BOOK REVIEW
Lord of the Rings is an absolute classic of Fantasy and literature, so it was bound to be on my list at some point. After eventually completing The Hobbit in June (see my review here), I borrowed the first book of the LotR trilogy from the library. I appreciated The Hobbit for what it was but the writing style was out of my comfort zone. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy the next book, as I anticipated the style to be similarly verbose and, dare I say it, dull in parts. But, I decided not to shy away. It is a classic after all, and I would be filled with regret if I didn't at least try!
BLURB
The first part of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, 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.
MY REVIEW
My opinion is controversial and may go against the grain of fantasy readers everywhere. But, I didn't really enjoy this book, to the degree I had hoped. I knew there was a chance of this happening when some parts of The Hobbit had felt like wading through treacle. Don't get me wrong, the imagery is incredible but there was an awful lot of padding that served no purpose.
Tons of the dialogue was incredibly verbose and repetitive (approximately 100 chapters covered the council meeting where everyone recounted their adventures up to that point and debated what the next steps should be). I was bored, to be honest, and would have preferred for the story to follow these adventures rather than have characters talk about them... Frodo walks for hours and is scared by a man on a horse...next chapter...Meanwhile, Gandalf is pacing a hilltop speaking to eagles...That would have kept me more engaged as I found the chapters, where something was happening, to be much easier to process.
There was a small part, with wolves, that was filled with action, but only stretched to a singular page of the book. This was a familiar theme throughout. I'm still new to fantasy and I understand that it's important to build the world around the characters, but did I really need to know the full family tree of every character? Why does Strider/Aragon have a million different names, sometimes used in the same sentence?
I'll also admit, I skipped the songs. The important elements were generally discussed afterward, so I doubt I missed any key plot elements!
The final disappointment came when, after a week of ploughing through the book, there was no payoff. Not even a cheeky cliffhanger ending to get the heart going, like a series finale of Grey's Anatomy!
I loved some parts though, although the first part of my review may not seem that way! Sam Gamgee is a great character, he brought me lots of laughs and I felt for him and some of the decisions he had to make. Gandalf has improved slightly in my perception of him too, he at least (eventually) explained what he needed to. He could have done a much better job of keeping poor Frodo in the loop, who was clueless during the first half of the book. Points for improvement in communication though.
Overall, I appreciate the dedication and effort that has gone into creating a completely different world, such care was taken with every word and that cannot be faulted. The imagery was flawless. Even as someone who can't visualise when I read, the descriptions effectively conveyed the beauty, terror, and vastness of the land.
I also enjoyed drawing parallels between this book and the Harry Potter series. The obvious similarities between Gandalf and Dumbledore aside, I noticed some other cool similarities. Gollum reminds me of the house elf, Kreacher, in Harry Potter, they seem to be similar in appearance and speech patterns. The "bad guy" in both books is a character so terrible that his name isn't spoken aloud, the Dark Lord. It made me chuckle but am not surprised that a book with such presence and outreach has influenced, even subliminally, other authors (and the fantasy genre more generally!).
While this book will never reach the top of my list, it just wasn't my style, I don't doubt why so many people loved (and still do) the world and the stories. A solid three-star read, and before you ask, yes I will be reading the next book...maybe not until next month though, I need a rest!
Does anyone else feel the same, or am I lonely on this hill?
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