The Lord of the Rings Illustrated Edition
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-07 07:50:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：J.R.R. Tolkien
- ISBN：0358653037
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Summary
J。R。R。 Tolkien’s grand masterwork in a new hardcover illustrated with the art created by Tolkien himself as he envisioned Middle-earth
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick
One Ring to rule them all， One Ring to find them， One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them。
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths， and Sauron， the Dark Lord， forged the One Ring， filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others。 But the One Ring was taken from him， and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth， it remained lost to him。 After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins。
From Sauron’s fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor， his power spread far and wide。 Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him， but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion。
When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared， bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth， deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord， and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom。
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry， Pippin， and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall， mysterious stranger called Strider。
This new edition is illustrated with J。R。R。 Tolkien’s own artwork， created as he wrote the original text。
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick
One Ring to rule them all， One Ring to find them， One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them。
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths， and Sauron， the Dark Lord， forged the One Ring， filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others。 But the One Ring was taken from him， and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth， it remained lost to him。 After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins。
From Sauron’s fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor， his power spread far and wide。 Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him， but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion。
When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared， bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth， deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord， and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom。
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry， Pippin， and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall， mysterious stranger called Strider。
This new edition is illustrated with J。R。R。 Tolkien’s own artwork， created as he wrote the original text。
Reviews
Ethan
，
What remains to be said？ Epic。
Aine Sweeney
，
I do love the series， and world building， however I just feel like a heavy edit would have done these books more justice。
Laurie
，
I first read “The Lord of the Rings” at the age of 13， and I absolutely fell in love with it。 It’s hard to overstate its impact on me。 It was almost an awe-inspiring experience。 In subsequent readings I haven’t quite been able to re-capture that overwhelming sense of awe， which certainly had something to do with my age and my first exposure to the material， but it is still an all-time favorite。 I am not ashamed of my Gandalf action figures。 In fact， I display them proudly。 As an adult， I can， ob I first read “The Lord of the Rings” at the age of 13， and I absolutely fell in love with it。 It’s hard to overstate its impact on me。 It was almost an awe-inspiring experience。 In subsequent readings I haven’t quite been able to re-capture that overwhelming sense of awe， which certainly had something to do with my age and my first exposure to the material， but it is still an all-time favorite。 I am not ashamed of my Gandalf action figures。 In fact， I display them proudly。 As an adult， I can， objectively-speaking， understand people’s critiques of LOTR: It is slow， the characters are flat， all of the main players are men， etc。 And certainly there is some truth in all of these criticisms， but I don’t think they are so much issues with the books， as it is simply， that these books are not for everyone。 You need to be someone who enjoys a slower pace with lots of description。 I personally find Tolkien’s writing very immersive。 His world-building is incredible， as it should be since he spent his entire adult life writing about Middle Earth。 Tolkien took his job as a “sub-creator” （his own word） very seriously， and I’m not sure there is any book that surpasses him in this capacity。 There’s a sense of a truly epic cast of characters stretching back into deep time， and if you read “The Silmarillion” you will see that this is not a false impression。 Tolkien actually had a detailed conception of Middle Earth’s history from Creation onward。 To the second point， one could argue that some characters are flat， but I think archetypal is a better term。 Tolkien’s goal was to write a myth for England。 He loved the myths of the north—the Eddas and the Kalevala—and was saddened that Great Britain lacked anything comparable。 So， he set out to write it himself， and write it he did。 So many of his characters， such as Gandalf， or the elves， embody certain archetypes more than being characters that we can relate to as real people。 Some readers will find it difficult to empathize with such characters， but I find there is a beauty and a depth to these characters that is unique。 I am， most especially， a Gandalf fan。。。as you can probably tell。 Finally， to the point that Tolkien’s book lacked women。。。it did。 It is very male-driven， and one gets the impression， mostly white males。 So， it doesn’t stand up as well to modern critique on that account， but I will say that I think the few female characters that are players， Eowyn and Galadriel， in particular， are pretty bad-ass。 In my opinion， these are strong feminist characters， （Galadriel， even more so in some of his other works）。 I also like that， though Tolkien took his myth-writing seriously， he ultimately turned the myth on its head in the end。 The mythic hero often triumphs through feats of strength， but Tolkien， true to his Catholic faith， did not have his hero so much triumph through strength as through compassion。 In the end， Frodo would have failed at his task if not for his compassionate treatment of Gollum， for whom he truly felt empathy， and the strength and help of his companion， Sam。 It’s just an example of how much heart these books have。 Tolkien said， when he finally published LOTR， that he hoped people liked them， because he was putting his “soul” out there for the world to see。 I can feel that when I read these books， that he poured his truth into them， and that level of uniqueness and authenticity is really special。 I have to say even now， as an adult， when I go for a walk in the woods or look at the night sky， I often think of these books， and I feel that sort of otherworldly LOTR feeling， the feeling I had when I first read them as a kid。 These books will always be very special to me。 。。。more
Brad
，
HarperCollins Deluxe Hardcover Edition with Slipcase
Emily
，
My goal was to finish the Lord of The Rings purely to see if it was as good or better than the movies， which I watched as a child。 I can say that the level of detail in the books， as opposed to the movies， was amazing， but I frequently became lost or overwhelmed。I absolutely loved the magic system and worldbuilding; the relationships between all the different groups were fascinating to puzzle out。 I especially liked how there was an emphasis on camaraderie and working together amongst the humans My goal was to finish the Lord of The Rings purely to see if it was as good or better than the movies， which I watched as a child。 I can say that the level of detail in the books， as opposed to the movies， was amazing， but I frequently became lost or overwhelmed。I absolutely loved the magic system and worldbuilding; the relationships between all the different groups were fascinating to puzzle out。 I especially liked how there was an emphasis on camaraderie and working together amongst the humans， hobbits， elves， dwarves， and ents contrasting with the orcs & dark forces of Sauron constantly fighting。 The themes of friendship， allyship， family， and goodness prevailing were very touching， as well as the message that anyone can fall to evil and they should be pitied。 I very much agree with Tolkien and believe that everyone is capable of good and evil， and if they want it， should be offered a path to redemption; but if necessary should be made incapable of doing harmThe descriptions of familial lines and geography bored me to death。 I did not care at all。 I also thought the movies consolidated the most poignant details， although there were touching messages in the hobbits re-taking the shire or the men who live in the trees。 。。。more
Patrick Hogue
，
I've read everything Tolkien or his family has published of his and I still prefer the hobbit more， but this is the opus and for good reason。 I've read everything Tolkien or his family has published of his and I still prefer the hobbit more， but this is the opus and for good reason。 。。。more
Miss K
，
*The Lord of the Rings* is a many-many-many times read favourite， now rereading the whole thing again with much love。 The Finnish translation is such wonderful， beautiful language I haven't yet managed to read the whole book in English because I keep coming back to the Finnish version， though some day I intend to read the original version as well。 *The Lord of the Rings* is a many-many-many times read favourite， now rereading the whole thing again with much love。 The Finnish translation is such wonderful， beautiful language I haven't yet managed to read the whole book in English because I keep coming back to the Finnish version， though some day I intend to read the original version as well。 。。。more
Michael
，
Great ending to a great series！I have read fellowship of the ring A few times， but I have never read The Two Towers or Return of the King before this year。 I finished The Two Towers earlier this year and I just finished Return of the King and I have to say that it was a very great ending to my favorite series！ It will always be one in the few series that I will always re-read！
Brendan
，
'Tis a fine trilogy。I'm not one to give much weight to a work for how it has influenced those that came after， I'd rather judge a work by how I see it on its own。 This work does deserve credit for its influence on the genre of fantasy: to my knowledge it effectively spawned the genre， and all fantasy books that have come afterward owe it some mark of fealty。That being said。 These books are fine。 They're not great， but they're worth reading。 The first book is pretty difficult to get through， and 'Tis a fine trilogy。I'm not one to give much weight to a work for how it has influenced those that came after， I'd rather judge a work by how I see it on its own。 This work does deserve credit for its influence on the genre of fantasy: to my knowledge it effectively spawned the genre， and all fantasy books that have come afterward owe it some mark of fealty。That being said。 These books are fine。 They're not great， but they're worth reading。 The first book is pretty difficult to get through， and indeed most sections involving traveling across the land are nearly unreadable， as Tolkien really doesn't seem to have a good grasp for describing landscapes， and additionally uses many words that have since passed out of the common American lexicon and thus have little meaning to my ear。 There's all too much talk of "and to the left was a cleft in the rill of Hilarrion" and other similar nonsense that has no meaning to anyone who is not extremely well versed in the maps of Middle Earth， and keeping a map at hand just to enjoy a sentence describing the landscape is really cumbersome。 When the book turns to matters of the heart or of the people is when it really shines。 Tolkien doesn't spend too long on battles and instead focuses on what drives the folk in those battles， who they were at the start， how the battle changes them， who they are afterward。 Learning all that Pippin and Merry went through， which is not as detailed in the movies， was quite enjoyable for me。 Having Sam be the primary perspective for Frodo & Sam's half of the journey for the second and third books was an excellent choice， as his cleverness and devotion to his master and complex inner life were far more interesting than what may have come out of Frodo。 In fact， I left this series significantly less interested in Frodo， as overall he doesn't do much more than carry the ring。 Don't let that come off the wrong way， I understand that carrying the ring was a great burden， that perhaps no other hobbit could have done， but as for cleverness or ingenuity or heart， Frodo had little。 He mostly stumbled from place to place and were it not for Sam and for Gollum， he'd never have succeeded in his task。I find it hard to read books written before my time as the manner of speech and the sorts of things we deem important to focus on in a work are so， so different from how they used to be。 Today， this book reads like a book written by someone who has never read a book。 It's full of telling and not showing。 Dialog which should feel very dramatic falls flat as it is delivered in a single paragraph with little punctuation。 Characters often come off feeling silly and flat because the delivery is so straightforward and plain。 Had I not seen the movies， many scenes in these books which should be quite dramatic would have felt boring。 I suspect that even amongst books of its time， this was not considered that great a work of writing， and probably only had such acclaim because it was describing worlds that had previously not been described。 For that the work deserves all its acclaim， but beyond that， I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone。 It's fine。 There are better books。 。。。more
Margo
，
A masterpiece without a doubt but。。。 it took me 7 month to read it。 It can be a bit （or a lot） tedious on some parts but the story and the prose of Tolkien is still worth the time。Of course I had watched the movies before and I must say that the book version of the battle of Helm's Deep was a big disappointment after the epicness of the movie but I felt like the Siege of Gondor was better done in the book。 A masterpiece without a doubt but。。。 it took me 7 month to read it。 It can be a bit （or a lot） tedious on some parts but the story and the prose of Tolkien is still worth the time。Of course I had watched the movies before and I must say that the book version of the battle of Helm's Deep was a big disappointment after the epicness of the movie but I felt like the Siege of Gondor was better done in the book。 。。。more
Simone
，
Oh sì descrivimi ancora。。。 di più。。。 elencami i nomi di ogni singolo personaggio， albero， sasso presenti nella scena。
Myles
，
Uh， yeah， it’s really fucking good。 Far more of a rewarding read as an adult than when I sort of brute-forced my way through as a preteen。 Such a rich， lived-in world; fun characters; epic fantasy shit that metal albums are made of。 It’s great！ Some asterisks: I did not read all the appendixes because uhhh one paragraph had so many made up names I didn’t recognize that I decided I’d rather not。 Also， this edition is logged in Goodreads as one （1） book， but if I somehow don’t make my reading chal Uh， yeah， it’s really fucking good。 Far more of a rewarding read as an adult than when I sort of brute-forced my way through as a preteen。 Such a rich， lived-in world; fun characters; epic fantasy shit that metal albums are made of。 It’s great！ Some asterisks: I did not read all the appendixes because uhhh one paragraph had so many made up names I didn’t recognize that I decided I’d rather not。 Also， this edition is logged in Goodreads as one （1） book， but if I somehow don’t make my reading challenge this year （unlikely）， I’m counting it as three。 。。。more
Bryce Leber
，
Written like an ancient fable， as if it were the first story ever told at the dawn of creation， The Lord of the Rings hardly illustrates the way modern humans talk or process their thoughts， and features so many passages explaining the sun’s rise and fall that it almost becomes comical， but the sheer vision on display was something more akin to Shakespeare than to mere fantasy。 It is best not to compare the movies to the books， as the only thing they share in common are certain story beats。 In t Written like an ancient fable， as if it were the first story ever told at the dawn of creation， The Lord of the Rings hardly illustrates the way modern humans talk or process their thoughts， and features so many passages explaining the sun’s rise and fall that it almost becomes comical， but the sheer vision on display was something more akin to Shakespeare than to mere fantasy。 It is best not to compare the movies to the books， as the only thing they share in common are certain story beats。 In terms of mood， atmosphere， and conflict， they couldn’t be more different。 J。R。R。 Tolkien has crafted an unparalleled vision which serves as an alternate history to our current time。 Tolkien served in WWI and concocted this story as an allegory for his experiences in the war and to illustrate how much human beings have swayed from their natural surroundings。 There is a mythic quality to the text that， despite featuring fantastical elements， feels surprisingly grounded。 It’s neat to believe that there may have been elves and dwarves that have walked this earth and eventually went into hiding as man destroyed and recontexualized the natural world。 If you let yourself sink into the language， you will truly find something unashamedly wholesome and magical。 Action movies these books are not， but exercises in philosophy， prose， and using magic to capture deep-seated human passions and desires。 。。。more
Nick Tankard
，
9/10
Uriel Septim VIII
，
A classic。 This book should be read and taught in schools。
Eduardo
，
El Señor de los Anillos siempre ha sido mi trilogía favorita de películas， desde pequeño me sentí enamorado de la tierra media， pero nunca me había decidido por dar el paso a los libros， en parte porque mi amor por la lectura sólo floreció hace unos años y di preferencia a historias que no conocía。 Por esto， me siento muy feliz de finalmente haber terminado estos libros， ha sido una aventura increíble， la cual espero repetir en un futuro。 Hay muchas cosas que creo que se podrían criticar， y de m El Señor de los Anillos siempre ha sido mi trilogía favorita de películas， desde pequeño me sentí enamorado de la tierra media， pero nunca me había decidido por dar el paso a los libros， en parte porque mi amor por la lectura sólo floreció hace unos años y di preferencia a historias que no conocía。 Por esto， me siento muy feliz de finalmente haber terminado estos libros， ha sido una aventura increíble， la cual espero repetir en un futuro。 Hay muchas cosas que creo que se podrían criticar， y de manera bastante justa， pero a fin de cuentas， adoro estos libros y la historia que contiene。 Si bien sus personajes no se sienten más que eso， personajes， me encantan， y siento un cariño tremendo por la mayoría de ellos。 Los diálogos， el ritmo y el estilo narrativo se sienten bastante toscos， pero no hasta un punto que lleguen a opacar toda la genialidad que hay detrás de la construcción del mundo en el que trascurre la historia de los Hobbits。 Hay muchísimos momentos memorables， y que probablemente vuelva a leer de forma aislada， pero me quedo con que la historia， vista desde una perspectiva general， me ha fascinado， y me encantó entrar de forma más profunda en la travesía del anillo。 。。。more
Christopher Meola
，
A classicHaven’t read since college thirty years ago。 Still beautiful after all these years。 Of course I still love you Frodo
DiniSeko
，
Loved it， no further words necessary
Joy
，
this has taken my entire life to read。 was worth it。 a definitive account on why Men really are just the worst。
Jop
，
The most wonderful fairy tale I've ever read The most wonderful fairy tale I've ever read 。。。more
Thomas Cotter
，
Couldn’t put it down。
Russell W。
，
Grade: SI went in expecting greatness and was not disappointed in the slightest。 Tolkien is just some next level shit。 I always thought that his works would be extremely dense and old timey， but I was surprised by the ease at which I read this book。 Tolkien has this amazing story telling ability that you just have to see for yourself。 The whole experience of reading this， and the feelings it evoked， was wild。 I was surprised by how little extra plot I felt I got from reading compared to watching Grade: SI went in expecting greatness and was not disappointed in the slightest。 Tolkien is just some next level shit。 I always thought that his works would be extremely dense and old timey， but I was surprised by the ease at which I read this book。 Tolkien has this amazing story telling ability that you just have to see for yourself。 The whole experience of reading this， and the feelings it evoked， was wild。 I was surprised by how little extra plot I felt I got from reading compared to watching the movies。 There’s definitely bits and pieces cut from the films， but the books don’t provide an entirely different experience （compared to something like Harry Potter）。 However that’s really not a diss on the books as much as it’s a credit to the films。 Both are awesome。 The LOTR story is awesome and the world built to tell it is a phenomenal example of what makes fantasy great。 。。。more
Jadon
，
The Lord of the Rings is an absolutely phenomenal fantasy genre book。 From the different races to the languages， J。R。R。 Tolkien masterfully crafts a world that practically anyone could get into。 If you like fantasy， then this is the series for you。
Cumoar
，
Frodo is a Hobbit who leads a quiet life in the region， but everything changes when his uncle Bilbo leaves him a ring with the power to rule them all， Frodo will have to undertake a dangerous journey together with the company of the ring to be able to destroy the ring in the dangerous lands of Sauron， which seeks the ring to be able to enslave the entire middle-earth。
Memavi
，
This is one of my favorite books， I also bought its video game
Micah
，
Yes， this doesn't break the mould but that's because it made it。 Yes， this doesn't break the mould but that's because it made it。 。。。more
tom troyer
，
A marvelI first read The Lord of the Rings 54 years ago and was amazed。 I am no less so now，all these years later。 It is a wonder。 I have seen that many of the ideas in the Harry Potter books came from these volumes。This is not said to diminish the greatness of Rowling but to shed more light on the wonder of both authors。
Denis
，
I can say one thing， this is a masterpiece！
emu
，