J. R. R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings trilogy/The Hobbit

Today I would like to do a brief post on Tolkien, godfather of fantasy. His name is synonomous with epic fantasy. His work has been reprinted hundreds of times. He remains a landmark on the map of literature. Unfortunately, some people have not yet had the time or the desire to read his works. While I maintain that he is a fantastic story-teller, I agree that his books are not for everyone.

Personally, I adore the Trilogy (for the unlearned, this consists of "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King" with "The Hobbit" as a prequel to the three) and own two copies. I have read and reread the whole massive epic likely as many as 17 times in my short 2 decades of life.

I really feel, however, that these books are best appreciated by adults. Many younger readers will likely find that it is hard to keep track of so many descriptions of people, of places, of weapons, of languages, of history, of cultures, and so on. It is a very lengthy, wordy, thoroughly descriptive piece of literature and reminds me somewhat of a historical recollection of a real event. I certainly don't mean that I think it could have really happened, I just mean that it is told the way someone would write a book about the French revolution, for example, focusing on a specific small group of people and their contributions to the event. There is extensive detail that some younger or more impatient souls might find dry, dull, boring, or mind-numbing. It is precisely that extent of detail, however, that makes this a magnificently rich tapestry of words. Just like rich foods, though, it's not to everyone's taste.

For those who have tried reading his work and found it not to their liking and too slow of a read, I suggest you do two things.

1) Watch the movies. They are not as in-depth as the books (by half, at least. Just imagine how long they would be if they were!) but Peter Jackson definately captured the spirit of them while distilling the entertainment out of much of the detail to produce something marketable in Hollywood.

2) Read (if you haven't yet) The Belgariad series and The Mallorean series by David Eddings. This is basically the same type of thing... Unusual assortment of people band together to save the world from evil, do a lot of travelling, and in the end everyone is a hero and everyone (even the people you thought were unimportant) show how truly crucial they were. It's just a little more relaxed than Tolkien. More in the nature of mind candy.

(I told you I had a pro-Eddings agenda! ...yes, despite his dismal recent performances...)