The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion (The Lord of the Rings) [Hardcover]

Jude Fisher (Author), J.R.R. Tolkien (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lord of the Rings | Publication Date: November 6, 2001

Houghton Mifflin is proud to present a full-color, large-format, guide to the characters, cultures, and locations of J.R.R. Tolkien's extraordinary creation Middle-earth, as depicted in the movie The Fellowship of the Ring - the first of three blockbuster films from New Line Cinema. Filled with stunning imagery and with a thorough, informative narrative text, The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion will provide the reader with a rich feast of detail and information. Featuring exclusive photos of Frodo, Gandalf, the Ringwraiths, elves, and all the other main characters and creatures of the first film, the book also includes breathtaking pictures of Hobbiton, Rivendell, and Moria.
The first of a projected three-book series that no Tolkien fan, from novice to expert, should be without, The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion contains a special eight-page gatefold of large-format images unique to this book.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jude Fisher's Lord of the Rings Visual Companion is a real treat for Tolkien fans and brings readers up close to some of the amazing detail they will find in the big-screen version of this fantasy classic. Not just a straightforward movie guide, this is more of a Middle-earth encyclopedia with information on the people and places to which moviegoers will be introduced. The text is informative and never presumes any level of knowledge, making this book more than accessible for Tolkien fans or those who have yet to discover his work. The pictures are full color and quite simply superb, showcasing the movie's epic scope and exciting special effects. There is even a foldout map of Middle-earth in the center pages using shots from the movie to illustrate key locations, giving it a more realistic feel. Not an average movie tie-in book, Fisher's wonderful guide has been as lovingly put together as the movie itself and has "quality" stamped all over it. This is definitely one to add to your collection. --Jonathan Weir, Amazon.co.uk

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-This official, authorized companion to the movie will be helpful to anyone wanting background about Middle-earth, the ancient history of the rings of power, and the main characters and creatures in J. R. R. Tolkien's work. Readers will learn the history of the free peoples of Middle-earth, hobbits, elves, dwarves, and men. The book ends with the Istari, an Elvish term meaning an order or brotherhood of wizards; Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White are highlighted in this section. Finally, the Dark Powers are featured, including the Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and the Nazgul. The photos are excellent and give readers a good idea of what the characters are all about and their roles in the movie. Anyone interested in a brief history of Tolkien's novel, filmmaking, and cinematography will find this an entertaining read.
Patricia White-Williams, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 72 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1ST edition (November 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618154019
• ISBN-13: 978-0618154012
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost as good as it gets, February 2, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion (The Lord of the Rings) (Hardcover)

The "Lord of the Rings" movie recently was probably the best movie I've seen, and Jude Fisher's accompanying visual companion is a good piece of work.

It gives a concise, good summary of people, places and different races in Middle-Earth. It'll tell moviegoers background tidbits not in the movie: why Sam is fascinated by Elves, what happened to Frodo's parents, that Legolas is a prince, what Elrond's ancestry is, and Gandalf's true nature.

We are filled in less so on places: Lothlorien itself gets only four paragraphs. Individual species get more space: We hear about the history of the human Men of Middle-Earth, about the habits of the hobbits, and the "leaving these shores" comment about the Elves.

I would like to remind some of the other reviewers that many people -- adults and children -- have not read the books and this book is probably for them. So to give away massive spoilers concerning Moria would be very bad news. (Just as this book doesn't let us know what happens to certain characters) So it's inevitable that some parts of the plot, especially those that hinge the plot, will not be revealed. Some clues about events in "Two Towers" are given -- look carefully. The pictures are very good, very well chosen -- the ones of Frodo and Sam in particular.

Overall, if you have never read the LOTR trilogy (or "Hobbit") then this is definitely the book to pick up. It won't clue you in on every exquisite detail, but it will get rid of much of your confusion.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE for any fan of Tolkien....., November 7, 2001

By 

Chris Lampe - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion (The Lord of the Rings) (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful visual companion to The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

All of the major races and many of the major characters are profiled with gorgeous color photographs...many of which I haven't seen in my 2+ years of collecting these photo's on a daily basis.

The first chapter deals with history of the rings and the last alliance of elves and men. Hobbits, Men, Elves, Dwarves, Istari, Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and the Nazgul follow with each profiling major figures and/or locations associated with that particular race.

The book is just what is says, a visual companion. There is very little in the way of textual information...you should buy the Official Movie Guide for that.

All in all, well worth purchasing.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great coffee-table book for any fan of the movie or book!, December 28, 2001

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion (The Lord of the Rings) (Hardcover)

I love the Lord of the Rings series and movie - I've read the books many times since I was young, and have seen the movie several times already. This is a fantastic companion book to both. It gives organized information on each of the main characters, describes some of the key plot elements in the story, and has large, full color photos that aren't found anywhere else.

The pictures are great - they show just how much incredible work went into the details on the movie. While other movies use blue-screen and just computer-generate everything, with LotR they fabricated thousands and thousands of items by hand. Every race was thought out - what would an elf fork look like? How about a hobbit pipe? The armor was individually made, the mail shirts constructed from thousands of individual links. Even tiny fragments of parchment on the ground in the Mines of Moria had tiny runes on them. You can see that awesome attention to detail in these photos.

One of the best features of the book for me was the great fold-out map in its middle. Far better than the small ones you get in the books! On the downside, they bound the book right through its center, instead of offsetting the map so it could be hung, or at least binding in white space. The result is that Gondor turns into Gndor and Rohan into ohan, and a lot of key features like Moria are lost in that binding. Such a simple thing to have done differently! But other than that gripe, this is definitely a must-have for any fan of the series.