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A review by sweekune
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
For years I've put off reading Lord of the Rings. Before this I'd never read the books or seen the films. I wanted to. I adore the Hobbit and loved the world it was set in. But I was intimidated by the legend of the trilogy and by the "enthusiasm" of some of the fans. Luckily, I have friends who, upon learning the above, were utterly disgusted by this and insisted I start out with The Fellowship of the Ring immediately. I am so grateful they did.
- The entrancing, encompassing atmosphere of this book is incredible. It is slow and the environments and characters wash over you until you are surrounded and immersed. I loved wandering through Middle Earth with Frodo and co and never once felt lost.
- Some of the locations are so vividly described and have made homes in my mind forever. The Shire I was already familiar with and it was expanded and made deeper. Rivendell and the Old forest were beautiful and Lorien is now my favourite fictional place. Even the dark of Moria was beautiful in it's cold and chilling way.
- The songs and poems. I'd heard about the "song breaks" before and always thought I would find that really jarring in a story. Well reality could not be further from the truth and these were some of my favourite parts of the books and really added to the story and the feel of the book.
- The characters... Tolkien knows how to write them. From Frodo to Aragorn, Samwise, Legolas, Merry & Pippin and so many more were incredible.
I've already started The Two Towers because I'm not ready to leave Middle Earth yet. It is a comforting, deep, faceted place and I need to know more. For anyone who's put off reading these, I really urge you to try. You won't regret it.
- The entrancing, encompassing atmosphere of this book is incredible. It is slow and the environments and characters wash over you until you are surrounded and immersed. I loved wandering through Middle Earth with Frodo and co and never once felt lost.
- Some of the locations are so vividly described and have made homes in my mind forever. The Shire I was already familiar with and it was expanded and made deeper. Rivendell and the Old forest were beautiful and Lorien is now my favourite fictional place. Even the dark of Moria was beautiful in it's cold and chilling way.
- The songs and poems. I'd heard about the "song breaks" before and always thought I would find that really jarring in a story. Well reality could not be further from the truth and these were some of my favourite parts of the books and really added to the story and the feel of the book.
- The characters... Tolkien knows how to write them. From Frodo to Aragorn, Samwise, Legolas, Merry & Pippin and so many more were incredible.
I've already started The Two Towers because I'm not ready to leave Middle Earth yet. It is a comforting, deep, faceted place and I need to know more. For anyone who's put off reading these, I really urge you to try. You won't regret it.