Published October 26, 2007
Yesterday, I completed for the first time arguable the first and finest fantasy epic of all time. I stopped in the middle of the two towers for about 6 months then completed the last half this week in half-term break.
My response: wow. After originally being deterred from the series by the rather dull introduction I persevered with it and was amazed at how the book differed from the film, in someways for the better, in someways for worse. I was captivated by the themes and story of Lord of the Rings and the pristine mythology that Tolkien created. I was not captivated by the Characters, they were dull and samey however in what is essentially a war story the flat characters were to be expected. They had a purpose in the plot and they fulfilled it.
The chapter "scouring of the shire" was very interesting dealing with how evil spread to Hobbiton and Saruman's death, a key part I feel that was left out of the film release. As I put it down I immediately grabbed my edition of the Hobbit for a much needed reread. I am a now converted Tolkien fan.
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140,537 Literary Works • 673,408 Reviews
These are good books. Not really one of my favorites but still good. Anyone who watched the moives will see that the boos are better which they are. Seeing as the books are long so they had to take a lot of things out but the moives did them justice.
The Children of Hurin is a great book too. The characters are very flat, but hey! One of the chapters is called
[spoiler]The Death of Turin[/spoiler]
so it's a bit of a giveaway.
Still, great read!
My dad's a big LOTR fan. Heh. Anyways, if you're going to read The Silmarillion I suggest you get it on tape. Trust me on this one.
The LotR is just such an amzinf plot! I am proud to read it!
I myself have read all of tolkiens works save for the silmarillion.
I find them wonderfully imaginative and incredibly detailed.
I also must say that I congratulate Phorcys on his newly found love, yet I have to strongly dissagree with his perception of 'all the characthers being boring'.
I admit, Tolkien doesn't like to describe things from the actual people involved and so people with a lower attention span tend to miss the majesty of a charcther which is defined by his history his appearance and his actions.
(You don't find Gandalf intersting? Away with you!)
I thought that both the Lord of the Rings film, and books were the msot increidble of the genre I have ever seen. They remain my altime favourites, and there are those out there to knock it, but I don't think they know what they are talking about. I have read them all, save for the second part of the two towers lol. They are great, and I can't wait to finish the Silmarillon and the Hobbit.
Paolini, if you ask about, is my least favourite author simply for claiming is greatness over Tolkien's best... Idiot.
I think I liked the Hobbit best, of his books. Also, I must stop myself from reading the books first, because I got pissed of in the second movie when the elves showed up at Helm's Deep JUST to look pretty before they all got slaughtered. There were no elves at Helm's Deep. None. Zip. >.<
I enjoyed LotR, though I won't lie--he had a way of going crazy with description. I can remember skipping whole chapters to find I hadn't missed any of the plot. XD
I liked the books much more than the movie, though I agree, a lot of the characters felt kind of flat. (which is probably why I tended to skip parts where the MC's weren't present--and then have to come back when I realized something important had been explained while I wasn't looking. =P)
Great books, but the Hobbit is what made me pick them up in the first place. If I hadn't read that first and loved it, I might never have had the will to get past that slow introduction. =P
^_^ Keek!
I demand to know what happened to Tom Bombadil. I love him, just love him. He makes me laugh, cry, and keep reading.
Another thing I loved was the elf/dwarf rivalry. It made Middle Earth seem so real to me. I just can't imagine a better book than this. (yes, just one book, broken into three). If you find one, PM me, or I might have to rip out your spleen. No, just kidding! (or so you should hope)
But I love LOTR, so much. I thought the movies were great, especially the music, but this was just- divine. In the true sense of the word. Beethoven's equivalent, in words.
I know. The Souring of the Shire and the Old Forest are important, I think. The only thing is, it would make each movie 4 or 5 hours long.
I read the series, and like you said, the characters were all flat except for the hobbits.