good

The start of one of the most amazing trilogy's ever! i love these books and keep coming back to them.

Yea this book is called the like original fantasy book or whatever. It was so boring i tried to read it then dnfed it like 4 times not for me idk maybe ill try reading it again. I liked the movies tho

Nunca leería este libro sino fuera gracias, a club literario Macondo y me alegro muchísimo de haberlo hecho. De hecho lo comencé de adolescente y no era el momento no me gustó nada y tenía la espinita y gracias al club me decicí a leerlo y me ha gustado muchísimo. Ahora a por las dos Torres.

Frodo es sobrino de Bilbo, y después de las aventuras que este hobbit paso, le enseña muchas cosas. Cuando Gandalf llega para llevarse a Bilbo, Frodo no se espera lo que le va a suceder al haber heredado el anillo único.
Al principio no sabe su utilidad pero las fuerzas oscuras se hacen fuertes y Gandalf llega para avisarle de si destino. Al salir de su pueblo lo acompaña su mejor amigo y dos de sus primos. Así los cinco empiezan un gran viaje hasta el bosque de los elfos. En el camino conocen a Trancos.
Al llegar Frodo ve a su tío y se alegra pero la travesía apenas inicia y los grandes señores elfos deciden enviar a Frodo y a unos seleccionados aptos para cuidarlo.
La compañía inicia el viaje aunque siempre están en peligro. Cruzan una cueva, un bosque y un río que los acerca lentamente a las tierras de Mordor.

Loaded with original sketches from John Howe and Alan Lee; it’s really great how they worked to keep the visuals for the films accessible and not delve too much into “high fantasy”.

The greatest story ever written by a human.

The Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece of fantasy literature, a monumental achievement that has stood the test of time. Its richly detailed world, populated with a diverse cast of characters, each with their own depth and complexity, makes for an enthralling read. Tolkien's ability to weave together an intricate plot, filled with epic battles, profound themes, and a sense of grand adventure, is nothing short of breathtaking. The narrative is a delightful blend of myth, legend, and history, creating a universe that is as believable as it is magical. The emotional depth and the development of characters like Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, and Aragorn offer a compelling exploration of bravery, friendship, and the fight against overwhelming darkness. 'The Lord of the Rings' is not just a book; it's a journey into a meticulously crafted world that continues to captivate and inspire readers of all ages.

This book was not for me.

It's mostly just pictures of early artwork for all aspects of the first movie.

So if you are really interested in the details of how different concepts evolved or perhaps if you are an artist yourself or just a LOTR super fan you may find it interesting.

But personally I don't think I got that much out of it. It's just a lot of sketches of things that I already saw in the movies and I am no artist or super fan.

It is however a nice reminder of all the work that goes into making a movie like Lord of the Rings. An entire world has to be imagined which is an enormous amount of work that requires a huge team of talented artists.

Peter Jackson obviously couldn't have generated all these ideas by himself and I think casual movie goers sometimes forget that a big part of what they actually see in the final film originated from the minds of concept artists and production designers who don't get that much glory.


Couple of notable images:
(1) An early concept drawing of The Company showing Frodo, Gimli, Legolas, Gandalf and Aragorn by Alan Lee (page 6)

It's the very first picture in the book. Except for Gimli they all look very different than they do in the movies.

(2) An alternative idea for the Argonath statues by John Howe (page 88)
The Argonath statues are one of the most iconic shots in the entire trilogy, it's interesting to see another version which looks "more Northern European".

This was an extremely interesting book to read. I am a HUGE LOTR fan and I was excited to look at all of the photos. The artwork in this book was amazing, and the little bits of text to accompany the photos taught me things I did not know about the film. My only complaint was that the font for the text was super small. I probably should have just accepted defeat and used a magnifying glass to read, but instead I squinted my way through. If I have a chance to read through the other books I will.

When i first read the book i was scared but the story was so much captivating that i could not easily stop reading i was always moved after reading to watch the movie. Thanks Author Gary Russell for bringing some real sense of power management skills in me. This book thought me a lot how to manage absolute power as the sayings go "absolute power corrupt and corrupts absolutely"
I really liked the suspense, the way the pages are arranged the way and manner the text and fonts were organized

well I don't like it very much since I didn't like the movie either, but it's not bad.