Book reviews
The Tolkien Store
 Buy the
hardcover boxed set of the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
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The Hobbit (paperback)
- This was my first introduction to Tolkien's work as a young teen.
My seventh-grade class read it aloud and discussed it. I liked it
very much, but was unaware that there were any other books
associated with it. Then, my grandmother gave me her copies of the
Lord of the Rings and I was hooked forever! Later, in my
freshman year of high school, I was required to read The Hobbit
again.
This story was indended for younger readers, so it is more a
light-hearted adventure than his subsequent
Lord of the Rings trilogy. But contained within it is the
single most important event in the whole trilogy: the discovery
of a magical ring!
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The Fellowship of the Ring (paperback)
- Almost immediately, Tolkien sets the serious mood of this story by
revealing the evil past of the ring which Bilbo found in his
adventures. The ring is passed on to Frodo, who finds his destiny
is to bear it in a quest of its destruction. Those who accompany
him in his quest comprise the Fellowship of the ring.Tragic death,
treachery, and heroism mark the ending of this portion of the
story.
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The Two Towers (paperback)
- The Fellowship now broken, each party must continue on in whatever
way it can to help the ring-bearer succeed in his quest. Aragorn,
Legolas and Gimli set out to rescue Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam
continue on to Mount Doom, and Gandalf finds himself sent back to
fight treachery. The feeling of foreboding intensifies and the plot
begins an intricate weave of events.
I was so enthralled by this book that I was raging and weeping
along with Sam at the end. Tolkien makes his characters so real and
engaging, I forgot I was reading a novel!
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The Return of the King (paperback)
- I picked up the third book immediately after finishing the second.
Tolkien masterfully brings the story to its conclusion, though no
one I have ever talked to about the books ever wanted it to end! I
was somewhat placated by reading the appendices which at least
tells the fate Frodo and the other "ring-bearers", including Sam.
It also includes an invaluable pronunciation key for reading
the ample poetry, names and places in other languages.
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Visit my Lord of the Rings page, too!
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