J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings)

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  I plowed through all four books in a matter of two weeks. What can I say, they're classics. The Hobbit is not quite as epic as its successors, but there's plenty here to enjoy. (Get ready to feel the urge to get up early and make a huge breakfast every day for a few weeks after reading.)

  As for Lord of the Rings. . . there's nothing I can say about this series that other fans haven't already said. The stories didn't so much change my life, as become a part of it after taking the journey w... (show more)

  I plowed through all four books in a matter of two weeks. What can I say, they're classics. The Hobbit is not quite as epic as its successors, but there's plenty here to enjoy. (Get ready to feel the urge to get up early and make a huge breakfast every day for a few weeks after reading.)

  As for Lord of the Rings. . . there's nothing I can say about this series that other fans haven't already said. The stories didn't so much change my life, as become a part of it after taking the journey with Frodo and the Fellowship. The movies were fantastic, but they could never do the books the kind of justice that this series deserves, and anyone who has not read these works should go out and buy/borrow them right now.

  If there's one tale I can recommend, it's Lord of the Rings, so do yourself a favor and make the time to read it. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Mar 13, 2009 at 02:30AM

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  This is somewhere between the thirtieth and fiftieth time I've read this. There are few authors who achieve such reality in fantasy as J.R.R. Tolkien. His prose, while archaic in its words, is accessible to adults and children acquainted with the dictionary. Middle-Earth has spawned a movement of authors (as Stephen King describes) who are "trying to bring Frodo and and Sam back from the Grey Havens because Tolkien is no longer here to do it for us."

  Wartime parallels or no, the L... (show more)

  This is somewhere between the thirtieth and fiftieth time I've read this. There are few authors who achieve such reality in fantasy as J.R.R. Tolkien. His prose, while archaic in its words, is accessible to adults and children acquainted with the dictionary. Middle-Earth has spawned a movement of authors (as Stephen King describes) who are "trying to bring Frodo and and Sam back from the Grey Havens because Tolkien is no longer here to do it for us."

  Wartime parallels or no, the Lord of the Rings is rapidly finding its way from obscure fantasy circles into accepted academic curricula. More than that, it has inspired in its younger readers an interest in ancient cultures and active thinking about God, mortals, and the nature of Good vs. Evil.

  The true crowning glory of Tolkien's work is his ability to tell a good story from start to finish in the fashion that a story should be told: not unlike a bedtime story. He feeds our childlike love of adventure and maintains our hope for a happy ending, though it may be nothing like what we expect. (show less)

   

   

  by Kathleen McGowan on Nov 30, 2009 at 01:05PM

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