captaind's Full Review: J.R.R. Tolkien - El hobbit
Poor little Bilbo Baggins. He was like most Hobbits (the preface is dedicated to telling you about this little-known, unassuming race) – dead boring really. He didn’t like change and rarely ventured outside of his immediate neighbourhood.
And then along came Gandalf the Wizard, with a load of dwarves. They were on a mission to reclaim their gold that was currently in the possession of a Dragon named Smaug. So it came to be that Bilbo became embroiled in a great adventure. Along the way there are Trolls, Orcs, spiders, Elves, and a strange creature that can change shape.
Since Professor Tolkein wrote this for his kids, it’s more a children’s book than for adults – though for a very light read it’s good, and for a bit of history as to the background of The Ring of Lord of the Rings (LotR) it’s essential reading. If you’ve read LotR or The Silmarillian don’t expect The Hobbit to bear any resemblance to them.
The story itself is fairly typical fantasy stuff, with Tolkein’s prose the only thing really making it stand out. There’s a fair dash of humour along with the adventure, and it’s all well-told from a child’s point of view. As an adult I have to admit that I found the occasional expressions such as: “Just imagine how frightened the little Hobbit must have felt!” rather off-putting, but it’s usually just a nice, easy read, rather than a childish one. You can’t really compare it to some of the epic works of fantasy literature for the simple reason that it’s not trying to be that sort of book.
The characterisation is pretty good for a children’s book. The characters appear quite simple and the whole tone of the book is a great deal lighter in tone and outlook than LotR, but there is still some exploration of the darker side, for instance the corrupting gold-lust of the Dwarves.
Middle Earth is still described beautifully in this book (and yes, I do know it was written before LotR!), and the action sequences work very well. And a valuable lesson for kids can be found in the way the Trolls are defeated – showing that violence is not always the answer, and strength is not the only important attribute.
As a confirmed Tolkein nerd (well, actually Luthien69 called me a Tolkein nerd, I prefer to think of myself as “well-informed”!), you may be wondering why I’ve only given this 3 stars. Well, it’s entirely from an adult’s point of view – to me this doesn’t stand up against Tolkein’s other works, Anne McAffery’s Pern series, or other fantasy greats in any way. I never actually read it as a child (unless you count 16 years old as a child), but I imagine that this would be a 5-star book for children between the ages of 8 and 12, though I don’t exactly view myself as an expert on that sort of thing!
So it really depends what you’re looking for. If you want something for a younger one (who liked the LotR films, perhaps), or something to answer the questions that may have arisen in your mind from the films or reading Lord of the Rings, then its perfect. But if you’re and adult simply looking for a great fantasy book, then there are plenty of better choices.
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And yes, you guessed it - the title has nothing to do with the review itself. But I do love that song by the man who will forever be Mr Spock, it always makes me smile - as does his "Highly Illogical". Much better than William Shatner's attempts at "singing"...
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