Enjoyment (9/10):
These books where such a great ride in the world of fantasy. The scenes were written so vibrantly and with such great tension that I really feared for the characters at times. It features magic but only in so much as a world building device and not of common use by characters which can fill books with plot holes and questions. The choice of having the main character as not the typical powerhouse of a hero with unseen hidden powers was a great choice and forced me as the reader to root for the fellowship as a whole as their skills were all needed. This book is also the spawn of so many great quotes… even the popular Pinterest quote “All those that wonder are not lost” was spoken by the bartender about Aragon/Rider if I recall correctly.
Learning (5/10):
This might be one of those times where I get cliché.. but I feel like I learned what perseverance and bravery looks like. Even though this is a fictional work of art, it felt so real. I feel like this is the perfect place to reiterate the best quote of the book ” “We shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually — their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on — and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same — like old Mr Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
Broadening (4/10):
This might be, or is, a bit of bias on my part, but I felt like this book was the gateway drug to epic fantasies. It described the world of middle-earth in such detail with so many hidden mechanics (i.e. Gandalf being one of few wizards sent to help humans and only chooses to appear as an old man) that it demonstrates the scale of and detail to which the human imagination can craft.
Closing Remarks:
Writing this review 10 years after I have read the series makes me want to read it again. I must say that I never really re-read books as I feel there is so much information in the world and only a limited time to acquire it, but I will want to make an exception for this series. I want to experience the world and life advice that Middle-Earth brings again.