Name: Vojtech's review of The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Item: The Fellowship of the Ring
Rating: 5
Author: Vojtech

J.R.R. Tolkien

After discovering the true nature of the One Ring, Bilbo Baggins entrusts it to the care of his young cousin, Frodo, who is charged with bringing about its destruction and thus foiling the plans of the Dark Lord.

Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings

The Fellowship of the Ring

Funda Firdevs Beyoğlu

 Süvariler de insanları ve başka yaratıkları casus olarak kullanabilir, Bree'de de tanık olduğumuz gibi. Isık dünyasını bizim gibi göremezler, fakat bizim şekillerimiz zihinlerinde bir gölge bırakır ve ancak öğlen güneşi bozabilir bunu; karanlıkta ise meçhul olan birçok işareti ve şekli algılayabilirler

In 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. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins is faced with an immense task, as the elderly Bilbo entrusts the ring to his care. Frodo must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
--back cover

Being the first part of The Lord of the Rings

cedar winslow

It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish

There are no trees like the trees of that land. For in the autumn their leaves fall not, but turn to gold. Not till the spring comes and the new green opens do they fall, and then the boughs are laden with yellow flowers; and the floor of the wood is golden, and golden is the roof, and its pillars are of silver, for the bark of the trees is smooth and grey. 

Big fan of the life lessons coming out of this series.

Jess

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,” said Gimli.

“Maybe,” said Elrond, “but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who had not seen nightfall.”

Elise Thompson 

They did little but eat and drink and rest, and walk among the trees; and it was enough.

All three parts of the epic masterpiece The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers & The Return of the King – available as one download, featuring the definitive edition of the text, hyperlinked footnotes and page references, and 3 maps including a detailed map of Middle-earth.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King

Petar Toushkov

Then he went to revive himself with a belated cup of tea.

He almost welcomed the coming of the night, for then the world seemed less pale and empty.

Tolkien's invention of strange people, curious incidents, miraculous doings, is poured out into this second volume of his trilogy. As the story goes on the world of the Rings grows more vast and mysterious and crowded with curious figures.

Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings

The Two Towers

anne

"Ich halte Wache, und wenn du ganz nah bei mir bist und ich den Arm um dich lege, dann kann niemand kommen und an dir herumfummeln, ohne das dein Sam es merkt."

"Dann schlafe, Herr Frodo! Leg den Kopf in meinen Schoß!"

Alan Lee

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power - the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring - the ring that rules them all - which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by nineteen watercolour paintings from Alan Lee.

Sam, soweit er sich erinnern konnte, schlief die ganze Nacht fest wie ein Brett, sofern Bretter fest schlafen können.

For the first time ever, a very special edition of the classic masterpiece, with the complete text and illustrated throughout by the author himself.

The Lord of the Rings

horu

‘Your staff,’ he said to Gandalf. ‘Forgive me, but that too must be left at the doors.’ 

‘Foolishness!’ said Gandalf. 'Prudence is one thing, but discourtesy is another. I am old. If I may not lean on my stick as I go, then I will sit out here, until it pleases Théoden to hobble out himself to speak with me.’

After losing Gandalf and being divided from their other companions during an Orc attack, Frodo and Sam continue towards Mordor, Land of the Enemy, to destroy the Ring, accompanied only by a mysterious figure that follows them.

Book Wyrm

Pippin wants to put his furry feet in Theoden's bearded mouth- This will teach you for spying on my notes!

The beginning of Gimli and Legolas travel buddies

Hobbits fall asleep during the Simple Ents role call of the dead

The Return of the King

I had completely forgotten about Bregalad/Quickbeam. 

Pavonini

Vojtech

As the Shadow of Mordor grows across the land, the Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, has joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and takes part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by Orcs, escape into Fangorn Forest and there encounter the Ents. Gandalf has miraculously returned and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Sam has left his master for dead after a battle with the giant spider, Shelob; but Frodo is still alive — now in the foul hands of the Orcs.

And all the while the armies of the Dark Lord are massing as the One Ring draws ever nearer to the Cracks of Doom.
--back cover

Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings

Amna A.

There's definitely a whole lot more to this book than destroying the One Ring, but every single part represents a different allegory. Pretty sure this book was published around the time of World War II, which might suggest that Tolkien had written this book to bring ease to those around him and help them understand the situation which they were in, for instance, "From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring".

In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power – the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord Sauron’s evil dominion.

Thus begins J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic tale of adventure, which continues in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

The Lord of the Rings, Part 1

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

Hermoso, simplemente hermoso. Mi recomendación es que, comiencen la saga de el señor de los anillos, leyendo este. Como siempre la pluma de Tolkien impecable, muy estimulante. Lo lees y es imposible no verlo en tu mente. Si hay que elegir cuales son los libros que quiero tener para siempre en la biblioteca, sin dudas son los de esta saga, con este incluido.

Luke Harkness

Undeniably phenomenal but not without flaws

This book (well this and it's two original companions) pioneered fantasy and are the reason that elves, dwarves, long journeys and so much more are tropes of modern fantasy and have just become part of fantastical world's without explanation. In the 500 pages (only 1/3 of the full journey) this book explored such a variety of people, cultures and lands that it felt like a book of many smaller stories. Truly something special.

However, as mentioned, this book isn't perfect. At times the pacing can be very slow, there's also a LOT of text that is purely long text of the travelling they're doing and the land around them. If the land were fantastical and there were much to see during all of these, it would make sense, but often it is simply written to emphasise the length of their journey. As a result, it can drag and can sometimes take a little rereading.

However I cannot knock this book down for that as it is part of what gives the book its feel. It is supposed to feel like a long journey for naive hobbits travelling much much further than they ever have before and seeing many characters, creatures and cultures they never knew even existed. Can't wait to read the second...but may have a couple days off to build up the concentration levels again.

maitha mana

'So Frodo and Sam set off on the last stage of the Quest together.'

The first part of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, featuring an exclusive cover designed to complement the new 'History of Middle-earth' series. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power -- the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring -- the ring that rules them all -- which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. Now available in smart a new livery to match the 'History of Middle-earth' series, and impossible to describe in a few words, JRR Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes of scene and character in an imaginary world which is totally convincing in its detail.

Maria

3-3.5 at times. 
i enjoyed reading this a lot more than the first time around, but i do think the first part of this was way too long. it takes them forever to leave the shire and then another eternity to finally get to rivendell. immediately after the council of elrond happens, the pace picks up though, and it's a much easier read. it's also, i think, in these parts that tolkien's writing excels (gandalf's fall in moria was beautifully done, and the grief that comes after; the entire lothlorien chapter felt like a fairytale). 
overall, i can also say that i'm not mad about any of the changes that they've made in the movies, and i find them all pertinent. tom bombadil's chapters were quite long & honestly didn't really fit the tone of the movie, leaning more into a bizarre, adventurous tale, than fitting for this story (removing him also doesn't change much, overall, so... makes sense to not include him and burden viewers with more information than they need). i also like that in the movies, aragorn is given an arc throughout the entire series, where we see him grow into accepting his role as king. i do have to say though that i love book aragorn so much, he's charming and confident, and a friend to all. frodo relies so much on him and his counsel, and i loved the little bits when he notices the small changes in aragorn - no longer a ranger, but slowly becoming the king he was meant to be. another change i personally enjoyed is how they breathed more life into characters like boromir and even gandalf a little more so that when (view spoiler)[ their deaths come  (hide spoiler)] it would be more impactful, and we would care so much more. legolas, however, i kind of like more in the book - he's a bit weird, and says the strangest things, and only speaks to bring the worst news, i love him. 
i switched between reading my physical copy & listening to this on audio, and i have to say andy serkis does such an incredible job of narrating this, to the point that it felt as if i was watching the whole thing play out in my mind (completely separate from the movie). it made all the singing come to life, and i didn't actually find it annoying (although, it does feel at times as if tolkien wanted this to be a musical), and he does such good impressions of the characters, that i almost wondered at times if they brought the entire cast together for this. so, if you want to go about reading this in any way, i fully recommend the audiobook narrated by serkis, it's so worth it.

Continuing the story of The Hobbit, this three-volume paperback boxed set of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, features exclusive covers from Peter Jackson's award-winning film trilogy, the definitive text, and a detailed map of Middle-earth.

A-Format Boxed Set

Christine

Oh. My. Goodness.

I had read The Hobbit a year ago for an English class and never thought to read LOTR. 
I got this copy of the trilogy bc I found it on sale on Amazon one day. 
I didn't actually pick it up and read it for quite a while, but when I did, I was immediately captivated. 
I saw why my friends were all telling me to get this book...
It is my favorite book.
Ever.
JRR Tolkien is a master writer.

Fantasy fiction. The first ever illustrated paperback of part one of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, featuring 19 colour paintings by Alan Lee.

Sean Wilson

This book is a better book than I am a reader, I think. The attentive and imaginative reader will have a great time here, and I expect that it rewards multiple reads over time.

The third volume in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them As the Shadow of Mordor grows across the land, the Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, has joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and takes part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by Orcs, escape into Fangorn Forest and there encounter the Ents. Gandalf has miraculously returned and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Sam has left his master for dead after a battle with the giant spider, Shelob; but Frodo is still alive—now in the foul hands of the Orcs. And all the while the armies of the Dark Lord are massing as the One Ring draws ever nearer to the Cracks of Doom. “A triumphant close . . . a grand piece of work, grand in both conception and execution. An astonishing imaginative tour de force.” – Daily Telegraph Includes the complete appendices and index for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings

Well worth the whole journey to arrive here. Deeply satisfying.

(view spoiler)[After all we've been through, ending the story by doing battle with petty tyrants and liars was very clever and I think enjoyed that most of all! (hide spoiler)]

Isabella

The second volume in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs. Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin—alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go. “Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century. The book presents us with the richest profusion of new lands and creatures, from the beauty of Lothlórien to the horror of Mordor.” – Sunday Telegraph

Sandrin

Book 3 was so freaking fun! Pippin and Merry are my beautiful best boys. 4 stars

Book 4 was boring af almost dnf. I just dont vibe with Frodo and Sam. 2 stars

IN LITTLE over ten year, J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy "The Lord of the Rings" has passed from the discovery of a small cult to become one of the treasured and most widely read novels of an entire generation.
The Fellowship of the Ring - first of the three books that comprise the complete story - tells of the fateful power of the One Ring, and begins the magnificent tale of war and adventure which is continued in The Two Towers and reaches its mighty climax in The Return of the King.
--back cover

Aragorn, my beloved, you can do no wrong.

Anyway, 3.5 stars cuz I still dont like Frodo and Sam ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
(also I prefer my female characters to actually talk to each other but thats just me ig)

In 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 still it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron’s power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo 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, Merry, Pippin and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

Pedro Figueiredo

there's not much to be said, really. it's my favourite book of all time (i read it every 2 years).

The company of the Ring is torn asunder. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin - alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

Thus continues J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale of adventure, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, begun in The Fellowship of the Ring and which reaches its awesome climax in The Return of the King.
--back cover

Apurva Chitnis

A classic of high fantasy, and one of my favourite books of all-time. Tolkein's world-building is second to none, and no author I've read comes close to him when describing darkness that Frodo and Sam experience in Middle-Earth.

There's certainly some slow sections that now seem dated (eg the chapters with Faramir) and others that could do with more detail (eg the Ents).

But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this re-read. I'm looking forward to finishing the trilogy with The Return of the King, but I'm saving it for when I can really enjoy it.

Mel 

I have so much nostalgia for this world and this series and it was nice to see things how Tolkein wrote it! Now I just need to watch all the movies again.

julia

it's a great conclusion of a story about friendship, huge bravery and sacrifice which managed to completely immerse me. the world of it is so vivid and the way the story goes on after the final confrontation makes you realise not only what the characters were fighting for but also what loss and irreversible damage they had to face after that and it sincerely moved me.

i've never read something like this before. tolkien created a world so complex that it's hard to believe it's fictional. there's just so much detail included, which makes it much more realistic, but on the other hand, it also takes more effort to understand it thoroughly. i really liked the sense of adventure and the blooming feeling of frendship between the characters. the journey was described in a way that made me feel like i was part of it.

everyone needs a friend as loyal and persistent as sam gamgee in their life

I really do like the world in this one. It has a vast lore and interesting cultures. I also like the overall story in this book. The pacing, however, is rough. As amazing as the world is, I feel like we don't get to see much of it in the first three fourths of the book. Even when interesting things do happen in this part, we don't experience them directly, but second hand in tales told by other characters. We are therefore removed from the tension and excitement of it, and spend most of this time just on a hiking trip, in a place that mostly feels ordinary.

The last fourth of the book really catches up and makes us experience some of the terrifying, but also glorious things Middle-Earth has in store for us, but it felt a bit too late, and even when I got there, I was still annoyed that the first part (the majority of the book really) was as boring as it was.

I will continue the series straight away though. Hopefully now that things got going, the pacing will be better.

Eduardo Sorribas

This one is a bit tricky.

I really do like the world in this one. It has a vast lore and interesting cultures. I also like the overall story in this book. The pacing, however, is rough. As amazing as the world is, I feel like we don't get to see much of it in the first three fourths of the book. Even when interesting things do happen in this part, we don't experience them directly, but second hand in tales told by other characters. We are therefore removed from the tension and excitement of it, and spend most of this time just on a hiking trip, in a place that mostly feels ordinary.

The last fourth of the book really catches up and makes us experience some of the terrifying, but also glorious things Middle-Earth has in store for us, but it felt a bit too late, and even when I got there, I was still annoyed that the first part (the majority of the book really) was as boring as it was.

I will continue the series straight away though. Hopefully now that things got going, the pacing will be better.

La Compagnia dell'Anello

Virginia L

Milou albrecht 

Was it just me or was LOTR really big in the mid-to-late-90's, before the films came out? Seems like most of my book-reading childhood friends had at least read the first one. In primary school, around about 1994, our class had a story competition, and the winner was a girl who'd written about Gandalf and Shadowfax. These books kind of hung over my childhood in the same way Goosebumps, Babysitters Club, and later Harry Potter did. I read them countless times. 

I really expected the story to not have aged well. I'll admit: the songs were a drag, I skipped most of those. But I still got misty-eyed at certain passages featuring Merry and Éowyn, and Frodo and Sam. Even as an adult, this book has the power to make me feel a lot of feelings and even with its many problems (Why is Sam so...like he is? I HATE how slavish he is, it makes me feel grubby to read) I sill love it very, very much.

The first volume in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS
 
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In 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. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. 
--back cover

Lila R E

okay so here’s the thing…

objectively i feel like this isn’t the greatest piece of literature. there is absolutely no need for descriptive writing to this extent and the plot is literally just travelling. HOWEVER i simply have to pay my respects to this feat; yes it did take me over two months to read (partly because i had to read other books in the meantime to stop myself getting too bored) but it is indisputably an iconic novel - pop culture wouldn’t be the same without it.

also can we all just appreciate how cool legolas is? like he’s just so cool. i did a quiz recently to find out which race i would be in middle earth and got ‘man’ (disappointingly) but i’d honestly do anything to be an elf. (which reminds me, arwen got a criminally low amount of airtime, i’m so glad they took her relationship with aragorn and RAN with it in the film because liv tyler is the love of my life.)

that’s pretty much all i have to say; while this definitely isn’t an ‘enjoyable’ read i’m happy to have finally completed it (on my third attempt). no offence tolkien but i will be taking a break before having a go at two towers.

Jaden Nelson

Ahh soo- very hard to put a star rating on this book and write my thoughts because I don’t quite know what I think about it myself. For me, The Fellowship of the Ring fell short where [Book: The Hobbit] also fell short—I got bored here and there. Yes, I know even the best book ever written probably has “boring parts”, and I sound like a little kid when I say I got bored, but annoyingly slow or—in my opinion—unnecessary parts of the book do make for a less-enjoyable reading experience. TFOTR (as I will now all it) took me about 2 weeks to read. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but it kind of is. I sometimes found myself not wanting to pick it up and start reading because I wasn’t in the mood for it; however, there are of course many elements of this book I loved. For one thing, I loved the way Gollum talks- “what has it got in its pocketses?” Btw I was quoting Gandalf saying that so I was quoting someone quoting a quote... Also, I liked how there was singing in the book (even though I fail at trying to sing the right rhythm in my head) (however the over three pages of only song seems a little excessive (pg262-265).[idk what <—that punctuation is buttt. Sam became my favorite character because he is written to be so innocent, lovable, caring, and down to earth (accidental pun thank you very much), while being shy often going unnoticed. All that being said, this book is such a wholesome, I guess comfortable fantasy that I want to love with all of my heart, but I distinctly remember getting a little bored at parts in the book;at the same time, I think that other fantastic elements of this book made up for the slower parts(which i guess are mostly descriptions of the movement of their journey-which are actually described very well and sometimes beautifully, but still make for a slow scene). TFOTR was a really great book that I definitely plan on rereading (I have a feeling this book is one that gets better every time you read it).

Dustin

20 years after watching the first movie and deciding to read the books someday, I finally managed.
I was not disappointed and enjoyed this first book (or rather: 2 volumes) very much. Interesting to see all the differences and what the movie omitted or invented. I was initially afraid of how long this book would be, but it was much shorter than expected.
Cannot wait to continue with the next book/volume.

Yeah, cool cool cool. I just think I liked the movies more.

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The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

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