Book Review: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien

Title: The Fellowship of the Ring
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Series: Lord of the Rings #1 and #2
Published: 1954
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages:
From: Barnes and Noble
Rating: 8/10

I love the Lord of the Rings. I’m so much of a nerd that last month at a bar in Des Moines a guy said to me, “One does not simply enter Mordor,” and I responded, “Obviously, one simply does.” He told me he was going to marry me and then I never saw him again.

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first installment of the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien, a British author who died in 1973. It follows the story of Frodo, a hobbit from the Shire, who inherits a ring of immense power and must destroy it so Sauron does not take over Middle Earth.

Honestly, the only thing I can say about this novel that was bad was how dry it could get. Sometimes it was slightly boring to read, because there was so much history involved. But, really, there wasn’t much bad about it at all.

Tolkien was a genius. He invented an entire language for the elves, and created a whole world with its own history to go along with it, melding them together and birthing a great epic fantasy called Lord of the Rings.

The story is amazing, going through each character’s life and thoughts, as well as the many different things that happens to them well before the fellowship is even put together. But then, when the fellowship is created, the adventure is even greater.

Tolkien knew how to create a story, make it flow evenly together, knew the right moments to add songs and side stories. He understood how to create an image in the reader’s mind of what is going on in his mind, most of which is a fantastical world of fictional creatures and monsters the likes of which will never be seen in any other work of fiction.

This is the second time I’ve read The Lord of the Rings, but it feels like the first. It’s wonderful, if a bit dry and slow at points, and I can’t wait to finish the rest of the trilogy. Even though I know exactly what happens thanks to the movies and reading these books previously, it’s the adventure and little details I missed the first go-round that always get me, hook me again and again.

For more of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, visit stores in person or online, such as Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. His other works, including The Silmarillion, are available for purchase. Check out the Lord of the Rings on Blu-Ray and DVD, both the theatrical and extended cuts, as well as The Hobbit trilogy, all out on Blu-Ray and DVD.