The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings Part One (BOOK TWO)

By J.R.R. Tolkien

This review critiques BOOK TWO of The Fellowship of the Ring, starting from the chapter "Many Meetings" all the way until "The Breaking of the Fellowship". Hope you enjoy this literary review of The Lord of the Rings! (All letters with umlauts, acutes, etc have been cut out and replaced without the special marks. This is due to problems encountered with Blogger that would severely disenchant your reading experience. I seek your sincere forgiveness.)

THE SHORT

BOOK TWO is probably superior to BOOK ONE in every way imaginable, from the adventures undertaken by the Fellowship, to the diverse canvas of characters, ranging from the likes of Legolas to Gimli. This breathes new life into the book, as well as the introduction of places not seen in The Hobbit, the Mines of Moria, Lorien. As such, this makes this Book simply all the more interesting, and really, really ripping good fun. The unexpected twist involving Gandalf, however, seems to be the climax of this book, as from thence on, nothing exciting really happens, excepting Boromir's attempt on the Ring. Nevertheless, BOOK TWO is still an enjoyable read, perfect for fantasy fans and non-fans alike. The plot moves steadily on, tying in brilliantly with Tolkien's other works, and a glimpse and a taste of Tolkien's fantastic storytelling. Simply amazing.

THE REVIEW

This time around, the foursome of Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry are joined by a gaggle of new characters, but first let's revisit them. From BOOK ONE, they haven't shown any real development in character, making it seem a little boring to read about them after a while. Also, Pippin and Merry seem obsolete and unwelcome in Tolkien's attempts to welcome them into the fold of the Fellowship. It is a bit jarring, actually, to read them. Frodo, however, grows in importance, stabbing an Orc with Sting, and resisting Sauron's attempts to win back the Ring from him. Sam, too, grows and develops a little bit, but other than helping Frodo along, he never shows any true devotion to Frodo, except at the last part, where he and Frodo set out for Mordor alone. As such, the hobbits may be the main characters of this trilogy, but they still remain unexplored, their full potential unrevealed.

Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas complete the Fellowship, and a rotating cast of characters ensures that the latter three are never fully discovered. Just a physical description is given of the three, and that is all that we get of them. No motivations, just scraping the emotional surface of the characters. Gandalf and Aragorn are the only ones expanded. Gandalf shows his true love for the Fellowship by sacrificing himself, and his comic sense of humour alternates with his periods of broody darkness. The first instance of his magic we see is Gandalf's blazing fire, and his braveness against the Balrog is epic. Aragorn is never truly explained, although we do sometimes get a glimpse of his love for Frodo. Perhaps Tolkien couldn't decide on Aragorn's true identity for a long time.

Sauron, is, again, vaguely hinted at, and never makes an appearance. Then the true adversaries must be the...Orcs in Moria? Otherwise, a shift of evil keeps watch on the Fellowship, while Gollum is seen lurking behind and finally revealed when the Fellowship travels down the Great River. So this is one area that BOOK THREE will need to work on.

One of themes explored in this book is mainly the concept of sacrifice, just as Gandalf sacrifices himself to save the Fellowship, just so Frodo could bring the Ring back to Mordor to destroy it in the Cracks of Doom. Frodo also "sacrifices" himself, leaving the Fellowship so he would not endanger himself any longer. Perhaps this illustrates Tolkien's love for the sacrificial hero, one who gives up everything to save the ones he loves. A fitting theme for this fantasy novel, one that reverberates through you. Temptation, too, is present here in this book, although much less obvious at the start. At the end, it rings loud and clear in Boromir, who tries to seize the Ring by force.

Now let's discuss the plot. It flows steadily from one area to another, although it does take Tolkien quite a bit to regain the fast momentum that he had built up at the end of BOOK ONE. The first part of the book at Rivendell isn't as exciting or as ground-breaking as previous instances in The Lord of the Rings, and all they really do in the Last Homely House is talk about the growing threat of Sauron, and discuss about where the Ring should go, and all that boring talk talk talk that nerds love. While it may provide much-needed exposition, it feels a bit dry to eyes and some point, and for those who have ventured into this book having read only The Hobbit, or those who haven't read any LOTR books at all, prepare to be severely confused as Elrond discusses Middle-earth lore.

From then on, however, things start to pick up, and Tolkien eases up on the history of Middle-earth to give us that glimpse of what we all really want to see, small people facing up to the darkness several times larger than them, and living to defeat them. Action-packed scenes ensue, and this improves the plot, as it chugs smoothly along without anything blocking its way. The plot then slows down for the three chapters spent in Lorien, and this causes a bore to be felt in readers, although it starts to slowly speed up down the trip of the Great River, never again to regain the epicness felt during the climax of Khazad-Dum.

All in all, the plot is nearly perfect, as nothing illogical happens, and it is smooth without pacing problems, not like BOOK ONE, where pacing was an incredibly large issue. However, one problem felt within the plot is the fact that Tolkien chooses to show us less of Middle-earth than he had done in BOOK ONE. Really, BOOK TWO forgoes the mythical tales than had been recounted in BOOK ONE, and this leaves us sore for the world that Tolkien had created. Perhaps he has not truly perfected that balance between the actual story and the myths in his novels. However this is only a minor problem; the plot everywhere else is as perfect as it can be.

All in all, The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings Part One (BOOK TWO) is extraordinarily perfect for its time, even fitting for the modern readers of today, who want a world to disappear into for a short while. Tolkien serves this up for us, and this is exactly what we want. Amazing and wonderful, this book is exciting and simply a masterpiece.

Rating: 9.4/10
Advice: TO BE READ!!! A must-read for EVERYONE! Highly recommended, this book is exactly what everyone needs to read.

And so we come to the conclusion of my review of the Fellowship of the Ring. Be sure to check out my review of BOOK ONE, just a few scrolls below this post! I hope you all have enjoyed this novel as much as I did!

Next week: Poirot returns as the Belgian detective with a mouth in my review of Poirot Investigates! In this short story collection, Poirot solves several cases, but there seems to be a link between them. Only Poirot can figure out what it is, in Poirot Investigates. Find out in my review next week if it was an excellent mystery novel, or if it fell flat on its own face!

The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings Part One (BOOK ONE)

By J.R.R. Tolkien

For a clarification, BOOK ONE of The Fellowship of the Rings refers to the book which includes the chapters from "A Long-expected Party" through to "Flight to the Ford".

THE SHORT

J.R.R. Tolkien finally managed to deliver on his promise of a sequel to The Hobbit, and this is what we have. BOOK ONE successfully manages to tie in what happened at the end of The Hobbit and also introduces the more sinister side of the One Ring. By far the most suspenseful and exciting chapter in BOOK ONE has to be "The Shadow of the Past", in which it is revealed that Sauron, the Enemy, has risen again. Tolkien then plods the story along for quite a bit, resulting in the story becoming draggy and a bit boring. The journey to Bree is thoroughly unexciting except for the appearance of the Black Riders, Tom Bombadil, and the Barrow-wight. When they meet Strider, things start picking up, and finally culminates in an amazingly well-described chase to the Bruinen.

As such, BOOK ONE starts off slow, but the adventure-fantasy element later present in the rest of The Lord of the Rings makes its own appearance.

THE REVIEW

The book's main adventurers are the foursome of Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Peregrin (Pippin) Took and Meriadoc (Merry) Brandybuck. Through all the ancient lore and whatnot, Tolkien doesn't have much time to go into detail about their appearances, feelings (other than that of a vague sense of fear and doom), and their motivations, really. The last one is mainly the Ring, but the rest don't really have much of a reason to go on other than Tolkien needs some hobbits to focus on. Frodo is the main character, the one with the burden of the Ring. Sam, the ordinary hobbit on an adventure to see Elves. Merry and Pippin, the two who really don't recognize the danger of the Ring and the Enemy. The main weakness of these characters, is, as stated, that they aren't really fleshed out. As such, we, the readers, don't really identify with these characters, making them seem more distant and in a fairytale, but perhaps that was Tolkien's intention.

Gandalf the Grey is charismatic as ever, and this is the main redeeming point of the first part of BOOK ONE. Making a larger presence here than in The Hobbit, he is the warner of dangers, although he does disappear before long, and then we are left with Frodo and his companions. Nevertheless, Gandalf is delightful as long as he is in the book. Sauron, the Enemy, seems more like a danger, vaguely defined, but not described much other than Gandalf's hints in "The Shadow of the Past". More threatening are the Black Riders, who really pop into their menacing positions in "A Knife in the Dark", where the full spectrum of their powers is revealed. The leader's crown, the shadowy robes which clothe them, the feeling of fear which seems to surround them, everything about them just screams "EVIL!!!"

Finally, we have Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wight. Bombadil is more of a comic relief than a major character in the book, who is mainly there to help the hobbits out of the Old Forest. Most puzzling, however, is his ability to wear the Ring without turning invisible, and how he is able to see others who are wearing it. His lumbering way of walking is comedic and desperately brings life into what is becoming dreary as Tolkien tries to think up more ways to describe the word "walk". Bombadil's introduction into the novel is the start of the more exciting part of the book, leading to the meeting with Strider. The Barrow-wight, with its rattling breath, creeping hand, is as evil, if not more, than the Black Riders.

A main theme in this book is the temptation of the Ring, which seems to parallel the many instances of abuse of substances in this world. Wearing it, you would have great power, but great doom would befall you. The Ring's dark history is beautifully tied in with Gollum and The Hobbit, and what seemed in the previous novel to only be a harmless toy is revealed to be the One Ring. This theme warns us of the dangers of free power, reminding us that nothing comes freely, and everything has a consequence. The seduction of power is most prevalent in this book, what with Gandalf warning Frodo not to use it, the Black Riders tempting Frodo with its power, and so on.

Another theme is more subtle, but still there nonetheless. It's the theme of bravery, where the tiny hobbits display the most bravery, in not giving in to the power of the Ring, in daring to carry it through danger's jaws to Rivendell, and in Frodo's case, carrying a wound from a Rider's knife for many days, struggling through hardship, pain, and torment.

The plot of BOOK ONE is rather simple, starting with Bilbo's 111th party, and then moving on to Gandalf's history lesson with Frodo, and then Frodo has to set out for Rivendell. As such, there seems to be very little substance in the part immediately after "The Shadow of the Past". This may be the reason why so few casual readers actually finish The Fellowship of the Ring, because they are turned down by the lack of action. The directions given by Tolkien seems to be far too many, the hobbits turning west, and north, and then heading south-west. They're mind-boggling, and without the helpful map that had been given as the frontispiece, it would have been impossible to imagine the world that Tolkien had imagined. This is the main insufferable part of Tolkien, for, him having to jam in everything that he couldn't in the Prologue, he has to put in geography, history, and it is all thoroughly boring, and unexciting, and as dry as year-old bread.

On another note, things really start moving from "Fog on the Barrow-downs", and from then on, there is almost always a few action scenes to keep us satisfied while also letting Tolkien conceptualize Middle-earth. The meeting with Strider has that underlying tension that is characteristic of Tolkien's writing, with Frodo becoming suspicious of Strider, but then later trusting him. The danger and horror of the Black Riders are by far the most fleshed out object after Strider, and the Ring-wraiths of Mordor are terrifying in their guise as Sauron's servants. The danger is very much felt with the last mile or so to Rivendell, as the Riders chase Frodo in what is probably one of the most suspenseful and well-described scenes in fantasy history.

The songs and whatnot in the book are sometimes welcomed after a lengthy bit of prose, but, more often than not, one remembers the initial, and most powerful poem, which appears written on the Ring and which Gandalf recites.

All in all, The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings Part One (BOOK ONE) was a bit boring at the start, one having sometimes to force oneself to continue reading. However, later on, the plot dislodges itself from the boulder which had been blocking its way, and flows swiftly on to the resolution, where Frodo loses consciousness.

Rating: 8.7/10
Advice: Read the first two chapters, and then skip all the way until "In the House of Tom Bombadil". All chapters in between are thoroughly unnecessary, unless you want the full experience.

I have loved BOOK ONE, so let's see how BOOK TWO fares!

Next week: The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings Part One (BOOK TWO)!!! Make sure to check out my review of BOOK TWO, where Frodo is finally reunited with Gandalf, and the Fellowship is formed. What dangers will they encounter in the Mines of Moria? Find out in my review of BOOK TWO, coming out next week!

The Hobbit (#1)

By J.R.R. Tolkien

First of all, just a small little pre-script (is that a word?) from The Reviewer. For your convenience, and all others', I will be treating only The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as canon in the Lord of the Rings series of books by Tolkien. All other works, if I ever have the chance to review, will be placed under the number '##(book no. in my order)' and will be placed in the order I feel is the best. Thank you and enjoy!

Bilbo Baggins, a food-loving hobbit living peacefully in the Shire, finds his life disrupted when a group of dwarves come and whisk him away into an adventure to kill the fearful dragon Smaug. But along the way, a small golden ring makes its way back into the way from the creature named Gollum...

One day, Bilbo is smoking his pipe when a wizard named Gandalf comes along. He tells Bilbo about an adventure, and Bilbo is frightened. The next day, a party of dwarves arrive at Bilbo's hobbit hole along with Gandalf. The true meaning of the meeting is revealed when Gandalf brings out a map showing the way to the Lonely Mountain, where the dwarves' (including Thorin Oakenshield, a powerful dwarf indeed) treasure had been stolen by an evil dragon named Smaug. Gandalf shows his plan to go there, and they agree to set out the next day, with Bilbo as their 'burglar'.

Bilbo almost misses the meeting at the inn, but luckily he makes it and they go. During a particularly rainy night, they blunder into three trolls and all of them are captured except for Bilbo and Gandalf (who had slipped off to who knew where). Then Gandalf returns in the nick of time to save them, and the trolls are turned to stone. They travel along one side of the Misty Mountains, and visit the elves at Rivendell, where Elrond tells them of the secret door that will have a keyhole on Durin's Day.

On yet another rainy night, while they are travelling along the Mountains, they seek shelter in a a cave. Unluckily, they are captured by goblins, but Gandalf manages to escape. When they are brought   before the Great Goblin, Gandalf returns and leads them off. But then, Bilbo is pushed off into a dark cavern. Stumbling around, he finds an underground lake, where resides Gollum. They have a riddle game, and Bilbo wins and Gollum has to show him the way out. Gollum is resentful and looks for 'his precious', the little golden ring that made him invisible, to kill Bilbo. However, he does not know that he had dropped it and Bilbo has found it. Bilbo makes himself invisible and follows Gollum, who is looking for him, to the back door, and Bilbo escapes and is reunited with the dwarves.

Luck, however, is not with them, for they are attacked by the evil wolves of the Wild (the Wargs). The Eagles hear them, and save their lives by carrying each and every one of them to the Carrock, near the man-bear Beorn's residence. They seek shelter there, but a short one. Travelling on to the Mirkwood, Gandalf unexpectedly leaves them, and they have to face the woods alone. After many events, they are all tired and miserable, when they spot fires off the path. Trying to find them, they are broken up, and eventually captured by giant spiders. With the help of his ring, Bilbo successfully manages to rescue all the dwarves. But then he realizes that Thorin is missing! He had been captured by the Wood-elves, the inhabitants of the wood, and the ones who had lit the fires.

Then the rest of the dwarves, too, are kidnapped and sent to the King of the Wood-elves. Bilbo concocts a plan to get them out of there, using the barrels which are sent to Lake-town, near to the Lonely Mountain. Once they reach there, Thorin announces his plan to the people of Lake-town, and promises them gold. Reaching the side door in the Mountain, Bilbo enters the door to where the dragon Smaug is sleeping. He steals a small golden cup, but unluckily Smaug notices it and attacks the hidden door. Just barely escaping, they hide inside the hidden hallway which leads to Smaug's domain. Bilbo accidentally infuriates Smaug, who destroys their passageway out to the Mountain and heads off to Lake-town to destroy it.

The dwarves enter the Mountain together, and find it deserted. They make for the post that is located away from the Mountain. Meanwhile, Smaug has been killed by the archer named Bard, but Lake-town is destroyed. Bard heads to the Mountain with the Lake-people to claim the gold, while the dwarves do the same. They send for their cousins, Dain and his army to come. The Wood-elves, too, arrive, to aid the men of Lake-town. Then the goblins and Wargs descend on them, and thus begins the Battle of the Five Armies, with the men, dwarves and elves on one side, and the goblins and Wargs on the other. At first, the goblins seem to be winning, but then the Eagles arrive, and the tables are swiftly turned. Thorin, however, is fatally wounded.

Everything is sorted out peacefully, and Bilbo departs for the Shire with Gandalf. They arrive safely, and Bilbo is glad that he took that adventure so long ago.

A fun adventure, this book will keep you on the tips of your toes as you eagerly await what will happen next. While it is certainly an excellent read, one feels confused about the climax. What is the climax really? Is it the dangerous conversation with Smaug, or the killing of him? Or is it the Battle of the Five Armies? As such, The Hobbit seems to lose its focus at times.

Bilbo Baggins seems like the typical hero. An unassuming person, unaware of his own identity, and suddenly whisked away from his peaceful life, SNAP! just like that. His sudden success as a burglar, perhaps helped a bit (Okay, a lot) by his magic ring, is like that of the usual hero, because he discovers his own hidden potential and as such helps the dwarves. He is set apart, however from other dreary and boring characters by his unusual willingness to help the dwarves and the fact that even though he is very small for his size, he has tons of courage, and this shows that there is often more to people than you think there are.

Gandalf, again, seems to be the main "pusher" in this book, in the sense that everything that happens in the book is his idea and no one seems to be able to do anything else except for blunder around and mess things up. However, he is a great character and certainly a charismatic one, that can help the dwarves in more than one way, although I may wonder why he even has to help them in the first place. There is nothing in it for him, but perhaps that is the wrong question at the wrong time.

Smaug is the perfect villain for this fantastic fantasy story, a mythical creature with just enough brainpower to frighten the daylights out of you. The dragon, now twisted and evil, comes to brilliant life with Tolkien's skillful descriptions and the conversations he has with Bilbo. However, Tolkien lets us down with his death, for we had expected a great war, fighting to slay the giant worm once and for all. Instead, he is brought down by a single arrow.

The Battle of the Five Armies is certainly supposed to be a battle of epic proportions, but most of the battle is either undescribed because Bilbo is knocked out, or losing the battle to the goblins. Tolkien still has not perfected the skill of story telling which he became famous for, or else the battle would have been more about how the dwarves and elves battled on, with the men at their side. As it is, Tolkien leaves it all up to the Eagles, and it seems as though they are his problem-solvers, though why they can't help the dwarves on their journey is better explained that in the movies.

The Hobbit is a brilliant lead-up to the Fellowship of the Ring, although it can be read as a standalone, the reader will want more of what happened to the ring, which was why they waited 10 years for the slow-moving Tolkien to finish the Lord of the Rings.

Dragon-sickness, the illness that pervades all those who have large quantities of gold, sounds like Tolkien's version of greed, and how it will eventually destroy you. It is an excellent warning, tied in with a book.

Gollum, perhaps, is another of the villains, his chapter, Riddles in the Dark, makes an early impression and gives the readers a look at this fascinating creature. His chilling voice, weird swallowing sounds, all combine in Tolkien's great mind. His bleached look gives the appearance of an ancient thing, an antique, left all alone in an underground lake.

While the Hobbit may not be perfect, it certainly makes for excellent reading. Even when there are fifteen people to focus on, Tolkien makes the right decision and focuses it all on Bilbo, and so he becomes one of the book's most powerful characters. Beware of some letdowns and disappointments, though!

Rating: 8.4/10
Advice: Definitely worth spending an afternoon reading it with a drink nearby!

The Reviewer has enjoyed this novel and hopes you did too! This review has made me feel that character is what defines us, far more than our size and our strength, for the strongest people are the bravest and wisest. Post your comments below to tell me what books you want to be reviewed!

Next post: A magical country comes to life in the epic novel, 'The Magician's Nephew', the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series!