a race of hobbits: a small people with furry feet, and too much common sense to go on adventures. But, when a particularly stable hobbit named Bilbo Baggins is visited by the great wizard Gandalf, he soon finds himself in the middle of an adventure with 13 dwarves, facing ogres and orcs and all sorts of dangers. Is the adventuring life too much for one small hobbit in the great big world? Read this book and find out! OK, do you have a young reader whom you would like to introduce to The Hobbit? Well, this graphic novel is just the thing! David Wenzel does an excellent job of illustrating the novel, painting the character just like you would expect them to look (unlike some earlier illustrators). Now, the story is abridged, but on the whole, an excellent job was done of turning that book into a graphic novel.
Overall I think that this is an excellent graphic novel, and an excellent adaptation of The Hobbit. My ten-year-old son and I highly recommend it to you!
Book Review: This is a story that grows with the reader.
Summary: 5 Stars
In a mythical or maybe just forgotten time, many creatures lived in places like the Shire, home to Bilbo Baggins, Hobbit. Hobbits are comfort loving creatures with no real sense for adventure. A knock on the door and Bilbo's life is about to change.Calling this book children's book is like calling "Alice in Wonderland" [see "The Annotated Alice"] a children's book. Yes children can read this book and it is fun. How ever there is a lot more to this book than a cute story. And it has all the depth of the other Tolkien works with the exception of being shorter.
Many people look at this story as a prequel to "The Lord of the Rings", where in reality it is a stand-alone story with a perfectly good beginning, middle, and end. When you read "The Lord of the Rings" there is enough description to forgo "The Hobbit." Personally, I find that reading The Lord of the Rings first gave me the in-depth background to better appreciate The Hobbit.
Many of the creatures and adventures will put you on the edge of your seat. You will recognize the personalities and grow along will Bilbo as he faces new challenges as he learns to deal with life.
A good book to read first would be "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell. Then you get a clearer picture of why the story progresses as it does.