The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 4 of 5 stars “The Silmarillion” is a VERY different book from what most fans of “Lord of the Rings” may expect. First of all, it’s an anthology of several different works J.R.R. Tolkien had started but had never published on their own. While they are separate works, they all deal with the origins of Middle-Earth and some of the important Elvish characters, mostly Elrond, Cirdan, and Galadriel. The second thing is that this isn’t a narrative driven […]

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wrapping up the quest the Fellowship set out to accomplish, Sam and Frodo make it to Mordor while the rest tie their fates the world of men and the battle at Monas Tirith. After the major events conclude the Fellowship is reunited and the diverging narratives come back together like it was in the beginning. Then begins the part I hate: the goodbyes. I hate goodbyes. Literary or real. Especially after […]

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Two Towers” avoids the middle-book syndrome I often encounter in a series. Yes, I know that originally the Lord of the Rings wasn’t in three books, but for the sake of this review, because I read them in three separate books, I’ll refer to them separately. What I noticed this time was that since the Fellowship breaks up, the plot literally thickens because we suddenly have two different quests happening. Aragorn, Gimli, and […]