The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Book 1)

Recently discovered the joys of lsitening to audio books and wanted to revisit the majic that is Tolkiens Lord of the Rings and was definitly not disapointed. Full and unabridged, the narrator deftly brought to life Frodo, Gandolf and all of our beloved characters as real as any movie could.

The fellowship of the ring is a fantastic thrill of events. The ring of power has to be destroyed in the firey pits of mordor. Frodo and his 9 freinds and allies travel throughout the land of middle earth do dispose of the ring of power. The horrible servents of Sauron are after Frodo and his allies if Sauron reclaims possestion of the ring middle earth will be doomed forever. This book shows the true imagination of J.R.R Tolkein as it takes you through the epic battles and adventures the group goes through a real thrill. The author does a fantastic job of describing the characters and events a true masterpeice.

'The Fellowship of The Ring', by JRR Tolkien, is the exciting first installment in 'The Lord of The Rings' trillogy. Building upon the story that was told in 'The Hobbit', this story tells the tale of the discovery by Gandalf the Gray, that the magic ring found by Bilbo Baggins on his journeys, is none other than the ring of power, the One Ring, the master ring that was created by the Dark Lord, Sauron, himself.

Together with several companions, three other Hobbits, an Elf, a Dwarf, Gandalf, and two men, Aragorn and Boromir, Frodo sets off on the quest of Mount Doom, the quest to destroy the One Ring forever. This story is wonderfully done, a true masterpiece in fantasy fiction. Tolkien expands upon the world that he has only touched upon in 'The Hobbit', and we find it a place inhabbited by creatures of various kinds, some are evil, others strive for good, and others do only what they think they must. Yet now, with Sauron, the Dark Lord, rising to power once again, and gathering his strength, they find that they must choose a dreadful course, a course into peril.

RD Williams, author of 'The Lost Gate'

As is often the case for me, when I read a book (or watch a film or whatever) that has a huge following and reputation for being a masterpiece, I usually come away disappointed. I probably go in expecting too much, but nonetheless...

I thought the book moved a little too slowly. I thought it was moving quickly at the beginning, but once they started walking, it got very slow. The majority of book consists of the hobbits walking around (first alone and then with the fellowship), and encountering various dangers. We learn some stuff during these experiences, but probably much less than you would expect considering the number of pages devoted to it. The majority of the story development takes place (or rather, is quickly discussed) in the Council of Elrond chapter. So much of Gandalf's story (particularly his encounter with Saruman) could have been fleshed out and described in more detail. I felt like the book devoted WAY too much time to the tedium of their journey and just skimmed over this important back story and development. I can appreciate a book taking its time to develop, but when you get frustrated by the pace, waiting for something to happen, that's not a good thing.

Also, this may just be my personal tastes, but I found all the discussion of Middle Earth history/geography/languages to be somewhat difficult to get through. It's not that I can't see the value of what Tolkien has done, but I think from a story telling point of view, all the historical references are a hindrance to the flow of the story (I constantly found myself wondering "who is he talking about" or "who was that again"... then debating whether or not it was important enough to go back and try to find it or just ignore it and go on).

I don't want to say that this is a bad book, but I think it is something that is perhaps too complex to be enjoyed without a great deal of effort (this isn't bad... but it's certainly not a casual read). I'm all about books that require effort and interpretation, but in this case I'm not sure the effort required to really delve into Tolkien's constructed world is worth the insight gained from such efforts. However, I found the overall story very intruiging and will eventually read the remaining books because I genuinely what to know what happens (even if the journey is somewhat tedious).

Having finished the first book, I think it was worth the effort and I'm glad that I got through it. Other who have read the trilogy tell me the first book is the slowest, so I'm looking forward to moving on and hopefully picking up the pace a bit.

I just finished reading the book, and now I am listening to it starting with the hobbit straight through the return of the king because I read them that way and I think the hobbit is in a way a part of the lord of the rings. its 60+ hours total but its worth it the narrator is great, I would of course recommend actually reading it before listening to it because as the story is a big journey, so is reading the book, its a very long story and part of appreciating it is working your way through it and for those that say "Oh I saw the movies", There is ALOT that the movies left out and gives the story a new feel. Since I read it long after seeing the movies I was not prepared for what I read, there are so many small parts that either were left out or changed slightly that its like reading a story you don't know entirely. I have to say that I love the movies and if not for them I would never have wanted to read the books. If the only way you are willing to experience the book is audiobook only then I still recommend it because they are wonderful books, my favorite actually. If you do read them first, finishing them does feel great, like a journey complete.