One of my favourite series of books. They're not the best written, but they do provide a very good and engaging story that makes you want to read more and more. Thankfully many more people have come to appreciate these books since the amazing films by Peter Jackson were released.

Magical. Whenever I start reading the series I drown in them and get captured and when I finish it I feel a certain hollowness. Anyone feel the same way when reading The Lord of the Rings?

I can't believe some people are giving this anything but 5-stars.  Aside from basically starting the genre tolkein was a master at his art.  Where else can you find an entire world with a history that not only goes back thousands of years but is actually documented, and all done by one person?  There may be other books that have stories as good as this or are possibly written a little better (debatable), but no where else can you find a world as rich in history and lore as what Tolkein has created with this master piece.

Tolkien, the true initiator of high fantasy. A master of legend.

While some of it was great,other parts dragged like a dogs itchy butt on the carpet.While I appreciate it's intricacy,I could personally do without much of the pseudo-geography and such-(just like "Moby Dick" would read better with a lot less Cetology).For this and other reasons,I find Tolkien highly over-rated,yet still a worthwhile read.

Great read as a kid, but I think they are overhyped and overrated. Tolkien set the mold however, and there've been hundreds of copy cat attempts that just don't quite capture his magic.

Wonderful! Extremely well written and oh so beautiful!

The gold standard of it's genre, one you'll read over and over, as it reveals new layers of creativity and depth with each read.Priceless, a beautifully constructed and realized work that was created by a genius who knew the power of languages and words like few have. It has great relevance to the human condition, a deep and insightful knowledge of the true nature and attributes of evil, and it contains a staggering amount of spirituality. Timeless.

The LOTR characters became the archetypes for modern fantasy writers. All others are compared to Tolkien (most not favorably).

This is an extraordinary trilogy. The story is so detailed and complex. Definitely one of the best books ever written. So extremely oustanding.

I first read this in high school, and I have re-read it every few years since. Tolkien uses the ancient myths of Europe with brilliant deftness, in the process creating a new mythology. The division of the book into a trilogy, which was caused by publishing limitations at the time, has resulted in every fantasy writer since trying to turn 200,000 words into 600,000.

MUCH better than the movies. The movies leave out so much (like Tom) and add silly-stupid stuff to them, probably for suspense ?? (like Boromir's brother threatening to turn Frodo & the ring over his father). The movies are very good... but the books, WAY better!

Very exciting and readable books. They were written by Tolkien, who was a Don at Oxford, as a vehicle for both his storytelling and language exploration (he was a linguist). This might, in my opinion, account for some of the neverending storylines. Overall, however, one of my favorite reads.

Amazing! I've read it over dozen times.

I quite enjoyed the trilogy together with the Hobbit and the Silmarilion. I can understand if it's not in everyone's taste. To compare Steven King with J.R.R. Tolkien is an insult to both. They wrote in separate genres with very different styles, and each has its own merits. If you want to compare apples and oranges, be my guest, but it's not going to give you a true measure of the merit of each author's works.

Horrible... books and movies: uninteresting and unending. Back in school, 7th grade I think, they forced this upon us. It could have just been that that made me dislike them, then the movies were relesed and I knew it was unbarible to watch. If you enjoy this books I suggest The Gunslinger by Stephen King, it is a harder woundering adventure and an amazingly great story.

JRR Tolkien is king! The books are as good as the movies and in some ways better. You can't be a Tolkien fan without reading the books.

A classic book, the best written since the Bible. But this one is fiction... Anywho, a great story, a great author, and some great characters.

A complex story that follows the battle for middle earth. At times a bit confusing but such an incredibly good story.

Long ago, in the land of Middle Earth, home to Elves, Dwarves, Men, Wizards, and Hobbits, the Elven Smith Celebrimbor forged the Great Rings of Power. 3 for the Elven kings, 7 for the Dwarf lords, and 9 for mortal men. And then, Sauron, the Dark Lord, servant of old of the original Dark Lord-Melkor, had risen in power as great if not greater, and more terrible then Melkor's. He became jealous of Celebrimbor's rings, and because of his jealousy, he forged the Great Ring, the One Ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. But the ring was lost to him, and by some strange force, the ring made its way to Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit. Bilbo passed the ring to his nephew, Frodo. Yet, all was not well, Sauron was searching for his ring, and Frodo was in grave danger, he journeyed far and wide, with 8 companions- Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Gandalf the Wizard, Boromir, and Aragorn, both men, and Frodo's Hobbit friends-Samwise, Meriadoc, and Peregrin, into Saurons Evil Realm itself to the only place the ring could be destroyed- Mount Doom, or Oroduin in the Elvish tongue to end the Realm of Sauron, forever. This masterpiece is fantasy in its greatest form and highest order. If you havent read The Lord of the rings, you couldnt call yourself a book lover, this is the best trilogy.

A true masterpiece. There are few books that can claim to be one. From the infectuously happy beginning to the eventual plunge into darkness, a book that is inspiring, moving, rejoiceful and tragic at the same time.

As great as the movies were, the books are much more deep, dark, and beautiful.

I don't like reading books,I like reading comics,but I like Lord of the rings the movie.

Absoulutly great and grabbing books! Who could deny them!

This series is fantastic! Tolkien's imagination and vision are captivating. His invented world is original and beautiful. The first time i read through these books, i was confussed a lot. There are a lot of place names, river names, named geographic features and people who are mentioned but do not necessarily have an important role in the novel. That is my only criticim. I'm glad that these books have achieved such popularity recently because it creates interest for these wonderful stories that may not have existed before. So many themes in these books can be related to the human experience: love, friendship, trust, honour, society, loyalty, simplicity, etc., etc., etc., everyone can learn something from these fascinating little hobbits and their vast array of friends!

I`m Marcelo, I`m 17 yers old. I like very much to se movies. For me mis the best movie that I have ever seen. It`s very very interesting and the special efect are too.

I loved it when I first read it at age 12, and I still love it as an adult. An amazing compilation of European myth and contemporary history into a fantasy epic, unlike anything else, anywhere. A lot of the mythology is from the Nibelungenlied (the ring, the sword, the hero... if you are familiar with Wagner you will see the relation) but Tolkien assembles these universal archetypes in a new and beautiful way. Also interesting to me is that while he claimed that there was no contemporary allegory, he did write the book during the darkest days of WWII: you can see echoes throughout (Saruman--the one with the golden tongue, who could persuade anyone of anything with his voice alone; the gathering darkness over Middle Earth, with only a few islands of light (the Shire, Rivendell); the Orcs of Mordor goose-stepping out into Europe...)

Originally published in 1955, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy has become the benchmark against which all other fantasy literature is measured. For the few that are uninitiated, the trilogy is an epic story which follows the trials and tribulations of heros fighting the forces of evil by destroying the force (ie the One Ring) that props up the evil powers. The Ring itself is evil incarnate so that it corrupts any who dares to use it, even to fight existing evil. In other words, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Tolkien uses very formal and flowery language as he describes the geography, history, language, religion, mythology and races of the fictional world (Middle Earth) that he has created for the major characters: Gandalf the Wizard who in many ways is a neo Christ figure, Aragorn the noble philosopher King in exile, elves who represent the lost potential of mankind, dwarves, hobbits, orcs, etc. Along with the main themes of good versus evil, the trilogy examines temptation, fall from grace, pride, humility, and the joys of simple pleasures. Moreover, as a linguist, Tolkien is able to create original languages for his world. Nevertheless, The Lord Of The Rings is not perfect. Some parts of the story seem slow and/or forced (eg the trip from the Shire to Bree and Tom Bombadil). Second, the story has few strong female characters though this might be expected from British literature largely written during the 1940's. Third, as other comments have noted, Tolkien injects too many songs in the text.

Tolkien is an excellent writer. This book is the best. He made another world. If you like this book you should read the Silimarilion by J.R.R. Tolkien.

the only book in the world I ever finished. TOLKIEN RULES.

Never have I felt so alien to my current surroundings than when I was reading through these books. They have a mythological grip; like staring into the sun for too long...all else gets kind of brown and uneventful.

5 stars seems too little to express how fantastic this series is. Some people belittle the songs and long descriptions of scenery, but those are what complete the books and make them so believable that you live there in your mind long after you put the books down. I keep reading them over and over...

One of the best fantasy series written, the Lord of the Rings teaches good and evil to everyone. Most people, including me, only picked up the book after the first movie came out, but now they can't but it down. As an action adventure novel, the Lord of the Rings takes you on a dangerous quest to destroy a Ring of Power. Tolkien sends 9 companions on the journey. Each of the characters in the fellowship contributes something to the quest to destroy the ring. Tolkien does a fantastic job giving the characters their own personalities, and developing them for the future books in the series. My favorite characters include, Aragorn, and Legolas. Both of these characters help to make the Lord of the Rings possible to believe. Enjoy reading it! I know I did.

Decent story when you see it on the big screen, totally crap when you read it

Not only great, but some of the best literature ever. Tolkien sincerely put every fiber of his being into these phenomenal adventures. You don't read it, you loose yourself in it.

THIS series of books makes being literate worth while.

A little above average at best. I give Tolkien credit because he basically invent the fantasy novel, up until then it was all scifi. It was the first not the best. Try Goodkind, G.R.R. martin and robert jordan.

This is clearly the greatest fantasy trilogy ever written. Even other great series like Foundation, Dune, Earth's Children, Magician...they don't come close.

The BEST of the BEST. I give 4 stars only because I've read it so many times and it now seems less magical than it once did.

Not as good as it's hyped up to be

Without a doubt the BEST books i have read!!!!! J.R.R. Tolien is a man that will forever be remembered as one of the best authors ever.

This is the best book ever written.

The best there is,the best there was&the best there ever will be

Somebody, please tell me why everyone likes this book so much! It's way too long and boring, too many people copy it. Plus, it was copied off all the Norse and Germanic myths. What's so great about a book you can't even read the first page of without practically falling asleep?

Absolutely incredible story! I agree with what everyone else has said.

Books can hardly ever be better.

If not for this we wouldn't be forced to endure that terrible movie and the marketing blitzkrieg thereof. Thanks J.R.R.R.R.R.

Wow, I'm a book worm and I couldn't even make it through this series. It's definately an art form, but enough with the heavy pages of description already. There's not enough action to keep me interested.

I LOVE THESE BOOKS! I decided to read them after seeing the first mvie and i'm so glad I did. Thye're even better than the mvoie (which I didn't think could be possible after I saw it). This series really is the best sci-fi/fantasy trilogy of the century

The foundation of modern fantasy, written by someone who made a world so large and detailed we can all find ourselves in it. This is a must for any who considers themselves a 'reader.' It's not just a book for fantasy and science fiction people, it's for everyone.