The Hobbit: An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic (The Lord of the Rings)

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There are a few negative qualities about this book. In some parts it gets too descriptive and it seems like the narrator talks forever, describing to the extent that it feels like there isn't an end to the words! The characters are very honest with each other, but sometimes it just doesn't matter and wastes time. When the narrator said, "Dwarves are not heroes, but calculating folk with a great idea of valuing money," it was pointless and had no pertinence to the story. Sure, it tells you information about the Dwarves and was semi-apologetic for what was previously said, but as the reader it just doesn't matter. Sometimes, the book is just spread out too far. When they said, "The most that can be said for the dwarves is this: that they intended to pay Bilbo really handsomely for his services; they had brought him to do a nasty job for them, and they did not mind the poor little fellow doing it if he would..." They could have made that same sentence but with more pertinence to the story. It has a few words that are confusing and it takes a while to understand. There are so many fantasy elements, and such drama in this story that it is an illustrator’s dream. David Wenzel clearly has much respect for Tolkien’s story, and has hand painted his hundreds of illustrations in full colour throughout. They are beautiful and very painterly. Here is the cover illustration: When Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves embark upon a dangerous quest to reclaim the hoard of gold stolen from them by the evil dragon Smaug, Gandalf the wizard suggests an unlikely accomplice: Bilbo Baggins, an unassuming Hobbit dwelling in peaceful Hobbiton. Carpenter, Humphrey (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0-618-05702-1.

Aragorn, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli, and the Rangers of the North, takes the Paths of the Dead to recruit the Dead Men of Dunharrow, oathbreakers who are bound by an ancient curse which denies them rest until they fulfil their oath to fight for the King of Gondor. Aragorn unleashes the Army of the Dead on the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. With that threat eliminated, Aragorn uses the Corsairs' ships to transport the men of southern Gondor up the Anduin, reaching Minas Tirith just in time to turn the tide of battle. Théoden's niece Éowyn, who joined the army in disguise, kills the Lord of the Nazgûl with help from Merry; both are wounded. Together, Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, though at great cost; Théoden is among the dead. The Legend of Zelda, which popularized the action-adventure game genre in the 1980s, was inspired by The Lord of the Rings among other fantasy books. [131] [132] Dungeons & Dragons, which popularized the role-playing game genre in the 1970s, features several races from The Lord of the Rings, including halflings (hobbits), elves, dwarves, half-elves, orcs, and dragons. However, Gary Gygax, the lead designer of the game, stated that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game. [133]

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Tolkien, Christopher (2002) [1988–1992]. The History of the Lord of the Rings: Box Set (The History of Middle-earth). HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-261-10370-2. OCLC 43216229. printed in Italy, and published by a local publisher. I received news that there also should exist a translation into Bulgarian, but probably only the first volume was published. Derek Bailey (Director) and Judi Dench (Narrator) (1992). A Film Portrait of J. R. R. Tolkien (Television documentary). Visual Corporation. Perhaps the one place where political events in Tolkien's own life affect the narrative is in the episode at the very end of The Scouring of the Shire. Here we see History catch up with the Idyllic and somewhat isolated Shire where violence (the sad, pathetic revenge of Saruman on Bilbo and Frodo for having thwarted his plans) rages across the land, nature is destroyed, and industrialization arises. This represents the Industrial Revolution but also the coming of age for Tolkien himself in WWI and, I would argue, the bombing of Oxford during the Battle of Britain during WWII that he experienced first-hand as well. It is interesting that this is included as a coda after the main action of the epic is already concluded, as if he had this one other thing to say before sending Gandalf, Frodo and Bilbo off to Grey Haven with the Elves, thus definitively ending the pre-Modern Middle Earth (and by extension Medieval and Revolutionary Europe) and entering into the Modern/Industrial Age.

Williams, Stan. "20 Ways 'The Lord of the Rings' Is Both Christian and Catholic". Catholic Education Resource Center. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013 . Retrieved 20 December 2013. The fact is that these flaws do exist in The Lord of the Rings. They are present. They are easy to find. But few of Tolkien's rabid fans want to hear about them. Ahmed, Ali Arslan (8 May 2020). "How War Inspired JRR Tolkien To Write Lord Of The Rings". Dankanator. There is a common theme throughout the work of language, its sound, and its relationship to peoples and places, along with hints of providence in descriptions of weather and landscape. [44] Out of these, Tolkien stated that the central theme is death and immortality. [T 11] To those who supposed that the book was an allegory of events in the 20th century, Tolkien replied in the foreword to the Second Edition that it was not, saying he preferred "history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers."

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In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.