by J.R.R. Tolkien
Description
It's a fine morning, and Bilbo Baggins is in a mood as fine as the morning. That is, until they show up. That is: Gandalf, a wizard, and 13 dwarves: Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and their leader: Thorin Oakenshield. The dwarves and Gandalf are going to the Misty Mountains to win back their treasure from Smaug; a dragon who wiped one whole dwarvish kingdom with his fire. At least, the dwarves are. Gandalf has other motives. Sauron, known in the Hobbit as the Necromancer, is thinking of recruiting this dragon, so that it might destroy all Middle-Earth. The hobbit of the party, Bilbo, has been recruited as the dwarves thief. In other words, he'll get the dangerous part of the job; stealing the treasure that the dragon is literally sleeping on!
Good Things
Our heroes are constantly laying their life on the line for each other, and they're all (especially Bilbo) very brave. Friends take them under their protection, and in the end selfishness is shown to be an evil thing. I can't really think of anything else; we see more and more of the same things. (Which is not necessarily bad). Also, Tolkien writes as beautifully as he does in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sauron, the Necromancer, is portrayed as wholly evil.
Bad Things
There is one part in the book where a troll substitutes the first letter of a mild curseword with an apostrophe. Also, Gandalf does do perhaps a little more magic than he does in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The violence is quite low, but might be disturbing to very young people. The book isn't as deep as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it's still very fun to read. I probably didn't make it sound like a great book in the description above, but it is NOT a boring book. Nor is it a different version of Snow White and the Dwarves or anything like that. It has by far a better story line than most books today. You're probably thinking: "I thought he said Return of the King was the last book in the trilogy." And you would be right. I did. This can actually be a stand-alone book, even though it is a prelude to Lord of the Rings. I highly recommend it. 9.5/10 stars.
The Return of the King
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Description
The final struggle has begun. Orcs are marching on Gondor, and Rohan rides to their aid. Sam is going to Mount Doom alone, as Frodo is now "dead." The only hope for Middle-Earth is for the Ring to be destroyed. After a massacre at Gondor and eventually victory, all remaining good forces on Middle-Earth unite at Mordor to try to destroy Sauron. Surrounded by orcs for miles, they make their courageous last stand, with the Ring extremely close to destruction.
Good Things
Once again we see great courage from both Rohan and Gondor. This book is filled with positive elements. Such as: for example Faramir obeying his father by taking a very few men against perhaps a million on the enemy's side. What some people might term a suicide mission..... Sam is again extremely loyal to Frodo. We see friendship portrayed also..... and courage because of it.
Bad Things
The violence is a lot higher in this one than in the other ones, and I wouldn't exactly recommend it for readers under 11 or 12. The romance isn't too bad. Faramir and Eowyn fall in love in this one and Faramir kisses her once. This disappointed me as Faramir quickly became my favorite character when reading through the trilogy. There isn't any profanity. The magic isn't as bad as it could be. Gandalf uses magic multiple times and then we see a little magic from the Witch-King. Interestingly, this is the only magic he ever does. Kind of strange..... Also, there's an army that consists of dead men, but they're only in the book very briefly. Anyway, I highly recommend the book and have to award it 10/10 stars, but also caution you with the violence and the other problems above.
The Two Towers
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Description
The Ring is on it's way to Mount Doom. Though hope is slim, it still remains. Gollum is now the guide of Sam and Frodo, who trust him to find safe paths through Mordor in order for them to complete the objective of their journey. The Fellowship has broken. Pippin and Merry have been kidnapped by orcs. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are after Merry and Pippin's captors, and Boromir is dead. Gandalf is also assumed to be dead after he plummets into the depths of Moria with the Balrog. And on top of all that, the King of Rohan has been corrupted by the wizard Sauruman. Things look hopeless. Almost, that is.
Good Things
Once more, we see courage displayed, not to mention a pretty good battle near the end of the book. Sam's loyalty to Frodo is amazing, and so is his courage. The violence is relatively low, and there isn't any romance except for two places in the book that state Eowyn loves Aragorn and he is struck with her beauty. It may say something about him loving her, but if it does I don't remember it. The way in which Tolkien writes is still extremely good. On to the problems.
Bad Things
The main problem with the book is the magic. We see Gandalf breaking Sauruman's staff, and him doing certain magic things such as catching weapons on fire. The other problem with it is one mild curse word near the end. It is in some editions and in other ones it's not, so just keep an eye open while reading it. Thankfully, it is said by orcs, not the good guys! Still, this book is excellent, and because of a few problems, I'll give it 9.5/10 stars.
The Last Battle
by C.S. Lewis
Description
The last battle for Narnia has begun! "Aslan" has come and is extremely angry with the Narnians though they have done nothing wrong. Could Aslan, the Great Lion, really be doing such horrid things as murdering the trees and punishing the beasts unjustly? Tirian, the last king of Narnia determines to find out, and his determination has deadly results. Read as they fight the last battle of Narnia, and look forward to the reward from the true Aslan that awaits them.
Good Things
This book has many good themes to it. Including a strong theme of self-sacrifice for others. Once more, we see characters who have developed a deep love for one another. Particularly Tirian and Jewel, who I personally think represent David and Jonathan.
Bad Things
I really can't remember anything really bad wrong with the book. You may not like the fact (I don't) that there are things such as the gods of trees, minotaurs, centuars, and other creatures that are based on Greek mythology. There are some remarks such as: fool, and some other things I can't remember. There is also a reference to Plato, which portrays Plato's works as good. We read in Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." This shows that philosophy is empty. If you can overlook all that though, I highly recommend that you read it. I award the book 9.5/10 stars.
The Fellowship of the Ring
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Description
There have never been any adventures in Hobbiton. Never. Except for the time a dragon was seen and orcs attacked not far from Hobbiton. That's it. Nothing ever happened. Until an inhabitant of the Shire, a Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, mysteriously vanished. And then he reappeared as suddenly as he had gone....... This book is set many years later when Bilbo is having his one-hundred-and-eleventh birthday. (He was turning eleventy-one as the Hobbits said). During the party, when he was giving a speech he suddenly vanished by putting a mysteriously beautiful Ring on his finger. His old friend, a wizard, Gandalf the Grey, convinces him to give the Ring to Bilbo's nephew, Frodo. It is eventually discovered that this Ring belongs to the Dark Lord, Sauron who takes refuge in the dreadful land of Mordor. This is in fact the Ring of Power. Sauron sends out a few of his incredibly many servants, the Ringwraiths, to take the Ring from Frodo. Frodo and his eight companions must travel through many perils to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.
Good Things
The main thing I'll say is that this book is written beautifully. The book is so detailed that you can watch a movie in you mind effortlessly. It's action-packed and it's really very different than any other kind of book you could find. It has many good things in it. The characters are constantly trying to protect each other. There is no language, romance or anything else I can think of. While it really has no Biblical significance, it has the most solid story I have ever read.
Bad Things
I do have a few problems with this book. For one thing, there is some magic. Quite a bit actually. There are many characters that appear to be much higher than others. The only other thing that's really worth mentioning is that some elves sing things like: "O, Elbereth; Githoniel!" and Elbereth and Githoniel are well...... dead elves. At one point an elf says:"May Elbereth protect you." If you're O.K. with Star Wars you should be O.K. with this. I must say that overall I highly recommend this book. I award the book 10/10 stars.
