Customer Reviews

Hobbit Illust Ed

5 star:		(705)
4 star:		(128)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

A classic, plain and simple. The illustrations are whimsical, sophisticated, and there are plenty of them. A nice copy printed on quality paper, this edition will stand up to many, many readings.

I already reviewed THE HOBBIT, but I'd thought I'd review THIS version. I doscovered Alan Lee & his paintings around Fall of 2002, wella fter I got my current editions of THE HOBBIT and LORD OF THE RINGS. D'oh. I'm still quite content with mine, but had I known about THESE versions I would've gone for them. This is the best edition of THE HOBBIT I've ever seen. I gave it four starts due to the size of the actual book. It's beautiful and all, just a little large. Best read on your lap, or sitting down at a table.

[This is a review of the 70th Anniversary Edition, not so much of THE HOBBIT itself. I've reviewed the book proper elsewhere, and would rather focus on the actual edition itself.]

THE HOBBIT is one of those few books that I have felt justified to buy multiple copies over the years. It is a book I have read and cherished, and a book I dearly love. THE HOBBIT is a novel that deserves to be bought multiple times over, and I always enjoy looking at new editions of this classic work. So imagine my excitement when I found out they would be publishing a 70th anniversary edition of one of my most cherished novels!

This has been a big year for Tolkien fans. Christopher Tolkien published THE CHILDREN OF HURIN, a newly completed version of Turin's legend, in April. We've gotten (at long last), THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT, expertly handled by brilliant Tolkien scholar John D. Ratcliffe and published in two separate volumes. And of course, we have the 70th anniversary of Tolkien's first primary work, THE HOBBIT, which this edition is published in celebration of that momentous occasion. And does it live up as a major new edition of this fantasy classic?

That's a pretty easy answer. The answer is NO.

First off, here are the positives. The 70th anniversary edition is pretty much how the first edition of THE HOBBIT was actually published back in 1937 with some notable improvements, and conforming to Tolkien's pretty exacting specifications, including how the dust jacket should appear, as well as the art and maps that accompany the text.

These are the notable differences between the first edition and this edition. Due to cost, Tolkien was not able from a production standpoint to have the book appear exactly as he envisioned. The 1937 publication cut some of his artwork, the map was not how he so desired, and the dust jacket, due to printing cost, was limited to three primary colours (green, black, and white). Originally, Tolkien wanted the sun on the front cover and the dragon on the back cover to be totally in red, but this was not feasible.

Obviously Tolkien's work is successful enough that these production costs are no longer an issue, and so this is a relatively accurate facsimile of what Tolkien would have wanted to publish in 1937 had money not been an object, as it too often is in the real world. For that, this edition has some worth.

Now, there are some negatives. And these are big negatives.

First off, paper quality and binding. It's bad.

Then there's the actual art work. The colour artwork is quite nicely implemented into the main text, and overall I don't have a problem with the colour artwork from a production standpoint. The paintings are bright and colourful, and remain true to higher quality prints of Tolkien's phenomenal painting. But unfortunately the same cannot be said of the black and white illustrations. Like a reviewer said before me, it appears Tolkien's drawings were reproduced on a cheap scanner. Tolkien's artwork is highly valuable, but unfortunately the drawings here are rather badly reproduced in this edition.

Then there's the advertisement for LOTR at the end that's rather annoying. They reproduce the first chapter of FELLOWSHIP and place it at the end of the novel, acting like a cheap plug for Tolkien's masterpiece. I don't have any problem with plugging LOTR, but to me this inclusion of the first chapter just cheapens the whole book, especially when it's supposed to be a major edition of a major work. We all know about LOTR. Do we really need the first chapter here? Rather tacky, to say the least.

Then there's the problem of Christopher Tolkien's forward. This is what I was most looking forward too, actually. Having read E. A. Solinas's review, I was under the impression this was a new forward prepared specifically by Christopher for the 70th anniversary of his father's work. Not the case. It's simply a reprint of the forward he wrote for the 50th anniversary of THE HOBBIT, twenty years previously.

As far as textual authenticity, I must be honest in the fact that I've only browsed it at a Borders bookstore, but I'd be very surprised if they did not use the text from The Annotated Hobbit, as it is the most definitive and accurate text yet established for the book. Still, I can't verify that that is the case.

Overall, this is a fair edition of THE HOBBIT. It could have been a lot more. What sets this apart from the other copies is this is how Tolkien truly envisioned how he wanted the book to appear, and for that fact alone, this is a valuable edition to the Tolkien collector. Unfortunately the poor production quality of the black and while illustrations, the rather tacky inclusion of LOTR's first chapter, and the disappointment of the publishers' just reprinting a twenty year old introduction to the 50th anniversary publication rather brings the whole affair down. I think I'll pass on this one.

For those looking for the best edition of Tolkien's book, buy THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT, first published in 1988 and republished in a new format in 2003. The second version of THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT is the definitive edition of this phenomenal work as far as I'm concerned.

"The Hobbit or There and Back Again" by J. R. R. Tolkien was published on September 21st of 1937. It is the success of this book that paved the way for "The Lord of the Rings". "The Hobbit" is definitely geared towards younger readers, and it received favorable reviews from papers in the U.K. and the U.S., and it was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, as well as the New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival Award in 1938.

"The Hobbit" is often over-shadowed by "The Lord of the Rings", and this is especially true when one treats "The Hobbit" as the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings". To consider it as such is both fair and unfair. It is fair, because clearly the events in "The Hobbit" took place prior to, and are key to the "The Lord of the Rings", and of course there are common characters in both stories. However, it is also not fair in that "The Hobbit" clearly was written for a younger audience, and even when reading one of the revised editions, where some passages were altered to better fit with "The Lord of the Rings", the overall tone of the work is much lighter. There was a brief attempt by Tolkien to rewrite "The Hobbit" in the same style, but he soon gave it up because it destroyed what was so good about the original. As a result, it would be better to consider "The Hobbit" as the children's telling of the events which took place prior to "The Lord of the Rings" and not attempt to hold it to the same standard.

Another thing that people have noted about the two stories is that at a high-level outline the two stories are very similar. The adventures both start in the Shire and are initiated by Gandolf, they travel to Rivendell, they go through caves and have to deal with the goblins/orcs therein, they meet elves on the other side, there is a huge war between numerous armies, and of course they return to the Shire to find things changed that they have to put right. Of course, that is an overly simple way to look at either of the two novels, especially "The Lord of the Rings", even though it is true on the surface, but it is an interesting observation.

As beings that are roughly half the height of a man, Hobbits make an ideal hero for a children's story, as it gives them a hero with whom they can identify. The story has a fair amount of humor in it, and a light-hearted feel through most of it, though certainly as an adventure there is a fair amount of peril, whether from the trolls, worgs (wolves), goblins, spiders, and even the wood elves, not to mention the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent. Despite being accessible to younger readers, older readers can still enjoy "The Hobbit" as well.

Book Review of
The Hobbit written by J. R. R. Tolkien
By Scott Koors

The Hobbit is a very interesting and exciting book. The main character, Bilbo, is a little dwarf person that doesn't wear any shoes that they call a hobbit. Bilbo and a great wizard, Gandalf, set out on a great adventure together. The two of them overcome some unbelievable hardships. They also make some new friends and at the same time some new enemies.
This book allows you to let your imagination run wild. I found that I was putting myself into the different character's shoes during the story. I just imagined how scary, but at the same time, how exciting it must have been for them. Even though there is a lot of science-fiction things in the book, I could still picture all of the scenes and settings. The book wasn't too abstract. I also felt that the book was very detailed. I could almost paint a picture of what was happening in the book in my head.
I have always enjoyed reading adventurous books and this one was no different. The book kept me entertained the whole time. I found it hard to put it down, I just couldn't stop reading it. I had to keep reading just to find out what happened next. This was pretty unusual for me, since I don't really enjoy reading that much. The Hobbit was just an all around good book that keeps your attention, while at the same time allows your imagination to run wild. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good adventurous book, that is written very well by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Unfortunately Amazon has mashed together all the Hobbit reviews. But the comic/graphic novel version is different enough to warrant it's own review pool.

I bought this expecting to love reliving the Hobbit in a visual format. But that didn't happen. This adaption is just flat and missing so much of the magic Tolkien created. I suppose that's a given when you replace so much of his expertly crafted words with pictures.

If nothing else, read the standard version of the Hobbit first before trying this. Reading this first will just spoil what a great book the Hobbit is.

This is an amazing story, with such descriptive, rich langue, wonderfully developed characters and a simple, yet wonderfully executed plot, this is a book to be read, and then re-read, then read again. It draws you in and makes you feel as if you were really there with Bilbo, and Gandalf. As if you really feel the dragon's fiery breath on your cheeks as you soundlessly tiptoe down the massive corridors leading to it's horde. Truly, this is a fantastic book. Tolkien is a true genius.

I remember reading this when I was 10, and I just read it again about a decade later for a class in University. I still loved it. I don't think it matters what age you are, this book is great. If you're a fantasy-lover, this is definitely something you have to read! This version is really cute, too, I loved the little pictures at the start of each chapter.

This is a lovely, beautifully illustrated edition. I bought it for myself, but I am planning on purchasing a couple to give as Christmas gifts.

The binding is sturdy, the illustrations beautiful, and the print clear and well spaced. A perfect copy in my opinion.