"The Lord of the Rings" is usually found in a single volume, or in three volumes: 1) "The Fellowship of the Ring", 2) "The Two Towers", and 3) "The Return of the King". My recommended reading age is 13+ years old, and I recommend reading "The Hobbit" first.
When I was 15 years old in high school, I had to read "The Hobbit" for an English class. After reading that book, the teacher then let us borrow "The Lord of the Rings". Before I had started "The Return of the King", I had bought my own set of books. After I had read both books, I actually liked "The Hobbit" better than "The Lord of the Rings" at first - because the "The Hobbit" was brighter: a fun, grand adventure with more humor, whereas "The Lord of the Rings" was darker: a serious, grim life and death struggle for world survival. But by the time I was about 16, the historical significance of "The Lord of the Rings" began to appeal more to me. This is especially true if you read Appendices A and B of "The Lord of the Rings", and also read the "The Silmarillion". You begin to understand the rich history of Tolkien's Middle-Earth/ Beleriand creation. How the "The Silmarillion" brings out the significant events of the First and Second Ages, while the events in "The Lord of the Rings" are the culmination of the Third Age...each Age lasting thousands of years and ending with an immensely significant event.
It was 25 years before I read "The Lord of the Rings" again, but Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, Legolas, Gimli, and many more had become household names! I had matured over those years, and my tastes changed. I was no longer a big fantasy/science-fiction reader: instead I was reading military history. I didn't expect to still love "The Lord of the Rings" the way I did as a teenager. I was happily wrong! This is still an exciting book, but I discovered what I really love...it is allegory-type stories. J. R. R. Tolkien himself has said that "The Lord of the Rings" is not allegory, because he hated allegory where he felt the author is dictating to the reader what is in their story...and that any other interpretation is incorrect. Tolkien wanted a reader to apply their own experiences and tastes to influence what they were reading. OK, but in real history one can still get allegory if their own experiences and tastes allow it. How many can learn about World War II and not apply the basic allegorical interpretation that good triumphs over evil? I've heard of, and can understand, several allegorical interpretations of "The Lord of the Rings". Frodo is like Jesus Christ: bearing the greatest of burdens for world salvation while being tempted to stray from his purpose, and the weight of the ring is similar to Christ's cross . The One Ring is like the atomic bomb: the ultimate weapon that corrupts whoever uses it, despite even good intentions, into a power-hungry creature of evil. There's an ecological message with the Ents trying to protect trees; and also the natural beauty of various places throughout Middle-Earth, while evil beings try to destroy it all (including the use of mechanical and polluting progress). I also get out of "The Lord of the Rings" a sense of a military mission: that Frodo & Sam are behind enemy lines on a mission that could end a war, and that Frodo realizes that getting back home or even staying alive doesn't matter - just completion of the mission...that's also sacrifice, perseverance, & camaraderie so prevalent in the military history I've read. There's prejudice with years of animosity between elves and dwarves, and how small, kind gestures can begin to erase all those blighted years...also, how people or races can put aside differences to solve a common problem. There's the recognition of the small, common people (citizen soldiers) that perform the greatest, toughest, and most necessary duty in any war. There's world peace in peril and that something needs to be done before it's too late. There's avoiding the easier way out, and facing one's problems and seeing them through to a conclusion despite severe hardships.
I feel that Tolkien saw a little bit of himself in many of the good races of his world. The hobbits are like Tolkien because they love food, company, and talking about family. The ents are like Tolkien because of their unbounded love of trees. Gandalf the wizard is like Tolkien because of his exceptional intelligence and purpose of guiding others along the right path. Some men are like Tolkien because of their inner strength and gallantry, while other men show weakness by succumbing to evil...very realistic. But I believe he saw the beauty and enchantment of the elves in his wife, and why he loved both most dearly: that's why on their gravestone Luthien appears after his wife's name, and Beren appears after his name. The dwarves don't seem to resemble Tolkien, but they are present in much folklore, which is linked to his personal love of medieval languages.
"The Lord of the Rings" is a masterpiece in my opinion, and it's size (over 1000 pages in any printed format) is pretty daunting, but give it a shot! It'll be time well spent. And get ready for adventure, terror, excitement, love, treachery, devotion, monumental historic events, unforgettable battles, military strategy, exotic languages & culture, etc. See what you get out of the book! I think most people will enjoy it and/or be moved by it. And who knows, maybe it'll become your favorite book too!
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| The Lord of the Rings 3-Book Paperback Box Set | The Hobbit | The Hobbit | The Fellowship of the Ring | The Hobbit | The Return of the King | |
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| The Two Towers | The Hobbit | The Hobbit | |
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Hardcover set LOTR
Great hardcover set, excellent condition, exactly what I was looking for. Print looks great throughout all the books, each book contains a different map. Thick durable looking dust jackets and beautiful book covers.Came wrapped in plastic, well packed with no damage.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2004
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
I purchased this set to replace an aging/worn paperback set after looking through various editions for one that would combine durability, reading ease, and affordable cost. Several hardcover editions of The Lord of the Rings are too large/heavy for comfortable lap reading (I have read my paperbacks to my son and intend to revisit the books with him again in the future). Others were simply too costly, either due to second-hand pricing in the collector’s market or the up-front cost for purchase. Although I can appreciate the desire of some readers to own high quality illustrated (or leather-bound) sets, I am personally uncomfortable paying triple digit prices for a book that is intended to be read, with all the wear & tear that comes with doing so. And although I greatly admire the Tolkien themed artwork of artists like Alan Lee and Ted Nasmith, I prefer to keep their work outside of the text so as to let the imagination wander.
At $65, this set was well priced and met my other criteria. The volumes come snugly packed in a sturdy cardboard box adorned with the artwork from the dust jackets. The books themselves feel solid yet are still lightweight enough to carry on the go. I do not anticipate the outside warping or bending with average use. Pages appear to be bound with glue so this may not be a set to get if you are hoping to pass them along to your great grandchildren, although they should endure through many readings. Dust jacket artwork has illustrations from Alan Lee that are definitely “retro” and distinct enough from the imagery of the films to avoid filling your mind with images of Elijah Wood (the films are a fine adaptation and I have read Saruman’s dialogue in Christopher Lee’s voice ever since). I usually toss dust jackets on hardcover books, but the designs are good enough that I may keep them. The book covers underneath are brown with the title of the volume in gold and an impressed image of Sauron’s eye and the ring. There are no interior illustrations outside of the maps and Tolkien’s sketches of the door at Moria and Balin’s tomb.
The pages inside are fairly solid, with only the faintest outline of text on the following page visible. As someone who despises thin paper like you might find in most Bibles, the page thickness in these volumes is greatly appreciated. The text inside is easy to read and of a sufficient size/spacing for most readers (I wear glasses and can read it just fine – much better than with my old paperbacks), although I would look elsewhere if large print is needed. The maps are included as foldouts with red and black ink and are an absolute delight (although a delicate touch is needed to avoid detaching them from the book).
My understanding from other reviews is that these volumes are not the most “correct” edition of the text and therefore might have some minor errors or deviations from Tolkien’s preferred spelling. I have not noticed any major issues, but also have not yet thoroughly read through all three volumes. If having the most up-to-date version of the text is important to you, then I would look elsewhere. For “casual” readers who might enjoy reading the books every couple of years but who do not care to engage in the debate over whether Balrogs have wings, these volumes should work just fine.
All in all, I am greatly pleased with the quality of these books given the price. This is a solid set that I can see enjoying many read throughs with and will certainly have a better chance of surviving to pass on to my children than my old paperbacks.
These editions also match up pretty closely with the HMH hardcover 75th anniversary edition of The Hobbit if you desire a collection of similar height (photos included for comparison - although that is of inferior quality).
A Solid, Affordable Set for Avid Readers, But Maybe Not for Collectors
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
This is a review of the hardcover boxed set of The Lord of the Rings, which includes the three volumes of the original work (ISBNs 978-90395048931-4, 978-0-395-48933-8, 978-0-395-48930-7).Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
I purchased this set to replace an aging/worn paperback set after looking through various editions for one that would combine durability, reading ease, and affordable cost. Several hardcover editions of The Lord of the Rings are too large/heavy for comfortable lap reading (I have read my paperbacks to my son and intend to revisit the books with him again in the future). Others were simply too costly, either due to second-hand pricing in the collector’s market or the up-front cost for purchase. Although I can appreciate the desire of some readers to own high quality illustrated (or leather-bound) sets, I am personally uncomfortable paying triple digit prices for a book that is intended to be read, with all the wear & tear that comes with doing so. And although I greatly admire the Tolkien themed artwork of artists like Alan Lee and Ted Nasmith, I prefer to keep their work outside of the text so as to let the imagination wander.
At $65, this set was well priced and met my other criteria. The volumes come snugly packed in a sturdy cardboard box adorned with the artwork from the dust jackets. The books themselves feel solid yet are still lightweight enough to carry on the go. I do not anticipate the outside warping or bending with average use. Pages appear to be bound with glue so this may not be a set to get if you are hoping to pass them along to your great grandchildren, although they should endure through many readings. Dust jacket artwork has illustrations from Alan Lee that are definitely “retro” and distinct enough from the imagery of the films to avoid filling your mind with images of Elijah Wood (the films are a fine adaptation and I have read Saruman’s dialogue in Christopher Lee’s voice ever since). I usually toss dust jackets on hardcover books, but the designs are good enough that I may keep them. The book covers underneath are brown with the title of the volume in gold and an impressed image of Sauron’s eye and the ring. There are no interior illustrations outside of the maps and Tolkien’s sketches of the door at Moria and Balin’s tomb.
The pages inside are fairly solid, with only the faintest outline of text on the following page visible. As someone who despises thin paper like you might find in most Bibles, the page thickness in these volumes is greatly appreciated. The text inside is easy to read and of a sufficient size/spacing for most readers (I wear glasses and can read it just fine – much better than with my old paperbacks), although I would look elsewhere if large print is needed. The maps are included as foldouts with red and black ink and are an absolute delight (although a delicate touch is needed to avoid detaching them from the book).
My understanding from other reviews is that these volumes are not the most “correct” edition of the text and therefore might have some minor errors or deviations from Tolkien’s preferred spelling. I have not noticed any major issues, but also have not yet thoroughly read through all three volumes. If having the most up-to-date version of the text is important to you, then I would look elsewhere. For “casual” readers who might enjoy reading the books every couple of years but who do not care to engage in the debate over whether Balrogs have wings, these volumes should work just fine.
All in all, I am greatly pleased with the quality of these books given the price. This is a solid set that I can see enjoying many read throughs with and will certainly have a better chance of surviving to pass on to my children than my old paperbacks.
These editions also match up pretty closely with the HMH hardcover 75th anniversary edition of The Hobbit if you desire a collection of similar height (photos included for comparison - although that is of inferior quality).
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Jorge A.
Una buena lectura para perfeccionar el inglés
Reviewed in Mexico on October 14, 2023
BellaCoimbra
Uma bela adição a minha coleção Tolkien
Reviewed in Brazil on July 13, 2022
