Books

Average customer rating:

Books are great...
Lord of the Rings for car trips?
It's a Good buy
Brilliant, and well worth the money!
Ingles does a fantastic job

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Gift Set
J.R.R. Tolkien , and J. R. R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Recorded Books Unabridged
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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The Hobbit [UNABRIDGED]

ASIN: 1402516274

Customer Reviews:

Books are great..........2006-11-21

I have all the parts (Fellowship of the ring, Return of the King & The Two Towers). I have loved the audiobooks.

I only have 1 problem with the audiobooks and that is when I converted the discs so I could listen to them on my ipod, the names of each track varied.

On some it ists the name of teh chapter and followed by a number(part of the chapter, others it names the book and the track number without the chapter title name, and on others it says the track number...

They should have been consistent with the track names.

Lord of the Rings for car trips?.......2006-11-19

It's hard to add more than other reviewers have done. Most of the comments are right-on, but I think it's nice for a potential buyer to hear a lot of people voicing their opinions. This is a long set but perfect for a devoted fan. I love listening to it while doing other things or in the car on the way to work, probably also for an airplane. Rob Inglis did a great job, and while a few of the female voices are a bit odd, you soon forget about such things when you get wrapped up in the story.

He adds the right emphasis to the right parts and I think his voice is well-suited to this work. For hardcore LotR fans, it's hard to find something that meets our high expectations as this is a simply amazing work of art that will last for years - it's hard to find a voice that meets every (somewhat unreal, I think) expectation. But Rob Inglis comes extremely close.

It's a Good buy.......2006-06-03

It is a nice audio book. It does have it's flaws though.

1. It does not offer maps or any drawings. I have searched online for some, but only find blurry copies. Considering the maps and drawings are held so highly in admiration... it kinda sucks not to have them

2. the acting of the narrator is not the greatest. There were parts when the book notes "he yells" and the narrator speaks in a calm and clear character voice. It's kind of funny sometimes.

3. many of the narrator's "attempted" character voices sound alike. All the elf kind sound the same, even the women sound like males. All the hobbits pretty much sound the same, except Sam who has this manly deep voice, which often sounds like Aragon. Often the narrator accidentally mergers one character voice into another by accident. So a hobbit will be speaking then all the sudden he sounds like Aragon or Gandolf.

But outside of that the audio book is great. These "problems" are small. Since the un-abridged reading offers the names of who is talking and their emotions that go along with it, you can make out the story just fine. It just takes a little more imagination and you can alter their voices in your head to sound like what you want to hear. I would highly reccomend it, that is until someone figures out they can get a better actor or has the mind to hire multiple actors to fulfill the part.

There is nothing funnier than hearing a deep manly voice trying to immitate a woman singing

Brilliant, and well worth the money!.......2006-04-15

I am not a "Total Ringophile", like some out there, but I have read the books three times and loved them. I lashed out and purchased this 46 CD set as I spend a lot of time on the commute to work. It is brilliant! Each CD has approx 15 "tracks" on it so that if you miss a bit as your mind wanders (as it does in the car..) you can just bounce back one track and hear that bit again, no problems. Rob Inglis does a great job, no question. It has added a new dimension to my experince of Tolkien's masterpiece, and I highly recommend it to all. BRILLIANT !

Ingles does a fantastic job.......2005-11-26

I did not realize what a wonderful job that Ingles had done in this reading until I began listening to other audio books. Ingles manages to give each character a distinct voice and as you proceed, you recognize immediately who it is that is speaking.

After many years, Tolkien's work stands alone as the only sci-fi/fantasy story that puts the subtlety of language and culture equal to, if not above, the drama. Ingles interesting voices and care with the language of Tolkien make this a most worthy represenation of the timeless classic.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Prima Official Game Guide)

Average customer rating:

Lacking
Fantastic
Good Atlas, Lacking in Quest Help
Ugh! Same Ole Same Ole
Official Game Guide, not cheat book

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Prima Official Game Guide)
Mike Searle
Manufacturer: Prima Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Children of Húrin

ASIN: 0761553304
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Book Description

Your Main Guide to the World of Middle-earth

·Middle-earth's mysteries revealed with labeled maps of all nine regions.
·Master the art of fellowship play so you can conquer the most dangerous foes!
·Complete guides to the Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-master, and Minstrel classes!
·Crafting charts for all 10 professions to help you become a master craftsman.
·Exclusive strategy from The Syndicate, one of the world's largest and oldest online gaming guilds!
·Basics, crafting, classes, maps

Customer Reviews:

Lacking.......2007-06-21

Overall, this book seems unfinished, as if it was rushed to release to coincide with the release of the game. Sports decent crafting and character guides for planning your professions and class, but the atlas section severely lacks. Many maps do not have any notations at all, or inadequate notations, which makes them next to useless when you are looking for a mob/mob boss, area, or point of interest. My advice: Wait for the 'revised and updated' edition.

Fantastic.......2007-06-03

This game is absolutly fantastic. Youll be addicted to this game the moment you start it up. Its enormously addictive and after 100 hours of gameplay im still playing, happier then ever. I highly suggest this game for anyone who enjoyed games like Elder Scrolls 4 : Oblivion, World of Warcraft and any other devolpmentally based strategy game.

Good Atlas, Lacking in Quest Help.......2007-05-31

Overall, a decent buy. I was expecting more help with quests and the like. It provides excellent strategy for every class, race, and crafting profession as well as detailed maps for every region of the game (at the time of launch).

You would be better off looking up the information online as the game is changing very quickly. The guide will be outdated by Fall 2007.

Ugh! Same Ole Same Ole.......2007-05-30

I was extremely dissapointed with this game, mostly for the fact that it just looks like every other online game I have already played,,, just within the genre of LOTR. I was honestly hoping for something unique and exciting and instead was greeted with the same hack and slash quests that you can pick up on WOW. Also very dissapointed that with advances in AI that a player still has to be reliant on finding other players to group with to finish key quests. When will we be able to play instances with hired henchmen or even better an instance that is dialed down to the number in the party and therefore reward and place appropriate challenges commesorate with that equation. After many many years after Everquest no one with the small exception of Guildwars has stepped up and given us players something entirely unique with quests that are more complex and give the player the true sense of exploration and victory. I'm just not interested anymore in producers cranking out half baked products anymore.

Official Game Guide, not cheat book.......2007-05-24

All this book is, is a listing of all class skills, and level guides, and maps. Don't get me wrong, it is very good at what it covers, but I was hoping for more item listing. I have a level 15 Lore-Master, I know what skills he has, but I don't know how much damage he could be doing with a better staff. It is nice for planning though, you can look ahead to see what level you have to be to do what-ever-it-is-that-you-are-waiting-to-do, but thats about all the first half of the book is good for. The other half, is very nice It has maps of every where you can go, with a lot of people/places marked. As well as having a list of all the prices for rideing a horse. Did you know, from one of the Elf towns, it is 58s cheeper to go to Thorin's gate, and go from there to Bree, then to go straght to Bree? I did not, but I do now.

ALl in all, its a good book, but not Very Good.

Average customer rating:

Good, if You Like this Genre
Lord of the Rings boxed set review.
One "Ring" to rule them all
Fantabulous
De Luxe LotR

The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0618260587

Book Description

Three-volume boxed set edition lavishly illustrated in full color by Alan Lee

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 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 dissapeared 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, the hobbits Merry, Pippin and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

Customer Reviews:

Good, if You Like this Genre.......2007-06-14

You can't say you didn't get what you paid for. These colossal books, filled with adventures, can certainly keep a person occupied, but as a general warning, these aren't those "glove-fits-all" books. You have to be in the mindset for an epic fantasy battle, and though I wasn't, my classmates who read the entire trilogy absolutely adored the stories. I would highly recommend reading The Hobbit before attempting to digest the trilogy, just so the concepts of hobbits, wizards, and Middle Earth, will be old hat.

Lord of the Rings boxed set review........2007-05-14

An mesmerising tale beautifully presented in this illustrated boxed set. The Lord of the Rings is the ultimate tale of good versus evil set in the enchanting landscape created by Tolkien that is Middle Earth.
I would recommend this edition to anyone who wants to embark on this wonderfully exciting quest with Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin.
An excellent edition!

One "Ring" to rule them all.......2007-05-06

Though J.R.R. 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." Tolkien's classic is a timeless tale of good and evil, written in a detailed, powerful style, set in a fictional world of staggering detail and haunting beauty.

Following up on events in "The Hobbit," "The Fellowship of the Ring" opens with the hobbit Bilbo Baggins departing from the Shire, after many years of living as the town eccentric. He reluctantly leaves his treasured ring of invisibility to his adventurous nephew Frodo, and vanishes into the wild with some dwarves.

But Gandalf the wizard, informs Frodo that the Ring is really the Ring of Power, a powerful item 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, and its timeless messages and quests have shaped the fantasy genre, and crossed the boundaries of literary fiction. At its core it's about the fight of good versus evil, and how "little people" can have a strength and willpower that the great and mighty can't even begin to understand.

And Middle-Earth is a pretty astounding universe -- not just because Tolkien created a rich back-history for it, but because of the feeling of mystery that hangs around its corners, whether it's dead soldiers or slumbering tree-men. And of course rich cultures of Men, ancient wizards, the stately melancholy elves, and the tough dwarves -- as well as the idyllic Shire, a sort of ancient British countryside which is threatened by corruption.

Tolkien's writing is evocative and descriptive, though not to extremes; an elf rider is simple described as shining like a light behind a veil. The story is wrapped in a wide range of dialogue -- from Sam's folksy chat to the Elves' ethereal, formal songs -- and the pacing is slow and gradual, but kept alive by sudden twists of the plot. The first several chapters are kind of slow-moving, but by the time our heroes get to Bree, the pace picks up.

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.

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.

Fantabulous.......2007-02-22

We love these books. Not only are they a pure delight to read for myself, but my teenage sons as well. The captivate you from the first page, and keep you throughout the intire journey.

De Luxe LotR.......2007-01-23

The books are in good condition, well presented and nicely adorned, but the box they fit in it's quite simple and the books stuck in it.

The Lord of the Rings (Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Lord of the Rings
A subtle genius
The most effective OTC sleep aid.
Lord of the Rings (Collector's Edition)
Lord of the Swedes

The Lord of the Rings (Collector's Edition)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Imitation Leather

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The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)

ASIN: 0395193958

Amazon.com

A Christian can almost be forgiven for not reading the Bible, but there's no salvation for a fantasy fan who hasn't read the gospel of the genre, J.R.R. Tolkien's definitive three-book epic, the Lord of the Rings (encompassing The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King), and its charming precursor, The Hobbit. That many (if not most) fantasy works are in some way derivative of Tolkien is understood, but the influence of the Lord of the Rings is so universal that everybody from George Lucas to Led Zeppelin has appropriated it for one purpose or another.

Not just revolutionary because it was groundbreaking, the Lord of the Rings is timeless because it's the product of a truly top-shelf mind. Tolkien was a distinguished linguist and Oxford scholar of dead languages, with strong ideas about the importance of myth and story and a deep appreciation of nature. His epic, 10 years in the making, recounts the Great War of the Ring and the closing of Middle-Earth's Third Age, a time when magic begins to fade from the world and men rise to dominance. Tolkien carefully details this transition with tremendous skill and love, creating in the Lord of the Rings a universal and all-embracing tale, a justly celebrated classic. --Paul Hughes

Book Description

A one-volume collector's edition boxed and bound in handsome red leatherette with gold, green, and blue foil stamping, two-color text setting, and large format fold-out maps containing the complete texts of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, and six appendices. 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, 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.

Customer Reviews:

Lord of the Rings.......2007-03-25

This Box set of Lord of the Rings is great I love this book and this set is great I have never been happier with a book set.

A subtle genius.......2007-03-14

I shall pretend that there are actually some people reading these reviews who have not already read LotR...

First off, LotR is the defining work of fantasy fiction. I think EVERYONE publishing in the genre today owes some kind of debt to Tolkien, consciously or not. Basically, Tolkien is a world-builder and not a mere novelist. He had a very deliberate project of creating a new mythology and he succeeded admirably. The amount of originally unpublished (but now available) background material for this book is truly amazing and reveals the depth of Tolkien's project.

As a writer, however, Tolkien has definite flaws. His style is somewhat antiquated (and British) but I, personally, do not see these as bad things. (IMHO, very little being published in the genre today has any literary merit.) His characters are rather flat and he has a very poor sense of the dramatic: the death of a major character is disposed of in a paragraph; the climactic battles cover only a few pages. (In this regard, the movies did a far superior job).

The beauty of Tolkien, however, is that he's not a "professional" writer; he's not churning out formulaic novels that conform to the "conventional wisdom," i.e., novels that are designed to sell and not to be good. Yes, he "tells" instead of "shows" but his narratives a gracefully crafted and, often, truly beautiful. True, any literary agent today would probably turn Tolkien away, but this is a sad commentary on the publishing business and the low standards of the reading public.

I read Tolkien the same way I read Poe or Shakespeare: to appreciate the use of language in-and-of itself, as well as for the actual story-line. In his own way, I think Tolkien has a subtle brilliance. Even so, I'm sure that LotR is "boring" to some. I can see why they would think this, but, in the end, I think that says more about the standards (and intellectual capabilities?) of the reader than it does about J.R.R. Tolkien.

With the possible (?) exception of the Bible, I think LotR is literally the most-loved book in the world. You owe it to yourself to give it a chance. To never read this book is to miss out on a true pleasure and a gift.

The most effective OTC sleep aid........2007-03-12

I honestly do not understand what all the hype is about. I forced myself to read this book because all I had ever heard was how it was one of the best and most influential pieces of modern literature, but eight hours a day of manual labor would be a less tiresome task then trudging through this pile of rubbish.
In all honesty, the plot is entertaining, if you can find it. I am sure the Cliffs Notes of the LOTR are interesting and entertaining, but why anyone would want to torture themselves reading this collection is beyond me.
I read one chapter a night until I was done, and that was too grueling a task. I constantly found my mind wondering and having to reread every page because it could not hold my attention.
You don't have to believe the hype. This collection of books is really, really terrible and boring, and I wouldn't wish the task of reading in on my worst enemy.

Lord of the Rings (Collector's Edition).......2007-03-06

Thanks for all of the reviews. I read many carefully before purchasing this item. I stuck to those reviews that actually talked about the quality of the book rather than the content (why would I spend $100 on a book I've never read?). I was able to look for the quirks that others had written about and get a book that was perfect. My husband loves it.

Lord of the Swedes.......2007-03-01

This is a review of the novel, not this particular edition. Before the LOTR fans eat me alive, Orc style, let me say that I'm not an expert on Tolkien or LOTR, and only read the epic once, in a non-approved Swedish translation. Still, I offer my comments, for all they may be worth.

Here in Sweden, almost everyone reads LOTR. And I really mean, everyone! I met assembly-line workers and dispatch riders who read LOTR. Already in elementary school, all kids read LOTR, and one of our teachers read it aloud during class. It took at least two semesters. Every year in February, Swedish bookstores have a traditional clearence sale. LOTR always sold out the very first day. Imagine growing up in a nation where reading "Lord of the Rings" is considered conventional, almost common knowledge!

As a kind of protest against all this, I decided already as a kid *not* to read LOTR, and I never did, until after I saw Peter Jackson's first movie, and by then I was obviously an adult. I can't say the novel thrilled me. The first part, "The Fellowship of the Ring" smacks of being written for children, and I found it quite silly. By contrast, "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" are more for adults. Here, Tolkien presumably wanted to write a quasi-historical epic, and inadvertently founded an entirely new literary genre, fantasy. I didn't really like the two concluding books either, however. To me, "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" are essentially the same story, repeated twice. First, the dark lord Sauron attacks Rohan, and somewhat later he attacks Gondor. The Ents were just plain silly, a kind of throwback to the childishness of "The Fellowship of the Ring".

I readily admit that these impressions of mine are purely subjective. Perhaps I'm just not a fantasy guy. Incidentally, I think Peter Jackson experienced the same problems as I did with the contradiction between children's story and adult epic. He seems to have solved it by turning his movie version of the "Fellowship" into a dark monster movie (adieu, Tom Bombadil).

Why is LOTR so popular, then? Perhaps one of the reasons is that the story can be read on many different levels. The similarities with Norse and Anglo-Saxon mythology (Beowulf) are obvious. Indeed, Tolkien apparently wanted to create a new mythology for our age, and what better place to start than simply re-write the old one? The popularity of LOTR here in Sweden can at least in part be explained by this Norse angle of the work, which the un-authorized Swedish translation apparently strengthened even further.

On another level, LOTR is a political allegory of World War Two and the Cold War, although Tolkien himself denied this. Still, the similarities are pretty obvious: Saruman is Hitler, Sauron is Stalin, the Shire is England. The main part of the story could be read as a Third World War allegory, with the Soviet Union (Mordor) in alliance with the Third World (the pirates from the south) attacking the free nations of the West. While this may appeal to people with bad experiences of Communism, it unfortunately leads to racism at times. The crooks are often black-skinned, have almond eyes and wield scimitars, while many of the heroes are white and fair. Still, it seems few people interpret the story as racist, thank Iluvatar, and many actually see it as anti-racist, since the Fellowship of the Ring consists of both humans, elves, dwarfs and hobbits.

Yet another reason for LOTR's popularity is that the work can be read as environmentalist. A romantic love of nature and hatred for modern industrialized society is a recurring theme in the novel. For some reason, Saruman seems to be the chief culprit in this regard, both in Isengard and later in the Shire. Indeed, it was a great pity that Peter Jackson left out the scourging of the Shire from his movie version of "The Return of the King", since this is obviously an important part of the story.

Here in Sweden, most people have only read LOTR in Åke Ohlmark's translation from 1959-61. Tolkien himself hated this translation, and never authorized it. This lead to a later fall-out between Ohlmarks and Tolkien's son Christopher, who prohibited Ohlmarks from translating "The Silmarillion". Ohlmarks denounced Christopher as a "sociopath" and the Silmarillion as "crap" at a fantasy convention, which didn't exactly endear him to the Tolkien fans. Later, Ohlmarks claimed to have been attacked by a dark-side faction of the Tolkien Society, and wrote a scurrilous book accusing fantasy fans of being Satanists, going so far as to state that he regretted ever having translated LOTR. He even claimed that the real author of LOTR wasn't Tolkien, but C.S. Lewis (!). This entire episode was something of a tragedy, since Ohlmarks, despite being a very well-educated man, was a fantasy freak himself and regulary participated in fantasy re-enacments at the advanced age of 60!

It's ironic that generations of Swedes have grown up reading a version of LOTR Tolkien himself discarded. Indeed, the only Swedes who don't read Ohlmark's translation are presumably the members of the Swedish Tolkien Society, who prefer the English original. Yet, it might have been Ohlmark's idiosyncratic translation that made LOTR so popular in Sweden, since he consciously attempted to make the names of places and persons in the epic as "Swedish" as possible.

I have no idea how to rate this work, so I give it three stars out of five. One thing is certain: badly translated or not, LOTR will sure find new readers and new converts in many generations still to come.

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Book 1)

Average customer rating:

Awesome Book
Good Story, Poorly Developed
awesome!
A Journey to Mordor
Favorite One out of the Three

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Book 1)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0788789813

Book Description

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien's three-volume epic, is set in the imaginary world of Middle-earth -- home to many strange beings, and most notably hobbits, a peace-loving "little people," cheerful and shy. Since its original British publication in 1954-55, the saga has entranced readers of all ages. It is at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale. Critic Michael Straight has hailed it as one of the "very few works of genius in recent literature." Middle-earth is a world receptive to poets, scholars, children, and all other people of good will. Donald Barr has described it as "a scrubbed morning world, and a ringing nightmare world...especially sunlit, and shadowed by perils very fundamental, of a peculiarly uncompounded darkness." The story of this world is one of high and heroic adventure. Barr compared it to Beowulf, C.S. Lewis to Orlando Furioso, W.H. Auden to The Thirty-nine Steps. In fact the saga is sui generis -- a triumph of imagination which springs to life within its own framework and on its own terms.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Book .......2007-06-06

Against all odds good overcomes evil in a struggle for middle Earth. Frodo is the ring bearer, he carries the all powerful ring. He is being hunted by the evil Sauramon, the creator of the ring. Frodo's goal is to destroy the ring in Mt. Doom, the only place the ring can be destroyed. The only problem is everyone is turning evil, and they are al after Frodo. Can Frodo and his companions make it to Mt Doom. In this book I had many favorite parts. My favorite part is when they are traveling through the mines of Moria. This is my favorite part because that would be really cool if the mines were real. There are many themes that you can get from this book. The theme I got is never give up on what you are trying to do. In the book Frodo is going to make it to Mt Doom at all costs. There are many things that I like about this book. The main thing that I like is how descriptive the author is. The author describes things so well that it makes a vivid picture in your head. The only thing that I would change about this book is the reading level. He should lower the reading level and make the book easier to read. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves to read a good adventure book.

Good Story, Poorly Developed.......2007-04-26

This book is the first part of a trilogy chronicling the journey of one hobbit named Frodo and his friends. Frodo is the nephew of Bilbo, and has lived a fairly quiet life with his uncle in a hobbit-hole in a small village. Bilbo is famous in the village because once years ago he went away on a long journey and returned rich. No one is quite sure exactly what happened. And no one except those who were on the journey with him knows about the magical ring he brought back with him, that can make him invisible.

Bilbo has decided that he wishes to leave his village and get away. So he throws a huge party and at the end of it he simply disappears. He leaves Frodo as his heir and leaves him everything, including the magic ring.

Years later Frodo is visited by the wizard Gandalf, who was the one who sent Bilbo on his journey so long ago. Gandalf has news that the ring Frodo has inherited is very dangerous--it was forged by an evil wizard a long time ago, and it has incredible power. Frodo must take it to be destroyed where it was forged, and he must do it immediately. Bad things are beginning to waken all over the place, and Frodo must not let this ring get into the wrong hands. Thus his journey starts. This book tells the story of the first part of Frodo's journey to destroy the ring.

This book has a bit more character development than "The Hobbit," but it is still hard to get a grip on exactly what the characters are like. It was difficult for me to accept that things in this story were so urgent, yet Frodo and his companions spent long stretches of time not moving. It seems that the dark riders would have been upon them if they waited like they did in this story. Overall, there just wan't much action and not enough reasons to care about the characters.

awesome!.......2007-03-29

Rob Inglis' reading of both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings is incredible. The songs are especially amazing; he sings them so beautifully, and quite in character. I like that he doesn't try to "mimic" the voices, but reads them with a slight in-character accent. All of his Tolkein books are well worth the purchase!!!

A Journey to Mordor.......2007-02-22

If you like adventure,fantasy and evil corrupting characters,then you're going to love this book. The antagonist is just pure evil! All he cares about is world domination and getting his ultimate ring of power! The protagonist is gentle and well caring for his home called the Shire. His goal is to destroy the ring of power so he can bring peace to his home. The author describes the environment and setting magnificently! I would say that the author has gone so far into his fantasy. From making languages,maps,stories and creatures he has created his own little world!

Favorite One out of the Three.......2007-02-21

I find this book to be the best amongst the 3 books. The writing style is little different, but I didn't care. The storyline is a lot more interesting than the actions in this book. The plot is well developed. Nice characters and a good story filled with advantures. When I finished reading this one the memories flashed back to me from the beginning till the end. A book that I would want to read again!

J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings)

Average customer rating:

Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set
The hard cover illustrated version
powerful myths - weak editions
The quality of these books is aweful

J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Silmarillion
The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set
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Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-6)
The Histories of Middle Earth, Volumes 1-5

Accessories:

Dune 2000 Retail Version

ASIN: 0345340426
Release Date: 1986-09-12

Amazon.com

Hobbits and wizards and Sauron--oh, my! Mild-mannered Oxford scholar John Ronald Reuel Tolkien had little inkling when he published The Hobbit; Or, There and Back Again in 1937 that, once hobbits were unleashed upon the world, there would be no turning back. Hobbits are, of course, small, furry creatures who love nothing better than a leisurely life quite free from adventure. But in that first novel and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo and their elfish friends get swept up into a mighty conflict with the dragon Smaug, the dark lord Sauron (who owes much to proud Satan in Paradise Lost), the monstrous Gollum, the Cracks of Doom, and the awful power of the magical Ring. The four books' characters--good and evil--are recognizably human, and the realism is deepened by the magnificent detail of the vast parallel world Tolkien devised, inspired partly by his influential Anglo-Saxon scholarship and his Christian beliefs. (He disapproved of the relative sparseness of detail in the comparable allegorical fantasy his friend C.S. Lewis dreamed up in The Chronicles of Narnia, though he knew Lewis had spun a page-turning yarn.) It has been estimated that one-tenth of all paperbacks sold can trace their ancestry to J.R.R. Tolkien. But even if we had never gotten Robert Jordan's The Path of Daggers and the whole fantasy genre Tolkien inadvertently created by bringing the hobbits so richly to life, Tolkien's epic about the Ring would have left our world enhanced by enchantment. --Tim Appelo

Book Description

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Four deluxe paperback volumes
by J.R.R. Tolkien

"J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings created a unique, wholly realized other world, evoked from deep in the well of Time, massively detailed, absorbingly entertaining, profound in meaning."
-- New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Tolkien.......2007-06-08

The product came quickly and in perfect conditions. This set is wonderful i love it.

J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set.......2007-05-19

olkien is a master in fantasy. His development of characters is supreme. This is the classic tale of good vs. evil written in the 1900s, truely the best.

The hard cover illustrated version.......2007-03-30

The hardcover version illustrated by Alan Lee is sensational! If you can, purchase the version where the books are divided into the original 3 seperate books, it just makes it easier on your wrists when reading.

powerful myths - weak editions.......2007-03-28

This is J.R.R. Tolkien at his best if you can look beyond the weakness of the edition. He creates worlds full of life, and song, and color like no other. His personae are lovingly detailed, with their own characteristics and habits, born out of medieval Nordic sagas that have proven so fruitful an inspiration for modern literatuThe Woman and The Ravenre.

The quality of these books is aweful.......2007-02-13

No, I'm not referring to Tolkien (of course!). The reading content is fantastic. However, I recommend you not buy the boxed set printed by Houghton Mifflin. I've only read my copies twice and the pages are already falling out of the spine. These are put together very badly. Pay a little more and buy the hardcover if you plan on re-reading (and you will, trust me).

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Book 2)

Average customer rating:

books on cd
How to maximum twist and turn a story
Lord of the Rings: the two towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Darkest Hour

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Book 2)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Book 3)
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)
The Hobbit
The Silmarillion
The Return of the King (Lord of the Rings, 3)

ASIN: 078878983X

Book Description

The second volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy relates a tale of the eternal battle between good and evil.

Customer Reviews:

books on cd.......2007-05-30

first time listening to books on cd very good but sometimes difficult to keep myself focused.

How to maximum twist and turn a story.......2007-05-22

the second book of the series it is also qiute good even for the ten thousanda of twists and turns tolkien provides. the fellowship is split in 3 now 1) Araghorn , Legolas and Gimli 2) merrin and pippin 3) Sam and Frodo . Gandalf who died in the fellowship of the ring returns as a white wizard.

Merrin and Pippin were taken away by the orcs in the first escape to a forest where they find a most unlikely alley in TreeBeard the Ent . Araghorn and co who set out after Merrin and Pippin meet Gandalf and together they travel to the empire of Rohan . Gandalf cures King Theoden from the grasp of Saruman . The King orders the citizens of Rohan to go to a refuge camp . on the way they have an encounter the Warg riders in which Araghorn is gets thrown over from a cliff . Araghorn survives and o0n his way back sees a 10000 strong army of Uruk Hai coming tp attack the refuge camp. he rushes to hte camp and gives the news to the King . they still prepare to battle and they are joined by elves . as the battle begins they know they are gonna los but still fight hard . the battle is almost over . they are still holding the fort but their manpower is less . but they decide to go down fighting . kill 50 get killed . as they launched their assault on the evil force with no hope of survival they suddenly say athe white wizard with rohhirims just behind . they launch their attack and win . on the other side Merrin and Pippin tried to convince the ents to join them on their assault of the evil . they were not convinced . but as they see their tree friends destroyed by Sarumans forces to make arms for the evil army they become angry and attack Sarumans strongho;d Isengard and and destroy it . Sam and Frodo find an unlikely guide in Gullum who takes them to Mordor . but their they are captured by Captain Faramir . atlast they get back on their to the mountain of fire to destroy the ring.

Lord of the Rings: the two towers.......2006-10-25

honestly, I love this book, and yes I have seen the movie and I would much rather read the book again. I wanted to read it because my dad had mentioned a few scenes from the novel that weren't in the book and they sounded very interesting, so i decided to read the novel and it was amazing, of course, I started from "the Fellowship of the Ring", which i will report on next quarter but i really decided to do this book because of the 3 books, the two towers really is a good median of action and beginings. I would recommend this novel to anyone, it appeals to kids from 10 to people that have lived their days to 100, it is wonderful and i think you should consider reading this triumpful novel. -725 pages-

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.......2006-10-11

I read The Lord of the Rings the Two Towers. I liked it because it was a very action-packed book. It was a very adventurous book also! One of my favorite parts is the Battle of Helms Deep. I think this book is like a war book because of all the battles Aragorn, Legolas and Gimili have to go through while searching for Merry and Pippin. Then Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimili have to battle Orcs, Goblins, and Ura-khai in their adventurous battle for mankind! I would recomend this book for people who like fantasy books.

The Darkest Hour.......2006-09-10

The middle novel of the Rings trilogy opens with the tragic (though decidedly heroic) death of a second member of the Company, and sees the small band that stands in opposition to Sauron entering its darkest hour. Gandalf, the Company's leader, has at the end of the last novel, fallen in combat with the dreaded balrog; Bormoir has been slain at the start of this book, in desperate battle with a group of orks; the Company is diminished by losses, its members scattered, and Aragorn feels himself a failure in the face of the backsets that have been delivered upon him and his comrades. Where many might abandon a mission that surely seems lost, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas continue on in pursuit of the hobbits Merry and Pippin, captured by Orks in service to the traitorous wizard Saruman, while Frodo and Sam push on into the foul land of Mordor, home of the Dark Lord and location of the volcanic Mt. Doom, into whose fires the pair intend to cast the One Ring, which has brought so much misery onto Middle Earth. In this oft-disrespected second volume, a reader comes to understand the full depth of Saruman's enslavement by Sauron, recoils as Frodo allows the despicable Smeagol to travel along on his journey, comes to meet the ancient ents, and delves full-force into the battle of Helm's Deep, a conflict which stands to decide nothing less than the fate of the world.

The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)

Average customer rating:

The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)
LORD OF THE RINGS 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Amazing
Excellent novel, excellent quality
Amazing quality!

The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound

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The Hobbit
The Silmarillion
The Children of Húrin
Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth
The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition)

ASIN: 0618517650
Release Date: 2004-10-21

Book Description

The Fellowship of the Ring, part one of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic masterpiece, ﬁrst reached these shores on October 21, 1954, arriving, as C. S. Lewis proclaimed, "like lightning from a clear sky." Fifty years and nearly one hundred million American readers later comes a beautiful new one-volume collector's edition beﬁtting the stature of this crown jewel of our list. With a text fully corrected under the supervision of Christopher Tolkien to meet the author's exacting wishes, two large-format fold-out maps, a ribbon placemarker, gilded page edges, a color insert depicting Tolkien's own paintings of the Book of Mazarbul and exceptionally elegant and sturdy overall packaging housed within an attractive slipcase, this edition is the ﬁnest we've ever produced.

Customer Reviews:

The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition).......2007-06-27

Just wonderful! From one beautiful golden edged page to the last, it was pure joy. I will treasure it always.

LORD OF THE RINGS 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION.......2007-06-27

MAGNIFICENT ADD TO MY LIBRARY. APPEARS TO BE "NEVER TOUCHED, NEVER READ".
ONLY WISH I HAD GIVEN IN TO MY FEELONGS IN 1965/66 AND GOTTEN THE 3 LEATHER BOUND VERSIONS OF IT AND THE HOBBIT.

'

Amazing.......2007-06-18

This is by far the best edition in terms of looks, durability, quality, and definitely the ease of reading. Most versions of this book are split into 3, and most are paperbacks, with small font squeezed into the pages so that if you hold it in your lap you cover half the text. But with this version, the pages are tall and the margins are big which make it a much easier lap read, not to mention the text stands out so well its like your reading an entirely different book, i had a much more pleasurable time reading this version then any of the others, thanks Amazon!

Excellent novel, excellent quality.......2007-06-14

You all know the story. But of this book I don't know where to begin, the appendices, the maps, the histories added, the runes, it is a complete novel. The quality of the book is superb. It is a masterpiece and excellent addition to any library.

Amazing quality!.......2007-06-09

This 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings is truly a fine example of what a collectors edition of a book should be. The cover is a very fine leather (it looks blue in stock photos, but is actually a nice shade of black) with bronze and gold gilt creating the cover image. The pages are frequently described as "Bible quality" but they are quite a bit thicker than most bibles I've ever seen.

The text is fully updated and includes 3 pages from The Book of Marzubul designed by Tolkien himself. It's interesting how much detail Tolkien went to when creating these pages. In the text, Gandalf mentions that the book is written by different hands, and this is evident from the pages given. More interesting however, is that using the Appendix on Runes found in The History of Middle-earth Volume 7 - The Treason of Isengard (being The History of The Lord of the Rings Volume 2) you can actually translate the runes of The Book of Marzubul into phonetic English (or I suppose Westron actually). Very interesting.

The fold out maps are exceptionally large and useful as well. This is easily the nicest edition of The Lord of the Rings that I have ever seen and I HIGHLY recommend it to any Lord of the Rings fan. The price may seem a little high, but at my local Barnes and Noble it runs $100 even, so Amazon's price is EXTREMELY reasonable.

If you buy this book, you will not be disappointed.

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Book 3)

Average customer rating:

This recording is what I listen to when I need to relax.
The Book to End All Books (Yes!)
The Glorious Conclusion
The Return Of The King
The Return of the King

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Book 3)
J.R.R. Tolkien , and Rob Inglis
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Book 2)
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)
The Hobbit
The Silmarillion
Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth

ASIN: 0788789848

Book Description

In the third volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy the good and evil forces join battle, and we see that the triumph of good is not absolute. The Third Age of Middle-earth ends, and the age of the dominion of Men begins.

Customer Reviews:

This recording is what I listen to when I need to relax........2007-05-25

If you love the books you'll like this recording. This series is unabridged. It's something like 52 hours long for all three sets. This is what I put into my car cd player when I was trapped in rush hour traffic. It makes a good escape if you're a Tolkien fan.

One reader narrates the whole book, and he does a great job of changing his voice during dialoge between characters.

I've been very happy with all three of these recordings.

The Book to End All Books (Yes!).......2007-04-01

The finale to the Lord of the Rings series has come! This book has, of course, started with the long Minas Tirith chapter, with Pippin and Gandalf. Pippin meets the citizens. Then, it goes over to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli's point of view. Aragorn has to live out his destiny of becoming king. Next, there's Merry back in Rohan. Merry just does something. It transitions towards those points while the battle of Pelenor Fields is about to begin, and Aragorn is trying to return to his home nation of Gondor so he can get the throne. But, it goes over to what I think is the climax (Sam in Cirith Ungol attempting to rescue Frodo). Sam, the real hero, and Frodo are trying to destroy the One Ring once and for all in the Cracks of Doom. Sauron still continues to carry out his men to eradicate Gondor and Rohan's men. The battle between fate begins...
This is (so far) my favorite book ever! Although, it takes long to read, you'll get immersed into it if you have a strong imagination. It's full of specific details and hordes of excitement. You may not expect the ending, but you'll love it. Better than 'The Hobbit'! You'll get it if you're in high school. No matter what you do, buy that book! If you're a hardcore fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, this is the book for you. Yes!!! - Nathan

The Glorious Conclusion .......2006-09-10

As all things end, so does Tolkien's revered Ring trilogy. In this concluding volume, the surviving Company, minus Sam and Frodo, reunite to make a last stand against the inhuman darkness which has ushered forth from Mordor to swallow the world. Gandalf, resurrected now as the White Wizard, rallies the combined armies of Rohan and Gondor, Aragorn reveals his true nature and is proclaimed the returned king, and beneath the searching eye of the Evil One, a pair of lowly hobbits, exhausted and nearly out of hope, continue on toward a fateful rendezvous in the infernal core of Mt. Doom. Heroism, loyalty, courage, and determined resistance to the powers of oppression are all themes triumphantly proclaimed in this novel, and there are scenes inside The Return of the King which stand so memorable they endure in the brain throughout a reader's lifetime. Many writers would be unable to end such a monumental series on a note of triumph, but somehow J.R.R. Tolkien achieves the nearly impossible and herein delivers his best work of all.

The Return Of The King.......2006-08-31

Excellently done and entertaining. Prompt delivery and easily found.

The Return of the King.......2006-08-20

I have read the Lord of the Rings eight times. It is by far the best book I have ever read. The book has a beauty that no other book or author has ever been able to capture or ever will again.
The reason, in my opinion, the Lord of the Rings are such good books is the absolute selflessness of the heroes. They are willing to give up anything. The images of Gandalf standing against the Balrog on the bridge, Boromir hurling himself into the orcs at Amon Hen, or the way every man at the Field of Cormallen was willing to give up his life to give Frodo and Sam a chance of getting to Mount Doom are the examples that spring to mind.
My favorite character is Sam. He is the most courageous and noble of them all, even if he does not attract as much attention as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Theoden, Gandalf, etcetera. Sam does not give himself a thought. He always thinks,"what about Mr. Frodo?." Sam gives Frodo as much food and water as he possibly can, only taking just enough for himself. He even carries Frodo on his back for part of the way. Sam will never give up.
Another good character is Aragorn. Yes, Aragorn is a spectacular fighter who wins fame and renown on the field of battle, but that is not the reason he is such a good man. The reason is that he knows his duty and is able and willing to perform it unflinchingly. In one sentence he sums up the whole book. "But I am the real Strider, fortunately,"he said, looking down at them with his face softened by a sudden smile. "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and if by life or death I can save you, I will." Aragorn would rather face the Nine with an army behind them than let down the hobbits.
Many people who had previously been simple folk who gave Sauron little or no thought arose and fought. Pippin and Merry are good examples of this. In the Two Towers, when they were captured by Orcs, Pippin acted bravely and resourcefully to escape with Merry. If it were not for Pippin, both of them would certainly have been slain. Pippin later fought in the Battle of the Morannon, where he saved his friend's life and was the first to see the approach of the eagles.
Merry was so loyal to King Theoden that he disobeyed his order to stay in Rohan and rode in the Ride of the Rohirrim. Then, in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, he slew the Witchking, possibly the greatest single feat in the War of the Ring. (It was Merry who slew the Witchking, not Eowyn. Altough Eowyn bravely stood up to him, it was Merry's sword forged in Numenor, one the last swords of its kind left on Middle Earth, that killed the Lord of the Nazgul. Eowyn thrusting her sword into the Ulairi's face was just a gesture.)
These four characters are good examples of the characters in The Lord of the Rings. There are the people who stand up and fight because they must, and those who would rather die trying to do their duty than fail.
The sheer bravery of all of the people in the Lord of the Rings is amazing. They can stand in harm's way without a thought of themselves. They do not even think about their own fate, but rather the fate of the world. And they are determined to help, and take down as many foes as possible with them, dying content if they send some enemies ahead of them to pave the way if they must go themselves.
Overall, this book is about the willingness of people to die for the things they believe in. The battles and feats of arms are still very exciting, but that is not what they are about in the core, although I think that the battles and feats of arms are about as far as most people see. I hope that the people who read my review will see the things I have stated.

Average customer rating:

The Best Audio Production I've Yet Heard
More Complete Dramatization For Fans of the Book
okay
Wonderful memories - nice to have on CD
Not wort your time.

Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Highbridge Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

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The Lord of the Rings (BBC Dramatization)
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ASIN: 1565115503

Customer Reviews:

The Best Audio Production I've Yet Heard.......2007-03-30

In my line of work, I have to drive a lot from school to school with trips taking anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour and a half. These Nine Hours of adventure, hobbits, men, dwarves, elves and Tom Bombadil, (yes, Tom Bombadil!) is a great way to pass the time. Unlike the Unabridged Reading where the casual listener can get bogged down in the misings of the reader (a production which should be given justice in a situation where you can give it your full attention), this exciting performance with a great cast of voices and well done music is just what the traveling listener needs. Gandalf, Sam, Frodo and Aragorn's voices have to be my favorites. Gollum and Gimli are a bit overdone but to using interesting effect but they are all leagues better than the BBC version. I bought that first figuring that a British version would be the golden standard but Gollum sounded like a normal guy who occasionally slurped or sucked his words and Gandalf sounded like a real loser. The Gandalf here speaks with authority as does Aragorn. Sam has just the right touch or innocence and Frodo never lets the listener done. All the major events of the books with the exception of Galadriel being tempted by the Ring are very well presented. What a sight for sore eyes (or ears I should say) was it to hear Tom Bombadil's merry voice, a favorite of fans and readers who never quite made it into any production at all of the series. The battles are all satisfying as is the climax in Mount Doom and the skirmish with Shelob. I recommend it for journeys long and short.

More Complete Dramatization For Fans of the Book.......2005-06-25

I own both radio dramatizations (Minds Eye and BBC). On the whole I prefer the Minds Eye one. Both have their pros and cons, but as a fan of the book this one was more accurate to the story and conveyed a better sense of emotion than that of the BBC story. The BBC has a way better sound affects, overall better production value, and a more evened out (and higher priced) cast. Still, though, overall the Minds Eye produced better voices for Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Eomer, and Faramir than the BBC production did, and Frodo was well done also (just not as good as Ian Holm). However, the top factor for me was that the Minds Eye is just far more accurate to the book itself, for my money, than the BBC version. Others opinions obviously very. Know what you're looking for in whichever set you buy.

okay.......2005-01-25

I'm a HUGE Tolkein fan. This CD way OKAY, here's why.

Up's,
-differnt voices so you know who's talking
-labeld CD's so you don't have to go looking for a part you want to listen to
-a little bit of music so it keeps you awake

Down's,
-voices don't seem to fit characters, it would be better if one person did all the voices such as Jim Dale
-it's abridged
-the manner in which they abridge it makes the battle of Minus Tirith seem minor
-some words like Minus Tirith pronounced as ni-nus Tirith istead of Me-nus tirith

Wonderful memories - nice to have on CD.......2004-08-22

Back in the late 1970's, in an era when radio drama was disappearing from public radio, the American prodcution of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" were created with a full cast of voice actors along with music and sound effects. Reminiscent of the radio dramas of the 1940's and 50's, these productions were usually aired on Sunday afternoons, when a family could listen and enjoy the week's story. Released on Jabberwocky Audio on cassette tapes, I remember the Christmas when I received the entire collection of Jabberwocky's stories on tape. From "The Hobbit" to "Alice in Wonderland" to "The Red Badge of Courage," all were classic tales. They even re-released on cassette some of the original radio productions, such as "War of the Worlds" and "The Gift of the Magi." These stories were designed to get the listener interested and promote reading the books the productions were based on. They were not designed for an adult audience, but rather for children and families to share. Wonderfully edited and masterfully performed, many modern audiences find these old productions a little silly or even perhaps dated, but play it for a child, and they will listen in rapture, just as I did 25 years ago when they were new. Of all my collection of the Jabberwocky tapes, "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" are the only ones that I have trouble playing today, because they have been played so many times over the years that they are worn out. We would play them in the car on road trips, I would play them in my room while putting together a puzzle, and I played them for my friends, who enjoyed them as much as I did. I am delighted to have it on CD to listen to over and over again. At seven years of age, I had not yet read the books when I first listened to the tapes. But the tapes were perfect for a small girl just getting interested in reading. If only all the rest of the old radio dramas were also on CD! I would buy them all. It was unfortunate to come to this website and see the poor reviews written by people who have no understanding of the history of the production or what demographic it was originally intended for. I look forward to the day when I can play these CD's for my own children and see the wonder and delight in their faces when they hear the same stories that I grew up with.

Not wort your time........2004-01-14

As I fan of Lord of the Rings (the books and the movies) I was quite excited to recieve this for CHristmas. My excitement died within minutes of placing it in my CD player. The voices, aside from the narrator, do not seem to fit the characters. Espoecially disturbing were when the high elfs had voices that sounded like Alvin, Theodore and Simon, rather than the noble creatures they should sound like, and Tom Bombadil sounding like a tripped out leprechaun. It also bothers me that almost every actor seems to be reading, so much so that you can hear the pause as they come to the end of a line or page, even if it is mid-sentance. And perhaps the worst thing is the way they mispronounce names and places. Tolkien gives a pronunciation guide in the books, they should have used it.

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