The Lord of the Rings (Collectors Edition)
Why Buy A The Lord of the Rings (Collectors Edition)?A Christian can almost be forgiven for not reading the Bible, but theres no salvation for a fantasy fan who hasnt read the gospel of the genre, J.R.R. Tolkiens definitive three-book epic, the Lord of the Rings (encompassing
The Fellowship of the Ring,
The Two Towers, and
The Return of the King), and its charming precursor,
The Hobbit. That many (if not most) fantasy works are in some way derivative of Tolkien is understood, but the influence of the Lord of the Rings is so universal that everybody from George Lucas to Led Zeppelin has appropriated it for one purpose or another.
Not just revolutionary because it was groundbreaking, the Lord of the Rings is timeless because its the product of a truly top-shelf mind. Tolkien was a distinguished linguist and Oxford scholar of dead languages, with strong ideas about the importance of myth and story and a deep appreciation of nature. His epic, 10 years in the making, recounts the Great War of the Ring and the closing of Middle-Earths Third Age, a time when magic begins to fade from the world and men rise to dominance. Tolkien carefully details this transition with tremendous skill and love, creating in the Lord of the Rings a universal and all-embracing tale, a justly celebrated classic. –Paul Hughes
Customer Reviews & Opinions
The best book in centuries
This is definitely one of the best book of all time. Here, Tolkien seamlessly blends a host of Scandinavian and British sagas with his own distinct elements into a rich, sprawling epic. The plot is great; highly imaginative despite its apparent derivativeness, the sweep and grandeur of this tale are absolutely breathtaking. The books are filled with vivid, lush description without endlessly describing everything. And the style is possessed of a great, archaic dignity that has pretty much died out in all other modern writing. This is, in short, the greatest epic in at least a thousand years, overflowing with majesty, nobility, and creativity. I apologize for the brevity of this review, but I really can’t put it into words. I would say that the best review for this book would be the book itself; without reading it you can never get even a glimpse of its quality.
Truly A Tolkien Essential
This book is magnificent! The pictures by Alan Lee are beautiful, and there are so many! I’d expected a few pictures here and there, but there are pictures about every 40 pages or so throughout the entire book! The size is not too cumbersome, and the book is easily portable despite containing all three books. I had worried that it might be too big to take with me places, and I’ve seen some versions that contained all three books in one volume that were definitely too big to lug around. This one is not. It’s a little thick, but not large overall. This book is absolutely an essential for any Tolkien collector.
Excellent!
The first time I read this classic long ago, it was a triad of paperback books, but I had always wanted a good hardback edition as part of my permanent collection.There is already enough written about the story in praise of it, but what draws my praise is to be able to find such a beautiful book at such a bargain price and with such beautiful illustrations, that were also found in the latest “Lord of the Rings” movies, as the artist that did those illustrations also worked on the designs for the movies.
The Greatest Fantasy Epic of All Time! Highly Recommended
“The Lord of the Rings” is the sequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic, The Hobbit. While it is generaly sold in three book sets (The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings), it is actually one epic tale.
More adult oriented concepts are included than in The Hobbit, and there are refferences to the pre-history Tolkien was developing and published in various “Middle Earth” books, making this a more challenging read (I always have trouble getting through the first part of The Two Towers).
The story picks up some years after Bilbo Baggins returns from the adventure told in The Hobbit. Now older, Bilbo is ready to leave his beloved home in the Shire, passing most of his possessions (including the Magic Ring he aquired in The Hobbit) to his nephew Frodo. Gandolf, the wizzard, has doubts about the Ring that are soon proven correct and a great quest is set before the young Hobbit and his group of friends.
This is an epic tale, with many story lines running concurrently. This has it all, Monsters, Wizards, Battles, Treason, Love, Self Sacrifice and much more!
Highly recommended!
Red Collectible Book
In case this review gets listed for other editions (which sometimes happens) the aisn of the book I am reviewing is 0395193958, copyright 1987.
This collectible book has a plain, deep red slipcase but it is very sturdy and suits the classic nature of the book. The spine is decorated with what looks like a stylized version (possibly) of one of Tolkien’s own drawings of a tree, along with engraved and embossed words of the title, author and publisher initials. Gold, blue and green details contrast the deep red cover. This is very beautiful. 440 pages with several appendices and a nice index in the back. Text is not too small. Instead the volume is large to fit all three books into one. (9.5 x 6.5 x 2.5) Heavy and a little hard to read because of that, but worth having and a lovely edition. I love having this as part of my Tolkien collection.
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