REVIEW | The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

Lord of the Rings trilogy

J. R. R. Tolkien

Genre: high fantasy

Pages: 1530

First published: 1954

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a genuine masterpiece. The most widely read and influential fantasy epic of all time, it is also quite simply one of the most memorable and beloved tales ever told. Originally published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings set the framework upon which all epic/quest fantasy since has been built. Through the urgings of the enigmatic wizard Gandalf, young hobbit Frodo Baggins embarks on an urgent, incredibly treacherous journey to destroy the One Ring. This ring -- created and then lost by the Dark Lord, Sauron, centuries earlier -- is a weapon of evil, one that Sauron desperately wants returned to him. With the power of the ring once again his own, the Dark Lord will unleash his wrath upon all of Middle-earth. The only way to prevent this horrible fate from becoming reality is to return the Ring to Mordor, the only place it can be destroyed. Unfortunately for our heroes, Mordor is also Sauron's lair. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is essential reading not only for fans of fantasy but for lovers of classic literature as well.

I have to say, it’s not at all easy to write a review that would be good enough for such an epic and legendary trilogy. Anything that could be said has been said already. To adequately express the feelings I had during and after reading the books is not at all possible. From the start to the very last page I was enchanted by Tolkien’s imagination and his ability to put all of it on the paper and pass all his thoughts onto us with such a beautiful usage of words. He created a completely new world with its own rules and issues and affairs and creatures. He created languages and a whole history of this fantasy world. Middle-earth is thoroughly thought through; Tolkien provides us so many information to get to know every little part and every creature that could be found there, and makes us feel as if Middle-earth was our second home.

To praise the story about a Hobbit who fought his way into Mordor is not something my words would be enough to do. I fell in love with many characters, and with each one in a bit different way. The crownless king is the apple of my eye, honestly. This is the kind of a character everyone needs in their life. But I don’t want to speak only of Aragorn, for there were many others that made me feel things. The evolving friendship of Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf made my heart extremely happy because they overcame prejudice and showed me that the truest friend can be found even in the most unlikely being. The Hobbits, the little and fragile Hobbits, who showed me that sometimes the greatest strength is not necessarily linked to physical appearance. And the Wizard, who overcame his death and came back to fulfil his purpose and to help his friends in need.

Also there were many Men I felt personally attached to, Faramir to mention my favourite one. I had to say his name because if you haven’t read the books and only watched the film versions, then you were robbed of such an intense feeling towards him, because in the film, he’s pictured as quite a bad character when meeting Frodo for the first time, although in the books he’s being really kind and polite to him and Sam. I myself had seen the films first and then read the books, so I was kind of expecting him to be a jerk, but it turned out he was actually really a nice guy and I was so pleasantly surprised that I immediately developed positive feelings towards him in the Two Towers. Obviously, I also disliked some of the characters. And as much as I liked Faramir, Éowyn, for example, was really getting on my nerves persuading Aragorn not to go towards the Paths of the Dead. Brave and fearless as she was, casually breaking gender roles with her “but I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death.”, I still couldn’t really bring myself to like her as much as the others.

I definitely consider this series as something everyone should read because it’s a masterpiece and it made me feel so many different feelings. It’s beautifully written and I never had the urge to skip a paragraph, not even once. I am desperately in love with these books and I am pretty positive this series will always be something I’ll enjoy coming back to.