The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition) by J.R.R. Tolkien Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)
Book Review: This is the way to buy "Lord of the Rings" all at one time.
Summary: 5 Stars
A single volume is more impressive; yet a little hard to wield. You may want to look up the reviews for the individual books (The Return of the King/the Two Towers/the Fellowship of the Ring.) Note one book or three that this is one story and not a trilogy. The work was artificially split for convenience. Also if you listen to a recorded version you can hear how to pronounce the names and places. Listening also allows time to digest the story as it progresses.
I read several notes on the works and find that it is smarter to read the work first; then if you want to you can compare your view with the notes. You don't want to stop and say "Oh a shadow. What can that mean?" Also even thought J. R. R. Tolkien is quite explicit in the beginning that this is not an allegory or even a reference to events in the real world, some people try to equate the RING with the BOMB.
There are several things that I found pleasing. One is that no one goes off and has any unrecorded adventures. This is each group especially in "The Two Towers" is completely tracked even though the events are parallel. And he does not have to use flash backs to do it. I am also impressed with the fact that even though you see several references to good and evil, that every being in the story had a purpose and a destiny that was not strictly black and white. Gandalf reminds Frodo to spare Gollum as Bilbo did. At other times as in Bible stories evil intentions can bring about good situations. Well, enough philosophizing just read it and enjoy it on the story level. You may find that only drawback is that it ends too soon.