Lord Of The Rings Trilogy...

[Ghostvirus]

I figure there should be a thread on this Trilogy. I have just started it. I am at the point in the book where the fellowship has been formed & they are heading out. The things I have noticed.

The Hobbits love to eat!

So far a lot of the things cut out of the film is understandable, but at the same time a bummer. I really like Tom Bombadil. I was glad to find out Tolkien wrote a whole book on him. I plan on reading that after I finish the Stand.

I really dig the adventure aspect of the Books. Something was kind of lacking in the Movies. In the books you really get a sense the cats are in for the long haul.

I also prefer the Merry & Pippen of the books. They aren't nearly as slap stick.

Anywho that is all I got for now. Please discuss.

[Kud-Dukan]

I love these books. Some people don't like Tolkien's writing style, but I love it, and I really love the characters and the world he created.

Originally Posted by Ghostvirus

So far a lot of the things cut out of the film is understandable, but at the same time a bummer. I really like Tom Bombadil.

Yeah, I agree. It's a shame it was cut, because Bombadil is a really intriguing character, but he isn't needed to tell the story.

Originally Posted by Ghostvirus

I also prefer the Merry & Pippen of the books. They aren't nearly as slap stick.

Again, I agree. I know they needed some comic relief for the movies, so I don't really have a huge issue with it, but they are much more serious characters in the books.

Enjoy reading! It's a great ride. I've read them countless times, and I never get bored with them. Tolkien truly was a genius.

[simplysuperhero]

Glad to read this is not just a discussion about the films. Though I did like the animation film for Fellowship. I saw that in the movies and turned my head. I ended up reading all three books with most of what I read going over my head.

I re-read them again as a senior in high school for an English class and loved them. That was more than 20 years ago.

I'll be reading them again with my son when he's old enough (he's 6).

My Dad's read them 3 times.

Hopefully my son will read them three times too in his lifetime.

[Raivynn]

My favourite book of all time.
I absolutely adore all things Middle-Earth. J.R.R Tolkien was a true genius.

[Mr. Wooden Alligator]

My first reading of the trilogy was kind of disjointed: I read FOTR, 6 months later TTT, then maybe 2 or 3 months later ROTK.

There've only been a handful of books that actually got an emotional reaction from me: HP and the Deathly Hallows, The Dark Tower VII, and The Bible. But in ROTK, I cried

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

When Frodo went away at the end to the Grey Havens.

. It was odd--no one had died but I was still kind of sad.

Overall, great trilogy that has lead to an overflow of immitators with a few original ideas sprinkled throughout.

Question: I saw a book at Sams, Children of Hurin, and checked out the first couple of pages out of curiosity. It started by talking about someone named Morgoth in a fortress. Is this like a prequel to the Trilogy and The Hobbit?

[Pyrox]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wooden Alligator

Question: I saw a book at Sams, Children of Hurin, and checked out the first couple of pages out of curiosity. It started by talking about someone named Morgoth in a fortress. Is this like a prequel to the Trilogy and The Hobbit?

Morgoth was the Original Evil, and Sauron was his little helper basically. (to leave it simple)

Children of Hurin is a completion of stuff Tolkien didn't finish.
His son edited the manuscripts and released them as a book in 07.

It takes place in the First Age of Middle-earth, whereas Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are in the Third age, so yes...it's pre-story

[Marvolo]

Bumping this thread to show some love for possibly the greatest piece of fantasy in the modern English language.

I've been looking for a good piece of fantasy to read for years, but have yet to find anything that can top Tolkien. GRRM is on his own level, but even he doesn't come close to topping Tolkien. Anyone who has ever read about what went into building the world, cultures, languages, etc knows that no author really compares to Tolkien. The man was obsessed with the English language, and went to great lengths to make LOTR as english as possible even going so far as to avoid nouns that did not have english roots. Its hard for me to commit to any series now, because they all seem to pale in comparison. Anyone experience this after reading LOTR and about the work Tolkien put into it?

[Dark Sentinel]

Alright I hate to be "that guy" but The Lord of the Rings is in fact one book, NOT a trilogy

I read it every year, and it is my all-time favorite novel. The amount of detail and effort Tolkien put into this can never be surpassed by any author (no, not even GRRM, as much as I enjoy ASoIaF). It's what inspired me to write.

Does anyone else enjoy the Appendices as much as I do?

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by Dark Sentinel

Alright I hate to be "that guy" but The Lord of the Rings is in fact one book, NOT a trilogy

I read it every year, and it is my all-time favorite novel. The amount of detail and effort Tolkien put into this can never be surpassed by any author (no, not even GRRM, as much as I enjoy ASoIaF). It's what inspired me to write.

Does anyone else enjoy the Appendices as much as I do?

Yeah, one single EPIC book! It seems weird referring to it as such, because for so long it was published only as a trilogy.

I love the Appendices! Tolkien's books are the only ones in which I like that kind of stuff. It is so deep and fascinating. I daresay I find that reading how he wrote the books and the history behind them slightly more interesting than the LOTR itself.

[childeroland]

If you haven't read The Silmarillion, you might want to check that out next. Much more of Tolkien's mythopoeia.

[Dark Sentinel]

Oh man...I can't say enough about this book. I read it every year and each year it just gets better. The best part of the book in my opinion is the Appendices. I'm a fan of worldbuildng, so for Tolkien to have done what he did is astounding.

The themes of the book are what resonate most with me. Friendship, eucatastrophe, environmental consciousness. No other fantasy novel has stood the test of time like Lord of the Rings.

LOTR is actually what inspired me to write. I'd always written stories and whatnot but after I read LOTR (I was 12-13 at the time) I made the decision that I HAD to try and write something on that epic a scale.

[Dark Sentinel]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wooden Alligator

My first reading of the trilogy was kind of disjointed: I read FOTR, 6 months later TTT, then maybe 2 or 3 months later ROTK.

There've only been a handful of books that actually got an emotional reaction from me: HP and the Deathly Hallows, The Dark Tower VII, and The Bible. But in ROTK, I cried

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

When Frodo went away at the end to the Grey Havens.

. It was odd--no one had died but I was still kind of sad.

Overall, great trilogy that has lead to an overflow of immitators with a few original ideas sprinkled throughout.

Question: I saw a book at Sams, Children of Hurin, and checked out the first couple of pages out of curiosity. It started by talking about someone named Morgoth in a fortress. Is this like a prequel to the Trilogy and The Hobbit?

The Children of Húrin is set in the First Age of Middle-earth, roughly 6,000 years prior to Lord of the Rings. Morgoth is Sauron's immediate predecessor and mentor. It's a fascinating read, it takes elements of the Finnish Kullervo myth, as well as Oedipus and others. You should check it out, it's actually a very good tragic tale.

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by childeroland

If you haven't read The Silmarillion, you might want to check that out next. Much more of Tolkien's mythopoeia.

I've delved into it multiple times, but never actually read the whole thing. I have it on audio book so I occasionally listen to a chapter. Its fascinating stuff.

[Samwise Gamgee]

I cannot find a piece of "high fantasy" that captures me as well as Lord of the Rings.
Same can be said of Martin's "low fantasy" epic.

IMHO those authors set the bar. I have read some other great works but not on the levels set by those authors.

[Samwise Gamgee]

If you couldn't tell by the name, there is a special place in my heart for the hobbits.

[Dark Sentinel]

Originally Posted by Kud-Dukan

I love these books. Some people don't like Tolkien's writing style, but I love it, and I really love the characters and the world he created.



Yeah, I agree. It's a shame it was cut, because Bombadil is a really intriguing character, but he isn't needed to tell the story.



Again, I agree. I know they needed some comic relief for the movies, so I don't really have a huge issue with it, but they are much more serious characters in the books.

Enjoy reading! It's a great ride. I've read them countless times, and I never get bored with them. Tolkien truly was a genius.

Ok first of all, hats off to you sir on your name.

Second, I read this BOOK every year. Yes, many people get confused but Lord of the Rings is in fact one book divided into 3 volumes.

Third, it is a HUGELY inspiring book for me personally as an author, and definitely the best book of the 20th century. Harry Potter doesn't come close. Agreed on Tolkien's writing style, and the thing I love about his writing is that more often than not you as a reader get so lost in the story and the detail of the world, you can actually believe that those events could have happened, even though it is in fact fiction.

The Appendices are my favorite part of the book

[Ilayda]

Originally Posted by Dark Sentinel

Ok first of all, hats off to you sir on your name.

Second, I read this BOOK every year. Yes, many people get confused but Lord of the Rings is in fact one book divided into 3 volumes.

Third, it is a HUGELY inspiring book for me personally as an author, and definitely the best book of the 20th century. Harry Potter doesn't come close. Agreed on Tolkien's writing style, and the thing I love about his writing is that more often than not you as a reader get so lost in the story and the detail of the world, you can actually believe that those events could have happened, even though it is in fact fiction.

The Appendices are my favorite part of the book

Yes, it is one story divided 3 different volumes(books). That is why we call it as Trilogy.
I am also a fan of Tolkien too. He brings you into his(Tolkien)world with his writing style...
It makes you want that fiction to be real...

[Dark Sentinel]

Originally Posted by Ilayda

Yes, it is one story divided 3 different volumes(books). That is why we call it as Trilogy.
I am also a fan of Tolkien too. He brings you into his(Tolkien)world with his writing style...
It makes you want that fiction to be real...

Trust me, I get that, but it's a misnomer. LOTR was written as a single novel but because of the post-WWII paper shortage to produce a book of that size would be too expensive for the publishers and would've been priced too high for consumers. So the economical decision was made to split the book into three volumes, which in turn created the "epic fantasy trilogy" that we know of today as the standard model of the genre.

Regardless, I don't care if you read the story as one book or three separate books, as long as you enjoy reading them/it

[Ilayda]

Originally Posted by Dark Sentinel

Trust me, I get that, but it's a misnomer. LOTR was written as a single novel but because of the post-WWII paper shortage to produce a book of that size would be too expensive for the publishers and would've been priced too high for consumers. So the economical decision was made to split the book into three volumes, which in turn created the "epic fantasy trilogy" that we know of today as the standard model of the genre.

Regardless, I don't care if you read the story as one book or three separate books, as long as you enjoy reading them/it

So you are saying the story was originally written as one single book. The publishers turned that out as 3 volumes. Makes sense...
I read the three separate books and I did enjoy it yes, but unfortunately before I finish the series I watched the movies. Then I never had a chance to finish the last volume...