Best Version Ever...
I started reading the four book when I was 13 years old, and I could not put them down. Now, as a student at a community college in California, I have had the opportunity to take a class revolving around The Lord of the Rings. In this class, we read all four books (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), and watched the extended movie versions by Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema. For our last assignment, we have to write this review and post it to the web.
I would recommend these books to anyone willing to take the time to enjoy what is probably the most creative fantasy fiction book of all time. J. R. R. Tolkien's writing is very inspirational to those who are open minded. The descriptions in the books all combine to form an wondrous journey.
The films were extremely well done, but I recommend reading all the books first. And if you get a change, read The Silmarilion, because that tells background stories of many things that Tolkien describes in The Lord of the Rings.
The Hobbit is about a Hobbit's journey to defeat a dragon from the Lonely Mountain, accompanied by a gang of dwarves. This book was originally published for children, but I recommend it for any age group. Even as an adult, I love to re-read this book; it sparks the imaginative part of me, and makes me feel the age that I first read it.
The Lord of the Rings is about the journey of another hobbit, Frodo Baggins, who needs to destroy the One Ring of Power in the fires of Mount Doom. The Fellowship of the Rings is the beginning of this journey, which introduces the main characters of the Fellowship. This book could be dry for the first one hundred pages or so because of the various description details not involving any action of the story. However, the books get better. The Two Towers involves more action, and more themes involving friendship, love, and battle. The Return of the King is definitely a tear-jerker at the end.
It is highly recommended to read the books before seeing the movies. That way, you use more of your imagination for the appearances of the characters and the different settings. Also, there are many scenes and characters in the books that are not in the movies, such as Tom Bombadil, which are a delight to have knowledge of.
Personally, I think The Lord of the Rings should be a requirement reading for middle school to high school students. The writing is so genuine and academic, along with themes that can help change a person's perspective on many things and issues.
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