The Fellowship of the Ring Book Review
/
One of the most influential fantasy adventures ever created kicks off with Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring. Boasting the mysterious dark lord Sauron, and his evil creation that gets forced upon the world. The threat of Mordor grows as the ring works to be found and taken back to its master. Only the most unlikely of heroes will be able to stop it.
Lord of the Rings the Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Released July 29th, 1954 by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book is a classic. The precursor to the book, The Hobbit was released in 1937 making the gap between the two books 17 years. If you want to check out our review on that book you can find it https://www.dickwizardry.com/articles/the-hobbit-book-review
Thought it’s not a requirement, it’s still a great short year of a book that will also get any reader an idea of the voice that Tolkien has in his writing.
Speaking of voice, this book does have a slightly different feel to it from the Hobbit itself. It does feel a little darker, that’s not saying a whole lot as this book is by no means a dark read. But some of the lighthearted fast paced shenanigans that occurred in the Hobbit are nearly absent here.
There are many book series out there in which the authors voice comes through really well and the writing style is very unique. Tolkien’s voice for Fellowship of the Ring is loud and clear. Just about any random page that a reader can pen up to and read will have a distinct feel that his writing is known for.
Fellowship of the Ring Story
The book starts off in a familiar area of the Shire. There is not need to read the prior book to get a good idea of what the world is like as Tolkien really does a good job describing the world and lighthearted nature of the creatures of this land called hobbits.
Bilbo Baggins is surprisingly old hobbit that still looks young. The book starts off with the celebration of his 111 birthday and is eventual departure of the shire to seek adventure. This leaves us with Frodo Baggins, a younger hobbit that inherits Bilbo’s house and fortunes. He also happens to inherit a curious ring.
Gandalf, a grey wizard who knew Bilbo had arrived in the Shire as well to celebrate Bilbo’s birthday, but after discovering the secret of Bilbo’s magical ring sets off on a journey to gain knowledge on the ring itself. Unfortunately, his discovery leads him to confirm it’s the one ring of Sauron. He then tells Frodo that it must be taken to the elves. Thus begins the journey of not just the Fellowship of the Ring, but also the rest of the trilogy.
The journey itself is enjoyable throughout. Anyone that has seen the cinematic adaptation of the Fellowship of the ring will be surprised how close the book resembles the movie. There are many other small things that are in this book however that did not make it to screen either due to runtime or a feeling of unnecessary need to add it in.
Pacing in Fellowship of the Ring
One thing that surprised me with this book was the pacing, it was by no means a slow read, at least for me. There was plenty of points in the story that had suspense or deep dark adventure feels to it that easily pull me in as a reader.
There is also that sense or increased urgency as events that were not supposed to happen actually do. Once instance of this was with the black riders that were sent out to seek out the ring find the hobbits way before they manage to get to Rivendell and this creates intensity and fear on their journey as they are along and without Gandalf by themselves through the wilderness.
From the time that the Hobbits have left the shire to get to Rivendell and the house of Elrond, to the closing of the book at the breaking of the Fellowship near Arganath, Fellowship takes it’s time developing the world and it’s locations.
Locations in Fellowship of the Ring
The locations are distinct, there is a feel for the bliss of the shire, to the gloom of Bree, one of the closest towns to the boarders of the Shire and also one of the only places where humans are relatively familiar with halflings at all.
One area that I can describe this as, is with the Moria portion of the book. There was a sense of dark foreboding all throughout the entire adventure up till the very end. Tolkien paints a good image of how deep the party has adventured to get to where they are.
I also really enjoyed the amount of detail that was painted of the rise and fall of Moria by the hands of the dwarves. (Once again, heading the Hobbit will boost the experience). There is history actively being displayed and not in a boring long winded way here.
I always heard that there was much singing in these books, and I suppose if anyone reads fantasy that does not have songs in them, then it would be an easy thing to think. I on the other hand, did not think that there was to much of it or that it was even unpleasant to read in the book. It adds character and culture to the characters.
Characters in Lord of the Rings
Speaking of characters, Aragon the ranger and the heir to the throne of Gondor surprised me with his brashness in this book. This was something that caught me off guard and I didn’t feel that the movie adaptation got right at all. I have to say that I think I like Aragon better in the films, as Tolkien's writing of him comes off as a know it all and I am high and mighty from the first introduction of him.
The rest of the fellowship all fit into roles that balance the entire party. Gimli and Legolas bicker back and forth, All the hobbits are hopelessly running around in the party, Mary and Pippen, two hobbits that tagged along with Frodo and Sam during their leave of the Shire are especially clueless.
One thing that this book is just simply better at is the characters than that of the Hobbit. It may come as no surprise but attempting to give 14 characters individual personality while also telling an adventure is rather tough to do. In the Fellowship of the Ring here though, I feel like it was really easy to get to know all the characters right away. It took no time at all to figure out every character's personality.
Another contributing factor to the easy picking up of these characters is the pace in which they are all introduced. There is no overwhelming feel of needing to know 20 characters and their motives, throughout the run of the novel, we the readers, get to know each of the characters a couple at a time. And this pace of character introduction is maintained from cover to cover.
Should You Read Fellowship of the Ring?
This book is a great read. If you have enjoyed the Hobbit, you will enjoy this book just the same. The book promises for a continued epic adventure. To anyone that has never read the books but watched the movie, the books deviate here from the structure any movie watchers' brain has trained them to come to know.
That is one sad thing that I have to say. As I read the book I am relating it to the movie and I try my best not to. That is much easier said than done. So it’s for that reason, that the things that the movie Trilogy did not pick up from the books that I find and read is what really makes this super enjoyable and a new experience.
If you have read the Fellowship of the Ring, what are your thoughts? Comment below and let us know! Stay tuned for the review of the Lord of the Rings and the Two Towers, the second installment to the fantasy trilogy.
