Five stars, should be 10

I, like many others, was first introduced into the magical world of Middle Earth when I went to see The Fellowship of the Ring in the movie theatre. I had no idea my life would be changed the way it was. I consider myself to be a true lover of classic literature, and never gave much thought to reading these books in the past. But the movie blew me away completely, and while waiting the agonizing one year for the next movie to come out, I had to cave and buy the trilogy in paper back.

When I first read the Fellowship of the Ring, I couldn't believe it. I thought the movie could never be topped. But the movie left out some of the greatest moments of Frodo and Sam's journey. Namely, Tom Bombadil. From their run in with Tom, and him saving them from the Barrow Wights, to his great songs he is constantly singing while making his way thru the forest. If I could ask Peter Jackson one question, it would be, "Why wasn't my man Bombadil put in the films?"

The beauty of Fellowship of the Ring is the description and wordcraft of JRR Tolkien. The man's writing is incredible. I have read the trilogy 4 times now, and still get blown away by his detail and love of the story. The way he develops the characters, such as Boromir is something that is lacking a bit from the movies. You get to understand Boromir's plight, and his desire to obtain the ring in order to save his people. The way the ring can lure a person, and take him over is so well put forth by Tolkien. It's a true struggle for anyone who knows of it.

The true glory of this novel comes in the real fellowship the develops. As you read thru all 3 books, you feel you are a part of the journey. You feel the relief and joy of the party as they reach Rivendell. The fear and despair as the hobbits and Aragorn meet the Ringwraiths on Amon Sul. And the true sadness when Boromir dies while trying to protect Merry and Pippen.

The Lord of the Rings set, including the Hobbit is a true gift to all lovers of literature. They're books that can be read by kids, and adults alike. Each time I've finished the books, I feel myself wanting to go write back to the beginning and start into the Hobbit again. That is why I have read them so much. It's a collection of books I couldn't do without.

Not very good.

I know that by writing this I will probably draw the wrath of a lot of die-hard fans. I have read many of the reviews and I do respect the opinions of most of the people that adore this series. However, a handful of the positive reviews listed on this site were undoubtedly written by overweight, sarcastic, "intellectuals" who spent their youth playing "Dungeons and Dragons", watching "Star Trek" and "Dr. Who" and dreaming that some day a woman might actually look at them..... but back to my review.
The first book in the series "The Hobbit" is actually quite good. The characters are likeable, the adventure is interesting and the writing flows and is well paced. I liked the dragon much better than Sauron. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the LOTR's trilogy. I noticed immediately from the beginning of FOTR that the writing style, which in "The Hobbit" was straightforward and unpretentious, became bloated and longwinded. As far as the trilogy goes....FOTR is easily the best in the series, though I felt it could have been cut by 100 pages. The basic idea is quite compelling and in the beginning I was intrigued. But as the pages went on I realized that Tolkien obviously was very full of himself and his Middle-Earth. Obviously one must have patience to allow a writer time to describe the world that his characters live in. However this entire trilogy is a study in WRETCHED EXCESS.
Page after page Tolkien endlessly describes, valleys, hills, mountains, knolls, forests, trees, rivers, lakes, cliffs, rocks, etc. etc. etc. And when he isn't hitting us over the head with the landscape every two minutes he gives us ENDLESS stories of Middle-Earth's legends, myths, history, tales, and poems. This didn't bother me all that much in the FOTR as I felt that he was not only telling Frodo and Gandalf's story but setting the stage for the next novels as well.
However upon reading "The Two Towers" I realized that I was in trouble. Once again Tolkien was compelled to RELENTLESSLY describe.... valleys, hills, mountains, knolls, forests, trees, rivers, lakes, cliffs, rocks, etc. At times I felt that he was so wrapped up in creating a travelogue for Middle-Earth that he forgot that he was supposed to be telling a story. I liked the characters of Frodo, Sam and Gandalf (and Bilbo in "The Hobbit") However most of the remaining characters I found to be rather boring, as they tediously hold out their swords and talked of more legends, myths, history, tales, and poems. The last half of "The Two Towers" was especially excruciating to endure, as was "Return of the King" . For me it became an ordeal to even finish these books much less recommend them to someone else. Again I felt the basic premise of this trilogy was outstanding. I had only wished it had been delivered in a way that was a bit more energetic and alive.
Some of the fans of this series will have to accept that there is a large group of people who do not like these books. And they are not simply idiots who never have the patience to read a few sentences. They are well-read people who just were bogged down by a bloated 1000 page trilogy that should have been half that length.

Overrated!

I read through these 4 volumes 33 years ago when I came to England because many of my fellow students raved about them.

The Hobbit is mildly amusing story suitable for children.

The LOTR is rather dreary boring tale which requires a lot of perseverence to complete. I have not re-read it since unlike other novels that I have re-read multiple times purely because a good work of literature improves on re-reading.

If you want to read a true epic with complicated human characters try reading a retelling of the Mahabharata.