Lord of the Rings Reread Review

 

 

Book: The Similiarian
Author: J.R.R Tolkien
Pages: 366
Hard Core Scale: 2/4
Normal Scale: 8/10
Publish Date: 1997
About:  The early history of Middle Earth. A lazy god makes a world it is giving to its last creation and makes evil to teach evil letting his other creations put up with it while elves lose some magical jewels they like and act like complete twats. Oh boy I went there.
Review: Tolkien was a professor of Saxon Mythology and Literature, so I do have to give him credit when credit is do. Comes though to the argument is this the best one trained such can do. How much did he plan ahead versus restructure after writing the trilogy too. The telling document is that. Its myth cycles follow their beats, but the only one of its kind setting precedence to follow outside of Lovecraft and Howard. I’ll be honest, I was bored for 80% of it. The points that grabbed my attention few and far between and had me asking the unanswerable questions with living myth. Not much else to say.

Book: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R Tolkien
Pages: 303
Hard Core Scale: 3.9/4
Normal Scale: 10/10
Publish Date: 1937
About: Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, is visited by a wizard and several dwarves who hire him to go on an adventure to steal gold from a dragon. The prequel for the Lord of the rings.
Review: A little too harsh with my rules perhaps. I love this book. There are time though I imagine holding a megaphone and yelling at Tolkien to cut extra frivolous frame stuff. He engages in an ancient framing storytelling tradition back in a day when such was the norm perhaps.  Still, so pure pugboo story telling. Something the world needs, enjoyed by all. So much imagination at the in between of Victorian England and the horrible World Wars. Important lessons to hold onto now. No wonder a book to capture the imagination. So much also spelled out in the hobbit later that a first-time reader or a boy would not know. I must applaud the work. It is 4/4 in story, truly. A special work, a keystone work for all things to follow.

Book: The Fellowship of the Rings
Author: J.R.R Tolkien
Pages: 479
Hard Core Scale: 2/4
Normal Scale: 8/10
Publish Date: 1982
About:  Frodo, the nephew of Bilbo, is thrust into a journey to destroy the one ring and undo the evil plaguing the world
Review

Fun to reread this now after the movies and what has changed in the imagination. The movie did good taking the time and quotes, but moved things around to save time. Still, lots of cut. Story is still 4/4. Writing wise so much cut. Things that are painfully long and rather boring. Have to ask how this got so popular in the resurgence.

 

 Book: The Two towers
Author: JR Tolkien
Pages: 352
Hard Core Scale: 1.5/4
Normal Scale: 7/10
Publish Date: 1954
About:  Frodo continues his journey to Mount Doom after the breaking of the fellowship. While Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli rush to save Peppin and Marry in the lands of Rohan.
Review: Boring as balls. Bored of the rings. I remember this being the weakest entry and all I can think to myself reading it is that I am bored. Its boring. All of helms deep is in 12 pages. So much could be just bloody cut, its ridiculous. This is one of those places where the story is hindered by the dry writing. That’s all I can say. He’s a good writer, but meshing it with the story here is just an endless drag.

Reread Book: The Return of the King
Author: J.R.R Tolkien
Pages: 464
Hard Core Scale: 3/4
Normal Scale: 9/10
Publish Date: 1965
About: Aragorn and his forces aim for the last fight for men against Sauron, but all is for not if Frodo cannot destroy the ring.
Review: Way way less stuff cut. Storytelling coming into fruition after two towers suffering. The story stuff deep and meaningful. Just the cut still did exist and why I have to dock from it. Still, such wonderful heroics in all its cast.

Book: Unifnished tales
Author: J.R.R Tolkien
Pages: 480
Hard Core Scale:  1/4
Normal Scale: 7/10
Publish Date: 1980
About: A collection of stories compiled by Tolkien’s son summarizing certain aspects of the world.
Review: Boring as balls. So much already explored in LOTR and the Similieron I became bored of the rings. Took it all in the quick step.


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