Common Sense Note
Starts slowly, but the hobbits are an appealing group of unlikely heroes, and the epic story of their role in a quest to preserve their world is full of humor, terror, and adventure.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Mark Nichol
With this spectacular tale, Oxford University professor J. R. R. Tolkien invented not only a language and a land in which it was spoken but also--unintentionally--a new literary genre.
Building on Western myths, legends, folklore, and fairy tales, as well as literature such as George MacDonald's fanciful tales (The Princess and the Goblin, for example), Tolkien was perhaps the first author to create a fully realized, authentic-seeming world. Brimming with various cultures and creatures engaged in an existence that accepted magic, it is as fully realized as our own.
And what is it that draws generations of adolescents--and latecomer adults--to Middle-earth? Epic battles, yes, but inner turmoil too. Overwhelming forces of evil, but temptation and greed within oneself as well. Potent sorcery, but perhaps more so the magical spells of friendship and loyalty and devotion.
This is the kind of story the word epic seems to have been invented for, but it's also an intimate tale about the bonds between companions and about the human instinct to do the right thing. From these simple features it derives its true power.
Fans new and old might look not only to newcomers such as the blockbuster Harry Potter series, which begins with Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, but also to old standbys such as Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain (first volume of five: The Book of Three), which is loosely based on Welsh myth. There's also C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia (first volume of seven: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), an allegory with Christian undertones that also entertains regardless of readers' religious beliefs.
From The Book
Open, in the name of Mordor! said a voice thin and menacing. At a second blow the door yielded and fell back, with timbers burst and lock broken. The black figures passed swiftly. At that moment, among the trees nearby, a horn rang out. It rent the night like fire on a hilltop: AWAKE! FEAR! FIRE! FOES! AWAKE!
Plot Summary:
This is the series that defined the modern fantasy genre. In this majestic and enchanting tale set in the mythical land of Middle-earth, a small band of adventurers sets out on a perilous quest to destroy a magic ring that, if recovered by its evil creator, will mean the end of all that is fair and beautiful in the world.
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
|
|
|
ViolenceMost characters are armed and engage in several skirmishes and minor battles, with some subtly described bloodshed. The heroes are occasionally pursued or attacked by sinister enemies. The hobbits find the outside world fraught with peril and challenge. |
 |
 |
|
|
Language |
|
|
|
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social Behavior |
 |
|
|
|
Commercialism |
|
|
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
|
|
