What sort of fantasy blog and reader would I be if I didn’t even touch upon one of the most renowned series to ever be discussed. Readers of my blog and those who visit my Instagram page now that I have always pushed this series to the side when it came to choosing what to read next. Whether this be due to length, hype, or other reasons, I am now glad to say I’m trying to right this potential wrong
Much like my previous experience with my previous post discussing Salem’s Lot, this is not my first attempt on this book. A few years back, a eager and younger version of me whipped open the pages of Fellowship and embarked on a journey I thought would be speedy and easy.
I was wrong
I think its quite common to realize that Lord of the Rings is not an easy series to read; that’s not me taking an elitist shot or tearing down the series to its core. Tolkien rights with a density of words that is not easily approachable to some. This is made especially apparent in his descriptions of environment, which can get wordy and dry at times.
Personally, as a reader, I struggle to focus when authors go on long tangents about the setting’s appearance and the nitty gritty of it all. My brain has never been fond of being attentive at moments like that.
I thought it would get better (which I now know it does), but when I reached the Tom Bombadil section of my first read through, I threw in the towel and vowed to return to the series one day.
Having now finished the first section of this tale, I can admit things get better and I appreciated the story much more. Once the Council of Elrond chapter arrived, I loved all the world exposition we were learning, and the curtains were starting to be pulled open in a more pleasing way to me. Admittedly, I think the story really starts its pace when Strider/Aragon is introduced in Bree. To me, that is when my curiosity was being piqued and I was invested.
I am one of the few people who have also never seen the films of this series, so a good 90% of what I read was new to me, amazingly. I knew little of Saruman, Gimli, Legolas, and the others besides their names. I knew there were rings, but knew little about their specifics (besides what was shown in The Hobbit).
Now, to get to the core points of my experience thus far into the series…
It’s time to balance on the fence of hypocrisy and say that although I didn’t enjoy the long expository descriptions of the land, I did enjoy their intention. With the various name-drops, poems, references, and various anecdotes, Tolkien does an amazing job at showing the reader how in over their head they are. Middle-Earth is a living setting, with a history and culture, and that is just something we have to struggle to cope with. It’s realistic points like this that make the world easier to want to get immersed in.
We are introduced to many new characters, while also being shown those who are warmly familiar to us. It is nice to see Bilbo again, although in a altered and new way: we see him as being more eccentric, disorder, and just strange in a few ways. It’s interesting to see the Ring and its potential effects.
We also see returning characters such as Gandalf, some of the dwarfs, mention of Gollum, and a plethora of others. This helps make it seem as a natural extension of the events if the Hobbit, which I really enjoyed.
There were no specific scenes or moments that amazed me, but there are some honorable mentions of course. The prime example is the scene of the Balrog and its pursuit against the fellowship. The writing made everything exhilarating and a lot more fast-paced then everything thus far.
A lot of new storyline were opened, and I’m stoked to see how they pay off. The main mysteries I wish to see are the fate of Gandalf (being such a famous name in media, I doubt he is gone for good but who knows), what Gollum is up to in the shadows, and more importantly I’m excited to get closer to the threat of Sauron. I love the classic mysterious figure of doom and gloom, but it also pays off to give he reader more intimate and personal scenes with them, to truly show off their horrible nature
I said before that a lot of this was all new to me, but I do know a few tidbits about the next installment and am curious about those. I am excited to see who Treebeard (?) and the Ents are, more scenes with the Orcs, along with what fate holds for all the members of the fellowship.
One final note I want to dwell on is that dialogue. Dialogue is my favourite part of reading and writing, as it opens an avenue to the inner working of the characters and helps distinguish them as their own people. Tolkien does this well with characters such as Gandalf, Tom Bombadil, and similar characters who are very distinct and larger-than-life characters. However, I often found myself struggling to personify Sam, Pippin, and Merry as their own characters, as they seemed to similar at times (maybe due to introductions being at the same time, but I don’t think that’s the full case). Over time, Sam became more individual to me, but Merry and Pippin just didn’t get enough development as I wished.
Final Score: 7/10
Overall, The Fellowship of the Ring is a mostly satisfying start to this infamous tale, even if it struggles at times due to dryness or overly wordy writing. The world was compelling, and many characters were too, so I am excited to learn more about them and any new faces that pop up along the way. I see many glimpses of why this novel is such a foundational piece of fantasy writing, and hope to see the plot blossom.
As always, don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts on this book, either on here, Instagram, or email (info @theliterategryphon.com).