Customer Reviews

The Lord of the Rings

5 star:		(728)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

While a Lord of the Rings fanatic myself, I don't see a reason to write an extensive commentary on the trilogy. If you want a review on the book there are more than sufficient amounts of widely varied opinions below my own that should satiate one's curiosity as to the virtues (or lack thereof) of Tolkien's most acclaimed work.

I feel it more important to note that the item you will be receiving is NOT the one portrayed in the image, but rather a boxset of the three individual novels from the relatively recent Harper Collins reprinting. These three novels are the mass market stylized black ones which have a ring of yellow, red or green on the covers, distinguishing one novel from the next, as well as the glossy black background markings. Unfortunately, I had ordered this item thinking that it was a different printing (due to cover art) that I didn't yet possess and upon receiving the product, I was a little put out to discover that I now have two identical boxsets of black covers. The second will still make a great gift for someone else, but you should be aware that this item is inconsistent with the picture.

As an owner of numerous editions, I welcome this latest revision in honour of the 50th anniversary. The soft leather cover is quite nice to the touch and the printing quality is superlative. The numerous revisions to the text are welcome and the two-coloured printing in spots is similar to the deluxe editions from 30 years ago.
If you desire an excellent edition at a very affordable price, this is the one to get. Highly recommended.

Only an balrog could object to an revised 50th anniversary edition, with corrections beyond those in the the standard revised version. BUT...

This edition is *not* "leather bound:" it's a less-than-ordinary hardcover binding with paper-thin faux-leather glued over paper boards. The bookmark ribbon breaks the binding. Signatures are glued rather than sewn together, not held together by the 'leather', but glued onto the paper end sheets, which are separated from the paper spine. Poor production generally: end papers badly centred, more than a little random glue and rubber cement on the covers that really mars the appearance. [See annotated Customer Image #2]. Reviewers elsewhere have commented on uneven type quality; this 2nd printing does not have that problem.

It's an OK one-volume edition, given the revisions. *Not* a 'collectible', definitely not worth the CDN$86 list, barely worth the discounted $56 given the disappointment factor. Don't give this as a gift to a Tolkien fan, expecting rapture. I kept mine for the revisions, first-time readers look elsewhere.

Amazon: please *stop* advertising this edition as 'leather bound': it is *serious* misrepresentation of the product.

This is a beautiful edition of an already supremely amazing publication that any true Tolkien fan shouldn't be without. It combines all three parts of the trilogy, including all prefaces and appendices, into a drool-inspiring leatherbound single edition with gold-gilded pages. Simply the nicest edition of Lord of the Rings to date, though since they have published the three books again with many full colour illustrations, which I am going to need to add to my collection...

For anyone who is a true fan of Professor Tolkien's works, this is a must-have book. The quality of the pages is fabulous and the case and cover are first-class. I have the paperback version of the book, which I will continue to use for reading purposes ... This beautiful 50th edition book needs to be put on your bookshelf on display. It is a collector's edition that will be passed on from generation to generation.

I have always wanted one of the Fiftieth Anniversary Books of Lord of the Rings and now I own one. I could never buy one because at the time it was expensive. Now that I have one in my collection, I am proud. This book will never be read but if you haven't read one of these books then read it. You will be amazed at it.

Need I say, AMAZING !! Delivered in two days as well. My first time reading the books, (after of course having watched the movies and loving them), and the literature is simple Pure Gold !!

Though Tolkien was not the first or most critically-acclaimed fantasy writer, he remains the most beloved and influential, even though "Lord of the Rings" is decades old.

Now with the epic movie trilogy based on this book, new waves of readers are discovering the unique power of the "Lord of the Rings." It has quietly created the fantasy genre as we know it, set the tone for most fantasy ever since, topped many "best book" polls, and helped spawn such entertainment phenomena as "Star Wars."

Following up on events in "The Hobbit," "The Fellowship of the Ring" stars the quiet, good-natured hobbit Frodo Baggins, who has inherited a golden Ring that allows its user to become invisible. But his friend, Gandalf the wizard, informs Frodo that the Ring is really the Ring of Power, a tiny invulnerable token that the demonic Dark Lord Sauron has poured his essence and power into. And if Sauron can regain the Ring, he will be able to conquer Middle-Earth. Aghast, Frodo joins a fellowship of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Men and a wizard, to go to the one place where the Ring can be destroyed: Mount Doom.

"The Two Towers" begins directly after "Fellowship," after Frodo Baggins flees with his friend Sam into Mordor, with no one to protect them. His cousins Merry and Pippin are kidnapped by orcs from the renegade wizard Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli begin a frenetic search for the hobbits, and receive unexpected help from unlikely allies. Meanwhile, the Ring weighs more heavily on Frodo, as he is forced to get help from one of the people he most despised: the Ring's slave Gollum.

"Return of the King" brings the trilogy to an action-packed, slam-bang and ultimately poignant finale. Sam barely rescues Frodo from Sauron's orcs, and the two resume their journey to Mount Doom, barely escaping Sauron's forces. As Aragorn leads the desperate battle against Sauron's armies at the city of Minas Tirith, Frodo falls increasingly under the seductive spell of the Ring.

"Lord of the Rings" is indeed a powerful book, speaking to virtually everyone who has read it. J.R.R. Tolkien drew from legends and myths, ranging from the ancient Norse mythology to more recent legends, mingled with his love of the British country folk and his Roman Catholic beliefs.

Though there are no direct linkages or lessons in the trilogy, Tolkien probably drew on his experiences in World War I for the ravaged battlefields and breakneck action sequences. His beliefs are equally misty but present: they fueled the ethics of the good guys, the fall of formerly-good wizard Saruman, and the themes of temptation, redemption, evil and good that run through every character.

Frodo Baggins is an everyman hero, who dreams of adventure but begins to treasure the simple, boring life that he had once he is deprived of it. His deteriotation is saddening, all the more so because he is aware of it. The equally vibrant cast also includes Gandalf the crabby grandfatherly wizard, Sam Gamgee the loyal gardener, and a variety of kings, elves, dwarves, and more lovable little hobbits.

Tolkien's writing is evocative and descriptive, though not to extremes; Mordor, for example, is best described through the way that Sam and Frodo react to it. The dialogue can range from goofy and hilarious to solemn and archaic, or to some combination of the two. And the pacing is gradual but necessary -- readers with short attention spans won't be able to handle this story. If they can handle sprawling, epic tales, then probably they can.

Even after all the years, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" still rules the fantasy genre and has become an integral part of modern literature. It's an epic for all ages, and few books have even come close to equalling it.

I have listened to the majority of the CDs in this collection and what a terrific experience it has been. Rob Inglis' voice is absolutely perfect for the story. All the characters come to life from this single narrator. What's more, the songs and poems in the book are sung and read brilliantly. The passage where Aragorn and Legolas sing to the western, southern, and northern winds for the passing of Boromir has been done exceptionaly well.

As noted by others, there are some minor word substitutions and differences in the edition being read from but that in no way diminishes this elegant work. The story is timeless, the reading masterful. It's almost as if the Rob Inglis' voice has been tailor made for this type of story. The imagery of the book really comes alive with the reading. One passage sticks in my mind. It's the one where the Fellowship is travelling down Anduin and Legolas steps out of the boat to shoot down the Nazgul and his flying steed. The reading and imagery are so vivid that the entire scene just builds an image in the mind. Few books and readings have achieved such a high level.

Undoubtedly others will find their own favorite moments. That's what the combination of literary and narrative masters provides. At the very worse this work will provide hours of enjoyment. No Tolkien fan should be without this exceptional effort.

This reading of the entire Lord of the Rings is hard not to rate highly because of the quality of the performance. Mr. Inglis seems to have a whole world of different voices. I can't imagine how he managed to come up with so many or how he managed to remember what voice he picked for each character. He performs so well that this is really more a dramatization of the whole book rather than just someone reading it; even his voicing of the narration is perfect.

I've not listened to the whole yet, being about half-way through the Fellowship of the Ring. I assume that the quality of the performance will be just as good for the parts I've not listened to yet. However, I do have several quibbles (which are not enough to lessen my rating, but which I found surprising against the overall quality).

The first quibble has nothing to do with Mr. Inglis himself: Sometimes I can hear, faintly, another voice in the background. It sounds like this voice is also reading something. To the creators of this recording: get better sound-proofing. Mr. Inglis's voice and performance are so wonderful that it is a pity to have this distraction.

The second quibble has to do with Mr. Inglis: I happen to be listening to this recording while following along in my printed books of the trilogy, therefore it becomes obvious when Mr. Inglis departs from the text. I really don't mind the sometimes excessive use of contractions that are not in Tolkien's original (even though "don't use the ring" really does not have the same emphasis as "do *not* use the ring") and it's not so bad when he substitutes one word for another of the same meaning (possibly he may be reading from a different edition).

However, occasionally, Mr. Inglis makes boo-boos that change the meaning of the sentence being read. At least two come to mind (and these from the first half of the Fellowship): Near the end of the Tom Bombadil episode (when Frodo and Co. are taking leave of Goldberry) a "morning" is changed to a "misty morning". The word "misty" is not in the text and confuses the meaning of the passage as the sentences that follow imply that the morning is a clear one. The other most noticible change is that Sam's statement "How do *we* know that you are the real Strider..." gets read as "How do *you* know that you are the real Strider...", which makes no sense. These are the two errors of reading that first come to mind, but there were more. Enough, let's say, to surprise me in a performance that is almost pitch-perfect.

However, like I said previously, these quibbles don't reduce my rating and the set is well worth any amount of money.