Review: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Fellowship of the Ring

Series: Lord of the Rings part #1
Author: J. R.R. Tolkien

Source/Format: Purchased; Anniversary Edition
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: First published on July 29, 1954

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Synopsis from Goodreads... 

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness 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 into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

Literal, for the longest time, I’ve been meaning to read The Lord of the Rings. It was one of my blogging goals for last year, but I just didn’t get around to it. So I can finally mark the first part off my list, because I have at last read The Fellowship of the Ring.

Going into this one, it was exactly like I thought it was going to be, yet it managed to exceed my expectations anyway. That’s partly because it’s been so long since I watched the movie trilogy, and I didn’t remember much of what happened in them—I’m planning to buy the DVDs so I can rewatch them later, probably after I’ve finished reading the last two parts. And it’s also due to the changes the movies made, which tuned out to be an interesting reading experience.

Generally speaking, The Fellowship of the Ring was a good story. There was a lot of walking and camping across long distances—and some really long conversations—yet the story still had a sense of urgency. The lore was much clearer than I remembered from the movies (take that with a grain of salt, because it’s been years). Still, I had a better appreciation for the attention to detail that went into developing this world.

One of the best aspects about the story was the characters. There were so many different people spread out in Middle Earth, and each one had their own rich history that often had interactions with others—which explained some of the deep grudges or friendships. Frodo and crew were great too. The friendship and comradeship between the hobbits was one of my favorite parts of the story. It came in handy too, considering the scope of the perilous journey they were undertaking.

I have the anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings, so I will definitely read The Two Towers soon.