The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J. R. R. Tolkien

Where do I even begin with this?! Being such a classic, this is the type of trilogy that doesn't really need a review, plus so many people have read and loved it since they were children that it is highly unlikely that I'll have anything original to say about it. This is pretty much just my thoughts and praise summed up! I've heard it said that most people fall into either of two categories: Harry Potter lovers, or Lord of the Rings lovers. Up until this year, I was always on the Harry P team, having read the books as a child and grown up with the characters. This was before I'd read any of Tolkien's work or watched the film series. But who says I can't now be on both teams?! As mentioned in my review of The Hobbit, over the Christmas period I watched the trilogy of LOTR films (in one full-day, 15 hour sitting!) and received the books, including The Hobbit and The Silmarillion as a gift, so I was excited to begin my year in the correct way - reading!

I have yet to venture into the slightly intimidating realm of The Silmarillion, but having read the four novels, watched the films, and even been to a LOTR pub quiz, I feel that I'm qualified enough to call myself a fan! Although it would be ideal to read all three LOTR novels consecutively, I chose to have a little gap between each and read something a bit more light-hearted, as these books are pretty heavy going. That being said, I was completely hooked and once I started one, I couldn't put it down. Other reviews I've read of these novels have claimed that they are slow-paced, overly wordy and even "boring". I would perhaps agree in part with the first two statements, as they do take a little while to pick up speed, and Tolkien is extremely descriptive, which I personally like - but this isn't everyone's taste. Some of the passages in Rohan did drag on a bit for my liking, but boring is definitely not a word I would use! 

I won't go on in-depth about all three novels, because there's just far too much to say - and might I mention that there are 250 pages worth of appendices and index?! This just shows the depth and complexity of this masterpiece. The main thing I took from the story was that, for me anyway, Sam Gamgee is the real hero here. He is like the typical "boy or girl next door", as I read one reviewer describe him. There is nothing particularly extraordinary about him, he is not built like a warrior and certainly was not born into greatness - yet he accidentally becomes the most heroic character in the trilogy. He gives a voice to the "ordinary" person, and represents the courage that we all have inside us, which is displayed through his immense and never-faltering loyalty to Frodo. Sam's heartwarming happy ending with Rosie was just my favourite part of the entire trilogy because he really is just the purest character for me. He is brave and strong without the typical warrior-like features that characters such as Aragorn and Legolas have, and is real and relatable to the average reader. 

Admittedly, I'm pretty ashamed at myself for leaving it until I'm almost 23 to read these amazing books, because younger me would have loved them! They haven't taken away from my love for J. K. Rowling, but have definitely shed light on a fair few pretty clear similarities (cough cough). The Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings films are also brilliant, but having now read the books I definitely have a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the entire fictional world that Tolkien created. In reality, I've still barely scratched the surface of the vast mythopoeia (a large fictional mythology created by an author - I learned a new word!), so perhaps further works of Tolkien and also The Silmarillion will transform me into an absolute expert! 

My one piece of advice for anyone who wants to read this trilogy is to watch the films first. Usually I would warn away from this, as books are always (let's be honest) superior to the film adaptations. But if I hadn't already seen the films and got my head around the characters and their multiple names, I would probably have had absolutely no idea what was going on for a large portion of these books. Do yourself a favour and familiarise yourself with the locations and characters, as this will stand you in good stead when embarking on this epic journey!