Instead of 3 separate reviews, this will be a review of the whole book as J.R.R. Tolkien had written it as a single novel. The reason it was published as 3 volumes was due to post-war paper shortages.

‘Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power – the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring – the ring that rules them all – which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as the Ring is entrusted to his care. He must leave his home and make a perilous journey across the realms of Middle-earth to the Crack of Doom, deep inside the territories of the Dark Lord. There he must destroy the Ring forever and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.’

Before the story begins, there’s a verse about the Rings of Power:
‘Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

I started writing this as I do all my reviews, beginning with the setup, followed by an overview of the first few pages while introducing the key players, but, when I read it over, it came across… flat.

So, I won’t write a review in the way I usually do as there’s too much to talk about.

Instead, this will be a post on what, for me, makes this story stand head and shoulders above the fantasy books I’ve read.

While ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is in the fantasy genre, it’s a combination of fantasy and history, albeit a history of a fictional world.

In his letter to Milton Waldman, Tolkien said, “… I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend…” which he wanted to dedicate to England.

I’d say he did exactly that and more as this book and everything he wrote to do with Middle-earth come together in the manner of a mythology created to replace the one that had been wiped out by the Norman invasion.

‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ by JRR Tolkien

Unlikely Heroes:
Of the many characters we’re introduced to in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, Tolkien spends the most time with the hobbits, an ‘unobtrusive but very ancient people’ in the Shire where the story begins.

With its picturesque gardens and farms, not to mention numerous taverns, the Shire is obviously based on a romanticised version of what rural England was like in Tolkien’s childhood.

Small-sized with large hairy feet and even larger appetites, hobbits are easy-going and friendly, preferring a quiet, peaceful life.

Practically the whole of the first part of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, ‘The Ring Sets Out’, is focussed on the hobbits, first in the Shire, and then when they leave on their journey.

I enjoyed spending all that time with the hobbits, getting to know them and understanding their qualities as much of the story revolves around our main hobbit characters.

And those hobbits are Frodo Baggins, his gardener, Samwise Gamgee, and close friends and cousins, Merry and Pippin.

Each is a distinct character, so there’s no danger of confusing one for another.

In the early chapters, it becomes apparent there are hidden depths to this unassuming race.

The world at large seems to either be unaware of the existence of hobbits or views them as insignificant… except Gandalf:
“Among the Wise I am the only one that goes in for hobbit-lore… Soft as butter they can be, and yet sometimes as tough as old tree-roots. I think it likely that some would resist the Ring far longer than most of the Wise would believe…”

After years searching for information about the identity of the Ring, Gandalf returns to the Shire to tell Frodo what he has discovered:
‘“This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all. This is the One Ring that he lost many ages ago, to the great weakening of his power. He greatly desires it – but he must not get it…”
“The Enemy still lacks one thing to give him strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance, break the last defences, and cover all the lands in a second darkness. He lacks the One Ring.”’

Destroying the Ring is no easy matter for there is only one way to destroy it – ‘“to find the Cracks of Doom in the depths of Orodruin, the Fire-mountain, and cast the Ring in there…”’ and Orodruin is deep in the Enemy’s territory.

Horrified that he’s been chosen – “I am not made for perilous quests.” – believing himself to have little strength and wit for the task, Frodo offers the Ring to “wise and powerful” Gandalf.

Who instantly refuses it; “With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.”

In the end, Frodo realises it really is up to him to take the Ring out of the Shire…
“… this would mean exile, a flight from danger into danger, drawing it after me… to…save the Shire. But I feel very small, and very uprooted, and well – desperate. The Enemy is so strong and terrible.”

And his answer surprises even Gandalf; “Hobbits really are amazing creatures… You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch. I hardly expected to get such an answer, not even from you…”

Of all the races – elves, men, dwarves, even wizards – the one most likely to withstand the evil influence of the Ring the longest turns out to be the unlikeliest one of all, the one race deemed of little to no interest by the Dark Lord.

While I like all four of the hobbits, if I had to pick one, it would be Sam.

Even though Frodo is the most essential character with the heaviest burden to bear, around which the actions of all the others revolve, it is Sam who draws me in the most.

A simple hobbit, he never sees himself as anything other than a gardener, no one important.

Yet, his devotion to his master, Frodo, and his unshakeable belief, his total knowing, of all that is good and right in the world, makes him as important to the story as Frodo.

While not all the characters are drawn in as much detail as the hobbits, there are others I like, but if I start listing them and the reasons why I like them, this will be a humungous post!

Men and Women:
The way men are portrayed in this story, not all but many of them, is beautifully done.

They’re so tender, not just with their women but with one another as well.

They’re faithful to their partners, respectful to women.

They’re not afraid to show their emotions. They cry and hug and kiss one another on the forehead… No awkwardness, no connotations, nothing of the sort.

And they’re still considered men.

One of the complaints people have about this story is the lack of women, and the usual defence is, the time this was written.

But I think it’s more to do with mythologies in general.

When it comes time for great journeys and battles, most mythological stories feature men more than women.

There are many characters, the majority of them male; it’s no easy job remembering all of them and their names.

Yet, by having only three main female characters – Galadriel, Arwen, Éowyn – they remain memorable.

Each is powerful in her own way…

Galadriel wields her powers subtly, though her mere presence is formidable enough.

Arwen’s strength of character shows in the fate she willingly chooses, knowing what ultimately awaits her.

Of the three, Éowyn’s strength is shown most obviously, and her courage is incredible to behold.

The History and Language:
There is a weight of history that grounds ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

As we progress through the story, there is a definite feeling of a world that has been in existence for many centuries already.

We get this from the ruins found in many areas, all of which have a backstory, many only mentioned fleetingly; place names, some retaining their ancient name while others have changed over time, reflecting momentous events that have transpired; mention of this or that battle from previous ages…

Each of the different races has their own mythology and stories of the past, some unique to each, others intertwined.

Each race also has its songs and verse, peppered through the story. While some say this bogs the story down and messes with the pacing, I feel they add to the history.

Partway through their journey, Sam and Frodo are talking of tales, and Sam mentions Beren, a man from the First Age who faced Sauron’s master, the ultimate Dark Lord, Morgoth, to try and gain one of the jewels known as the Silmarils…
“Beren… never thought he was going to get that Silmaril from the Iron Crown in Thangorodrim, and yet he did, and that was a worse place and a blacker danger than ours… and the Silmaril went on and came to Earendil. And… sir, I never thought of that before! We’ve got – you’ve got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we’re in the same tale still! It’s going on…”

The fact that Tolkien was a philologist no doubt played a great part in putting an authentic historical stamp on all of Middle-earth and the peoples who inhabit it.

A master of languages, he took inspiration from Finnish for one of his elvish languages, Quenya, and Welsh for Sindarin, the other elvish language.

Then there are the various root words which connect names and terms…

One example of this is ‘mor’, meaning ‘dark’ or ‘black’ – Mordor (Black Land or Dark Land), Moria (Black chasm), Morgul (dark sorcery).

The ‘dor’ in Mordor means ‘land’, also found in Gondor (stone land).

The people of Rohan, the Rohirrim, are based on Anglo-Saxons as is their language, which resembles ancient English.

The Anglo-Saxon word, ‘eoh’, which means ‘warhorse’ is in many of their words – ‘éored’ (cavalry); ‘éohere’ (‘here’ means ‘army’); ‘Éothéod’, (horse-people); their king, Théoden (chief or king).

The Story:
‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a story of good versus evil.

Sauron, the Dark Lord, is pure evil; he has no redeeming qualities, he must be defeated, or the world will descend into darkness and all that is good will perish.

The heroes – not only the hobbits, but all who are fighting for good – do not have superpowers or magical powers, except maybe Gandalf and even then, his power comes from his presence and force of will.

They only have their own inner strength, faith in themselves and one another, to fight against overwhelming odds, even when faith is tested, and strength is found wanting.

It’s a story about doing the right and honourable thing, regardless of personal cost, where sense of duty truly means something, of continuing the quest even when hope is nowhere to be found…

To realise that even in victory, there is still unbearable loss.

There’s also a sense of something greater at work but not overtly so, a force as it were that opposes the evil of Sauron.

There is an inkling of it when, in talking of the Ring forsaking Gollum in time to be found by Bilbo (in ‘The Hobbit’), Gandalf says to Frodo, ‘“There was more than one power at work, Frodo. The Ring was trying to get back to its master… So now, when its master was awake once more and sending out his dark thought… it abandoned Gollum. Only to be picked up by the most unlikely person imaginable: Bilbo from the Shire!
“Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought.”’

All through the story, mention is made of the Undying Lands, where live the Ainur, the Holy Ones, and the Eldar, the elves who left when the world was young and never returned to Middle-earth.

From Middle-earth, only the elves, being immortal, are allowed to sail there, and eventually, inevitably, they all do.

It may not seem obvious on the first reading, but the presence of those lands permeates the story in a very subtle way, and I wonder if the Ainur watch over Middle-earth without meddling directly in its affairs…

I could go on and on as there’s so much more I could talk about.

Instead, I’ll finish with a few of Tolkien’s descriptions…

Speaking of descriptions, I only now realised that, while I usually skim over descriptions because of my aphantasia, I have no problems with Tolkien’s descriptions, maybe because his prowess and love of language shine through.

‘The flowers glowed red and golden: snap-dragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.’

‘He walked along the terraces above the loud-flowing Bruinen and watched the pale, cool sun rise above the far mountains, and shine down, slanting through the thin silver mist; the dew upon the yellow leaves was glimmering, and the woven nets of gossamer twinkled on every bush.’

‘… they found its outward faces sheer, high and impassable, frowning over the plain below; beyond its tumbled skirts lay livid festering marshes where nothing moved and not even a bird was to be seen.’

‘They stood on a wet floor of polished stone… But in front a thin veil of water was hung… It faced westward. The level shafts of the setting sun behind beat upon it, and the red light was broken into many flickering beams of ever-changing colour. It was as if they stood at the window of some elven-tower, curtained with threaded jewels of silver and gold, and ruby, sapphire, and amethyst, all kindled with an unconsuming fire.’

Book Review - 'The Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkien