Hello Fellow Journeyers,
The Lord of the Rings needs no introduction.
What's the story about: The Lord of the Rings is about a cadre of people dedicated to defending the good races of Middle-earth from an evil that will enslave and kill everyone in an all-defeating kind of way. Good vs Evil. Created the epic fantasy genre entirely so we'll leave it at that.
The reason this review is of The Lord of the Rings instead of the three books, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King is simple. JRR Tolkien intended for his story to be one, single book. Because it was sold in three parts is not relevant because it reads as one story from the author. The Lord of the Rings isn't referenced as a story or book, it's The Lord of the Rings for a reason. Everyone knows the book and yet a much smaller number have read it, even though that number is still immense.
Before saying anything else, the reason this blog and quest exists is because of this book. I fell in love with reading because of The Lord of the Rings and this made me a lifelong, die-hard, fantasy fan. Meaning that because I felt so moved by this story, I would vow to find other stories like (and not like) it in order to filter the results for others.
The Fellowship of the Ring is a mixed bag of phenomenal and occasionally okay storytelling. The beginning is a long drawn out history of a race and it's inhabitants that starts the story off small and warm. The next chapter is a super long historical backstory of what's happened in the world, in order to process what the long tome will be about. I won't go into detail as you probably know the rest of this story yourself, but once a certain Ranger enters the story, things really pick up and don't stop until the end. What makes Fellowship so good is that it focuses on a simple quest again evil and a journey to get there. Alliances are made, peril ensures, betrayal, loss, and grief. All told imaginably well and progresses evenly and without fail. We end the first part with high expectations for the next two-thirds of this tale.
Beginning The Two Towers, storytelling starts to branch into multiple perspectives. For the most part this is not a problem as we go from hearing the major characters struggles and while this definitely reads like a middle section, it's still engaging enough to get through. While the main battle and climax of this section of the book is quite a bit more anticlimactic than I would've hoped, this is still a solid part of the lengthy Rings book as a whole. With one delicately amazing section where a wizard tries to overcome and overpower the forces of good after a crushing defeat that is some of the best writing in trilogy. We also experience some strikingly creepy writing where two characters are faced with utter terror against a monster of unforeseen danger.
The Return of the King is a worthy and lengthy final part in this book that takes all that has come and wraps it together in the uttermost dramatic fashion. Bonds are re-forged. Crushing defeat occurs time and time again. And when all hope is lost, there is a light that carries the characters through the worst of it. It's devastating to read Return without getting blurry eyed and this is the part of the book that ripped at my insides until I couldn't handle it any more. The loyalty expressed from friends, the anguish of the characters going through hardship, the hope that is lost right before an unexpected events happens to come in all is beautifully written and captivating to the utmost extent.
I've spent much of this review laying out broad gestures of what happens in the book, but rather little on what makes this story so much better than all the others. Maybe I can't simply explain it. I could say that you just get utterly swept away with it. I could say that it's because the writing is so beautiful and elegant that it captivates to no end. I could say that it redefined a genre that will never forget it's roots. But more than anything, this tale of wonder gripped my heart harder than any other. It's simply the reason I read, and I love it for that.
★★★★★ 5 Stars - The Lord of the Rings deserves the highest praise not because it has defined generations of readers, not because it can be read as a historical textbook on the fantasy genre, nor because it's simply the best wonder tale, but because of all three of those reasons and many others. The Lord of the Rings is the story of good versus evil, empowering friendship, deep valor, crushing defeat, heart wrenching anguish, great loss, and clinging to hope. While there are many parts that seem needlessly frivolous (Tom Bombadil), it is a perfect story for anyone to read that wants the most in-depth fantasy story imaginable. Not in-depth for having the most going on or is overly complicated, but that it has the most depth of them all. A book that any child or adult can read and be completely lost in. Which is the very best kind of story in my opinion.
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
Rating system:
★★★★★ 5 Stars: It was amazing; I loved it. Read this book; it is definitely Essential Reading!
★★★★★* 4.5 Stars: It was nearly perfect. I really loved almost every aspect of it, but a few things kept it from being amazing.
★★★★ 4 Stars: It was very worth reading and satisfying; highly recommend.
★★★★* 3.5 Stars: I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it was lacking in certain crucial areas.
★★★ 3 Stars: It was good, but could've been better or improved upon significantly.
★★★* 2.5 Stars: I wanted to enjoy it. Certain aspects were good, it was worth finishing, but many issues.
★★ 2 Stars: It was okay, I didn't feel strongly about it.
★ 1 Star: I did not like it. It was not worth finishing or I did not finish it.
*I round up based on the system on Goodreads. Also, there is no 1.5 Stars because it does not seem to have enough differentiation.
