The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition by J.R.R. Tolkien Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition
Book Review: The Best Book I've Ever Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I read The Lord of the Rings at the age of eleven. (I'm fourteen now.) I'm the only kid I know who a) read it before seeing the movies and b) read it without my parents making me. That said, I love the movies -- I think the third is my favorite film ever -- and they come quite close to the book. But it is still second-rate...everything is, compared to this masterpiece.
Firstly, it's not a boring tale told in a Beowulf-esque way, as some people think; and if you think this you should probably wait awhile to read it, when your tastes are more refined. It's a story of the tiniest little evil -- the Ring -- having the power to destroy the world, and the tiniest little person -- a hobbit -- having the power to save it. It's the story of unconditional friendships, no matter what. And it's the story of someone giving up everything, anything and all, only to find once he's done that his age is past, the world has moved on, and his own home doesn't recognize him for the hero he is. They have moved on, and he has to leave, because some things can't be cured by time.
It's not a kids' book, and I don't say this to demean kids' books, since I love them. But it's heavy, far heavier than the fun and cheerful The Hobbit. It's powerful and sad and painful, and if the last chapter doesn't make you tear up you need to visit a therapist. It has joy and sorrow side by side, tragedy and loss, excitement and heroics, sadness and pain. It's life, pure and simple, in fantasy form, where hardly anything's black and white and things are always in gray, and sometimes you can't understand what's right or wrong.
Sam is my favorite character, mainly because I still aspire to be that kind of ever-giving, expecting-nothing kind of friend who's always there to help, even when the help's unwanted. I love the end of the Fellowship of the Ring, where Sam pretty much forces Frodo to take him with him to Mordor:
"Safely!" said Sam. "All alone and without me to help you? I couldn't have a borne it, it'd have been the death of me."
"It would have been the death of you to come with me, Sam," said Frodo, "and I could not have borne that."
"Not as certain as being left behind," said Sam.
"But I am going to Mordor."
"I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I'm coming with you."
I'm a self-proclaimed fantasy nut, and enjoy original fantasy when I find it, but never have I met the equal of The Lord of the Rings. It's an incredible journey through a world that just might exist, somewhere past reality and into dreamlike imagination; it's characters you truly care about and who care about each other; it's a fantasy story that mirrors incredibly true sacrifices, joys, and tragedies of real life.
Read it. You'll thank yourself.
Rating: Masterpiece
Book Review: Lord of the Rings (50th ed.) - 2005 HC version (ISBN 0618645616 )
Summary: 5 Stars
I will talk about this edition only (2005 hardcover, 50th anniversary version: ISBN 0618645616). I didn't know there is 50th Ann. 'hardcover' edition like this when I first ordered 50th Ann 'collection' version(2004). It's same 50th ann version and it's hard cover("HC") at 50% price compared to collection version.
More importantly, it has far better 'paper quality' than any other hardcover/collection/paper versions. I compared it with about 6 or 7 versions, but mainly with 'allen lee illustrated HC', '1974 HC' (inside & outside), and 2004 50th ann. collection ed. (outside only), and several paper back versions(mainly trade version).
1. weight : It weighs half of the collection version, while it's same 50th ann. edition.
2. excellent paper quality & fonts/character/margin : It has a little 'whiter' but more 'elegant' paper quality than other two HC versions, and most importantly, the letters and fonts are really good for me. I followed several pages in different versions, counting words and lines among the versions, and I found it's easiest to read. I'm not that old(middle of 30s), but I prefer to have 'easy to read' fonts/margins. It's the best of all the versions (The next one I like is 1974 HC version(3 volumes), but I like 2005 HC version more in format. in 1974 HC, it's like 'insti-tution' style if the line is changed, while this 2005 HC version has managed to arrange it beautifully due to word program).
Note : It (2005 HC) has its own paper version(2005 PB), but this HC verson's paper quality is 'far' better than that of its paper version. I'm really satisfied with this edition.
If you are looking for 'hard', 'strong', 'collctible' but 'easy to read' and 'carry', it's absolutely the version. Even if the price of the 2004 collection version and this 2005 HC had been same, I would have chosen this 2005 HC version. It's that good.
Book Review: Adventure and suspense
Summary: 5 Stars
The Lord of the Rings opens to the reader a whole new and vibrant world. There is so much detail that you can see very clearly what is going on. There is also enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat. Also there are great characters that you will never forget. If you want some books that will keep you interested for quite a while read The Lord Of The Rings!Book Review: The Lord of the Rings
Summary: 5 Stars
J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a huge, and hugely enjoyable, adventure story.
At the opening of the book, we learn that a villain, Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, plans to expand his tyranny over all of Middle Earth. All he lacks is the One Ring, a ring that gives great power, which has fallen into the hands of Frodo Baggins. Frodo is a hobbit, short in stature and overawed by the forces that strive with one another to control the ring. "Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?" he asks. "Such questions cannot be answered," says Gandalf, a far-seeing wizard. "You may be sure that it was not for merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have." So Frodo undertakes to carry the ring to Mordor, Sauron's stronghold and the only place where the ring can be destroyed.
He is helped along the way by eight companions (the Fellowship of the Ring) and many fantastic creatures, knights, and kings they encounter on the road. As the Fellowship make their way toward Mordor, the kingdoms of Middle Earth are on the march. Alliances are made and broken and great cities are besieged, as a final confrontation with Sauron approaches.
Frodo's journey is a long and dangerous one, and Tolkien's accounts of combat and bravery are stirring. But Frodo and his companions make many stops along the road for eating, drinking, storytelling, and other simple pleasures. The interior scenes, with the friends at a table or in front of a fire, were one of the major attractions of the book for me. There is good humor as well. One of the running jokes in the book is based on the contrast between what the hobbits appear to be and what they actually are: "They were, if it came to it, difficult to daunt or to kill; and they were, perhaps, so unwearyingly fond of good things not least because they could, when put to it, do without them, and could survive rough handling by grief, foe, or weather in a way that astonished those who did not know them well and looked no further than their bellies and their well-fed faces." By the end of the story, they have accomplished such feats of heroism that men suppose them to be princes in their own land, when in fact they are ordinary hobbits.
The Houghton Mifflin one-volume paperback edition is an attractive volume with a comfortable, pliable feel in the reader's hands. It includes an exceptional index, maps, and many other resources in over 100 pages of end material.
Book Review: The Lord of the Rings ( The fellowship of the ring)
Summary: 5 Stars
The Lord of the Rings provides entertainment for people of all ages. In this book Frodo receives the ring of power and sets out to destroy it. He has nine companions including himself, Gandalf a Wizard, Aragorn a Ranger, Sam a Hobbit, Legolas an Elf, Gimli a Dwarf, Pippin a Hobbit, Merry a Hobbit and Boramir a man. They go through many challenges from being chased by the Nazgul, and going through the long dark journey through the Mines of Moria. They come in contact with a Balrog while in the Mines. They loose one of their companions (so they think), Gandalf, as he fell with the Balrog. They then journey through Lothlorien and meet Galadriel along with other elves. They make their way through the great river and eventually Sam and Frodo start the journey by themselves.
Reading this book requires a lot of time, but after a while you really get into the story and do not want to put it down. It took a while for me to get into it, but once I did, I enjoyed it very much.
Tolkien is a very gifted author and it shows by how much this story is detailed and why it is still popular today. Many people from children, teens and adults enjoy these stories and they have entertained and taught us throughout time. I think these stories are geared more towards adults, but there are some children who enjoy them as well. Although some words are hard to pronounce and understand what they mean, he is very descriptive and even provides a lot of meanings and even maps, family trees, songs and verses, calendars, writings and spellings, people, beasts, monsters, places and things. Some children may have a hard time since this book is so in depth and has many difficult words, but if they like it that much, they can get through it. Tolkien's ideas are presented consistently, thoroughly, and logically throughout this book. He had an amazing imagination and displayed that a lot through all of his writings like The Two Towers, The Return of the King, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth.
I recommend reading this book if you enjoy fantasy and adventure. If you have seen the movie and you read the book, you learn many different things not mentioned in the movie and it makes the stories even more enjoyable. I can't wait to read the other two books and see what I have been missing out on that is not mentioned in the movie.