The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (2001, Paperback, Illustrated)

The Lord of the Rings in my opinion is the best fantasy series ever written. J. R. R. Tolkien elaborately created a world with such detailed history, complexity and consistency that you are completely drawn into the story. There is no detail that is forgotten in these stories and the descriptions of characters, places, battles and situations are extremely rich and vivid.

The story starts off with an unusually eccentric hobbit (Bilbo Baggins) preparing to celebrate his "eleventy-first" birthday.

"Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return. Thhe riches he had brought back from his travels had now become local legend, and it was popularly believed, whatever the old folk might say, that the Hill at Bag End was full of tunnels stuffed with treasure........."

The story grows and builds and weaves the characters and amazing land of Middle-Earth together into an inspiring adventure that never stops until the last page. Hobbits, Wizards, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Uruk-hai and many more wondrous creatures await you. You will not be disappointed in this book (these books). If you have seen the movies I encourage you to read the books, as there is so much detail missing from the movies; (even as detailed and grand a the movies are). These books allow you to see the story, the characters, the places and battles in your mind as vividly as if you were watching a movie.

(A small factoid for you; these stories which are now usually a trilogy and sometimes a single compilation were originally six books which were intended by the author to be published as a single novel. The publisher broke it up and printed it as a trilogy(1954) because it was thought to be too long as a single novel)

* I would also recomend reading: The Hobbit by: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit is actually the story about Bilbo and how he gains possession of "The Ring" and how he meets many of the main character in the Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit also gives you amazing history and background to lead up to the Lord of the Rings.

ENJOY THE BOOKS! AND PLEASE RATE MY REVIEW.

The Lord of the Rings is an amazing series filled with a lot of adventures and evil creatures.One of the most important reasons why I love the books is because of the complete distinction between good and evil.This series does an excellent job of showing that sometimes life gets hard,but we all must have faith and hope to do what we know to be right.If you have not read the series I definitely would recommended this book to all people that love exciting storys with unbelieveable endings.

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (written in the late 1930's and 40's" and first published in the 50's) is not simply a classic set of books, but is the basis for all fantasy "wizards, magic, and dragons" books written since - a "must read" for all fantasy lovers.
I purchased the books for my prodigy 10 year old grandson who loves fantasy and science fiction novels.

IN THE 1000 YEAR HISTORY OF WESTERN LITERATURE THIS TOLKIEN MASTERPIECE STANDS IN SELECT COMPANY,AS ONE OF THE TRUE ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF NOT ONLY FANTASY LITERATURE BUT ALL WRITTEN WORKS.
TOLKINS WORKS NOT ONLY INSPIRED THOUSANDS OF AUTHORS BUT TENS OF MILLIONS OF READERS TO GO TO HIS INCREADABLE WORLD'S OF THE SHIRE, RIVENDELL, HELMS DEEP AND MANY OTHER GREAT LOCATIONS IN HIS BOOKS.
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THESE BOOKS IT IS A EXPERANCE YOU WILL LIKELY NEVER FORGET IT CAN TAKE WEEKS TO READ THE WHOLE STORY,IF YOU READ 40 OR 50 PAGES A DAY.
FOR THE YOUNGER READER THESE BOOKS REALLY HELP LIFT THE IMAGINATION,TO PLACES IT MAY NOT GO WITHOUT THE BOOKS, AND FOR THE OLDER READER THE BOOKS HELP BRING BACK THE IMAGINATION AND WONDER OF YOUTH.
THESE BOOKS ARE TRULY A MUST FOR EVERYONE.

In my humble opinion, excepting the Bible, this is perhaps the greatest story ever told. The depth with which Mr. Tolkien imbued his characters is enough to draw the reader into the story- the magnitude of the quest the main characters must undertake will keep you riveted until the very last page. Every instance is described in such a way as to transport you there, you can see it. Every battle undertaken, whether on a small scale or large, is imparted to the reader in such a manner as to make you feel like you're experiencing it with the main characters- you can almost feel your fingers closing on the grip of your sword as an Orc band charges in to kill the lot of you. An excellent set of books that I periodically re-read because the story is THAT GOOD.