One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind themIn ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. … lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
From Sauron’s fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
This new edition includes the fiftieth-anniversary fully corrected text setting and, for the first time, an extensive new index.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but while he studied classic works of the past, he was creating a set of his own.
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This is an absolute classic in its field! Back in the ’60’s, it was the topic of every conversation – and it is still just as classic today. Forget what you saw in the movie, this is much richer and fuller. The characters are well drawn out and the drama is epic. May be the best series I have ever read. Folks still quote from it, my precious.
One of the all time epic fantasies.
Now reading it for the ninth or tenth time, this time aloud to my elder daughter. I foresee many more re-reads in the future. I can recite portions of it by heart at this point. If you haven’t read it yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
From ages 7 to 17, I read this trilogy every single year, and I’ve read it once every five years or so since then. The thing that impresses me most about Tolkien’s writing is the depth of his world-building – every society has massive amounts of history, which makes these books feel very grounded and realistic, even though they’re fantasy. He also …
Classic myth building novels that have aged very well – if you ignore the shortage of female characters. An awful lot of modern fantasy adventure authors have read and been influenced by these books.
What is a book that takes a while to get going but is totally worth the wait?
First, you really need to take LOTR as one big book and not three smaller (but still large) books. Also, it is important to skip the prefaces. They make absolutely no difference to the story and you don’t really need to know about pipeweed. There is still a long …
My book that is worth re-reading is The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – I have actually read the entire series out loud twice, once to younger siblings and once to my own children. It is such a great escape where forces for good all come together to work against evil and heroism erupts from such unlikely sources. Whether I am in need of escape or …
One of my all time favorite books. You get to be transported to an incredible world filled with amazing, unlikely heroes. What’s not to love!
One trilogy to rule them all. I have reread this more than 20 times, finding new levels of enjoyment every time.
When one cannot do anything outdoors, stay indoors and return to Middle-Earth.
Love the LOTR Series! Highly recommend if you are looking for complex and engaging stories. Recommend an edition that has notes and appendices to help sort them out, as well as reading the Hobbit and the Silmarillion. The Hobbit is suitable for young teens and above. The rest may be a little complex until they are older.
I was 17 when I first read JRR Tolkien’s books, “The Hobbit” and the three book series known as “The Lord of the Rings”. I have been a fan ever since and I am now 60.
First is “The Fellowship of the Ring” which brings together the main characters and introduces us to the threat they face and it’s history as well as what must be done to defeat it. …
It’s one of those trilogies that pulls you in and you find more the second time around. This is one of those classics that stood the test of time.
The first big fantasy trilogy I ever read and an engrossing read all the way through. This followed my introduction to Tolkien with The Hobbit and opened a whole new world of literature to me 35 years ago. I can’t begin to recommend this book highly enough and the world of Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Take the plunge and discover fantasy by one of it’s …
The original!!!
The only problem is after I’ve re-read it I can’t read anything else for a bit. All other books seem so poorly written after spending time with the Father of Fantasy.
There is not much that can be said about the Lord of the Rings. I have read the trilogy about five times and the books are as enjoyable as the first time. Well written, colorful, plenty of battles, cute and not so cute characters and a trip into fantasy worth taken.
This is the easiest book review I’ve ever written.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is by far the best fantasy series of all time. Better than Game of Thrones. Better than The Wheel of Time. Better than anything out there.
Why? Because J.R.R. Tolkien taught English, Literature, Anglo-Saxon, and Folklore at Oxford University. His writing is lyrical. …
I admit I saw the movie before I read the book. Loved the movie, loooved the book. The book filled in a few gaps and answered a few questions I had in parts of the movie. I couldn’t put the book down.
The best books, together with the Hobbit, for introducing kids to fantasy. Love it every time I re-read it, and would definitely include it in the apocalypse library of top twenty books I could be satisfied to read again and again forever.