Off Subject: Lord of the Rings

I am still a little confused. Is The History of the Lord of the Rings boxed set just the unpublished drafts and things like that, of does it contain the Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, the 12 History of Middle-Earth books, and Unfinished Tales too? That is what I am really looking for, and I just want to know if something like that exsists.

 

Well, I tried, I really did, and I only made it about two hundred pages into Fellowship of the Ring before I had to give up of boredom. I'm quite dissappointed in Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit was by far the superior work. I just felt that LotR takes itself too seriously.

 

Well, i recently read Lord of the Rings for the first time and it is now my favorite book ever. I was so hooked that i read both The Two Towers and Return of the King in about 8 days. I was very sad when i finished ROTK because i didn't want it to be over. To all of you that are thinking about reading LOTR, please just invest some time and read it! Like all books, it is not for everybody, but in my opinion it is a masterwork of literature and very enjoyable.
Peace out

 

This doesn't have much to do with the BOOKS of LOTR and the Hobbit, which are great books, but , has anyone seen the trailer for the first of the LOTR movie trilogy?? That movie looks awesome! My dad is a LOTR fan, so we're definitely going to see it when it comes out in december.

 

About the trailer, to tell you the truth i was very skeptical about the movie at first. After seeing the trailer, i am now very excited and think it could turn out very well.

 

The History of Middle Earth series is not available in any cohesive form. The first five books are available from Random House in paperback, cheap. I have only read the first one so far. They mostly are early drafts that Tolkein wrote when he first conceptualized Middle Earth (mostly Simarillion stuff). Pretty slow going, but there are some interesting bits, like one where an elf stumbles into the area when "men" are sleeping before they are ready to awaken to Middle Earth.

The next four are the ones that relate to the writing of "The Lord of the Rings". They are the ones that are available as single trade paperbacks, or as a boxed set. Then the last ones (up to Book 12) are only available in hard cover. I'm hoping that eventually all of them will be available in the cheaper Random House series. The expense doesn't bother me as much as having a mismatched set! I hate that!

I actually just purchased the big one volume LOTR book with the movie cover. Now I won't have to continue wearing down my old set, and can have it all in one book so I can flip back and forth instead of having to get out all three books if I want to go back and cross reference as I'm going along! Nerd heaven!

 

And Unfinished Tales is NOT a part of The History of Middle Earth.
The History of Middle Earth books are:
1. Lost Tales
2. Lost Tales 2
3. The Lays of Beleriand
4. The Shaping of Middle Earth
5. The Lost Road and Other Writings
6. The Return of the Shadow
7. The Treason of Isengard
8. The War of the Ring
9. Sauron Defeated
10. Morgoth's Ring
11.The War of the Jewels
12. The Peoples of Middle Earth

 

When does Silmarillion take place, before the Hobbit or after Lord of the Rings?

 

it is before the hobbit.

 

Ok, Thanks!

 

With all of the new editions and formats that LOTR is coming out in since the hoopla over the movie started, what is your favorite? I would have to say that mine is the hardback movie edition with all 3 books in it. Too bad they didn't put the hobbit in there too.

 

I read LotR when I was in 9th grade (on my own though, English books are crap). I did get bored through some parts, but a couple months after I finished them, I realized how awesome they were.

I did get bored around Moria, so I have no idea what actually happened there. When I was finishing up RotK, I must've lapsed too, because I had to reread the last couple of pages to realize what had happened.

My only disappointment happened when I read the appendix in the middle of reading The Two Towers so I was never surprised anymore.

LotR is the best fantasy/scifi out there. The only books that come close are Dune and Ender. However, Jordan's Wheel of Time is also good, if you have the patience.

As soon as I finish Children of Dune, I'm rereading FotR, which should get me hyped up for the movie just in time.

 

I have the leatherbound version

 

I read the LOTR twice...first when I was too young to understand, next when It was the best book series ever.

Personally I'm looking forward to the Lord of the Rings and seeing Miranda Otto play my favorite Literary charcter after Princess Ozma in Princess Eowyn?

(I have a theme really-Priness Eilowyn from Prydia and Leia are also my favorite characters)

I'm also looking forward to how Liv Tyler brings out Arwen, the pictures of her are absolutely beautiful and not only is she is she a PRINCESS (one of the qualifications for my favorite characetr) she is also an elf....

The CGI done to them is wonderful.

 

I've been meaning to read LoTR for years, as a lot of people I know have said it was good. However, once I saw the second trailer a week ago, I was just in awe of the scope of the story, from avalanches and snow to fields of thousands of marching warriors, to towering forests. I immediately sat down and read the book within two days. It is one of the best fantasy book I have read, up there with SW and the Dragons of Pern series. Know I'm going to be Legolas for Halloween, and have spent more time on the costume than I have ever before. I expect to finish the trilogy before the week ends .

P.S. Legolas is just so cool. He is my favorite character from any book I have read.

 

One of my favorite aspect of Tolkien (After Arwen and Eowyn) is the intriguing natrue of the Villians.

1. Who is more interesting to you as the villian Sauron or Saruman?

2. What is the secret of both's appeal as villians?

Another set of questions?

Who is your favorite character from the Lord of the Rings and why?

 

I'll skip right to the last question. Samwise is probably my fave, simply because he manages to put up with all of Frodo's bitching

 

My favorite character is and always will be Fatty Bolger. With a name like Fatty, how can you go wrong?

 

Pippen is one of my favorite characters because of the change he goes through he starts out kinda annoying but by the end he has grown up quite abit, and I like Smeagol mostly cause I feel sorry for him.

 

HI, posting here to say that LOTR is defintiley the best scifi/fantasy out there, and pretty high up on the list of best books ever. I read them when i was seven and reread them every chance i get. (which i do all my books) A word of advice, The Simiarlion is only for those really interested in Tolkiens amazing world, because it can be really hard reading with all of the references that he makes. And as for the tales af middle earth, be warned, it reads like a history book!


AS for your villan question, you left the main one off the list! Smeagol!

And i hope youve all noticed that all the really bad characters' names start with the letter S...ponder on that!

 

Alright. I need a "definitive" answer. All of the J.R.R. Tolkien books (pertaining to LOTR) in chronlogical order. How should I read them? (After SxS of course) For the love of verything holy, up and read!!!

 

Up!!! Read my last post, and please respond! (I need this)

 

UP!!!

 

The Hobbit should probably be read first because the Book despite having a drastically different tone, mood, and feel is still a very important part of the saga and bonding with Bilbo Baggin's family/lifestyle/worldview is a key to enjoying the Lord of the Rings struggle.

Then you read the Three Lord of the Rings books in Order and then the appendix.

The Silmarillon is wonderful but you won't understand it oddly unless you've read the Books that proceed it to appreciate all the references, it's not meant as a standalone but is really collected papers of Tolkien for background tidied up.