4.5 if I’m to be honest I would have to admit that reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy would not likely be floating my boat as well as it is if not 4.5 if I’m to be honest I would have to admit that reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy would not likely be floating my boat as well as it is if not for the fact that I’ve seen the movies numerous times and Andy Serkis’ narration is excellent. Hearing him read Gollum was such a treat and I was grinning ear to ear while I listened. It was while listening to him read Gollum’s part that I was struck with how well the movies and the audiobooks go together, complimenting and completing the experience of each. Though there are times when I feel some impatience with how Tolkien goes on and on, his world building cannot really be faulted. He has managed to create amazing characters and the movies seemed to have taken his work and put it to film. So often that can be enormously disappointing and perhaps purists who adored the book just as it was were disappointed, but for me as a new reader who watched the movies first, this reading experience surpassed all my expectations and was a joy to listen to. Minor complaint ( and hence the knocking off of half a star) was the pacing during the Ent chapters which moved about as quickly as they did. Otherwise, a very enjoyable read that thanks to Andy Serkis, is keeping my reader’s boat afloat. ...more
**spoiler alert** Well, having completed book three I am sad to say I am not a Tolkien super fan as I expected to be. I’ll not be donning cloaks and f**spoiler alert** Well, having completed book three I am sad to say I am not a Tolkien super fan as I expected to be. I’ll not be donning cloaks and fake furry feet or wearing crowns of flowers in my hair to honor the fellowship. I did really enjoy it though and the parts I loved, I really loved but I’m learning that as a reader I don’t enjoy super meticulous and over imagined world building. My mind tends to wander and I get a little bored. Still, I fully acknowledge it was an amazing world Tolkien created and I can appreciate why it has endured as it has, inspiring many. I really wish that Faramir and Eowyn’s love story had been included in the Jackson movies. It was my favourite part and I was glad they got a happy ending. I was surprised to find a great lack of a love story between Aragon and Arwen. Like it could be likened to a small town on a road map…blink and it would be gone. I was also surprised that at the heart of the book, was really the coming of age of the four hobbits, and the ending with the shire really changed the perspective of the book, in an interesting way I thought. So it was definitely worth reading the books. I think if there hadn’t been so much detail this would have been a 6 out of 5 star book and series for me but it probably wouldn’t have been the epic tale without it so I’ll settle on a 4.5 for the series. Glad to have read this bucket list series, and while I may not be the super fan I had hoped to be, considering my love for the movies, it still was an overall excellent reading experience....more
For a novella, this covered a lot of territory. Everything from colonization, slavery, industrialization to overpopulation and the problems of a meat For a novella, this covered a lot of territory. Everything from colonization, slavery, industrialization to overpopulation and the problems of a meat eating world. Just a little scary, really. Both an indictment on our world as well as a call to wake up and smell the burning coffee. Told cleverly in a second person narrative that seems clumsy at first but delivers an interesting twist in the end. My third Tchaikovsky novel of the year, and my seventh altogether, and something I appreciate about him as an author is the scope of his imagination and creativity as he builds his worlds. Highly recommend. ...more
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