Tag Archives: the lord of the rings

Top 10 Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books

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I haven’t done this in a while, and I thought that today’s Top Ten topic (created by the ever fabulous The Broke and the Bookish) would be a very good one to get back on the train again! The setting of a novel is what makes it or breaks it for me — if I’m not captivated within the first chapter or two, it’s hard to get me totally invested in the novel. I love when the author (or the narrator) takes me away to a place that I can only dream about, to a place where I would love to visit. I’ve read many books in my life, but here are my Top 10 Favourite Worlds/Settings in Books:

10) Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I’ve been obsessed with this little orphan girl (and no, I’m not talking about Annie) since before I can remember. I think it was Anne’s rich imagination and language that really drew me into her world, and that made Prince Edward Island one of my top places to visit. From the Lake of Shining Waters to the White Way of Delight, Anne has such a way of making her surroundings come alive and place you right there next to her.

9) Night by Elie Wiesel

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this is one of the most terrifying novels I’ve ever read — and that’s because it’s all true. It’s hard to recall a moment in time that was as scary as the Holocaust, and Elie Wiesel’s account of what happened to him and others in the concentration camps really plays with your mind. You see things you don’t want to see, hear screams you don’t want to hear, and smell the decay and destruction of lives that you don’t want to smell.

8) The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

I’m a big fan of fantasy novels, and this series is one of my favourites. I love the mix of modern day New York City with the twist of Old World (and Underworld!) charm. The characters are fantastic, but what I love most is the setting. It’s like I’m there with Clary on her adventures and can feel the anticipation and fear with each breath at every climax. Love it!

7) The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Pretty much every person acquainted with literature knows about The Hunger Games, and for good reason! It’s an amazing novel written in a dystopian country called Panem. With every single new scene, Katniss takes the reader on an unforgettable (and often times nerve-wracking) journey — from District 12 to the Arena, and everywhere in between. It’s hard to think of much else once you finish the novels and it’s most difficult to return to reality after being immersed in a world so unlike (and yet so eerily parallel) our own.

6) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

For many of the same reasons as why I both love and hate Night, The Book Thief also is set in World War II. But instead of it being set in the concentration camps, The Book Thief follows Leisl in Nazi Germany, around her town and within her unique relationships with her family and friends. By the time I read half the novel, I was so engrossed with her tragic surroundings and events. And when the final climax happened that put an end to the novel, I couldn’t breathe for the longest time. Her world was gone, and with that, my world too.

5) Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Who doesn’t love the sweeping landscapes, the cool waters of Mermaid Lagoon, the swashbuckling pirate ship of Captain Hook and the heated Indian tribe of the infamous Neverland? There is so much to relish in and enjoy as one heads to the second star on the right and straight on till morning, and J.M. Barrie couldn’t have created a more captivating world.

4) A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

This is one of my all time favourite books ever. I’m in love with Victorian and Steampunk settings, and this is the best. But the reason it’s a cut above the rest is because it doesn’t only take place in the 1800s — it also takes place in a great and terrible place called the Realms (ha, pun totally intended).

3) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Much like Neverland, Narnia is another amazing world set apart from our reality. With beautiful waters and grand hills, lovely castles and mysterious woods, C.S. Lewis’ fantasy world is amazing — and hey, the talking animals don’t hurt either!

2) The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Middle Earth is one of the most famous literary worlds out there. Even though the books aren’t necessarily the most exciting, it’s the setting that I will remember forever. The Shire, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Helm’s Deep, Fangorn Forest, Dead Marshes and Mina Tirith… all the many haunting, beautiful and grand places of Middle Earth make the trilogy so worth the read.

1) Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Thank you J.K. Rowling. Thank you. I’ve pretty much lived in the magical world of Harry Potter since its inception, and my heart and soul will always remain there. Hogwarts is my home. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are my playgrounds. The Burrow is my vacation home. A beautiful quote by Rowling herself says it best: “The stories we love best do live in us forever. So, whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Book Review

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Book Review #13: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy

Days to Read: 30-ish days

Synopsis (taken from Waterstones.ca): Concluding the story begun in The Hobbit, this is the final part of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads ever wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves and Ents unite forces to do battle agains the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring.

My Thoughts: You have no idea how excited I was at the thought of nearing the end of this trilogy. I have lived and breathed The Lord of the Rings for four months now, and couldn’t wait to finally say I had completed it. This last novel was everything I thought it would be: fast-paced (at least Book 5 was, the story following Aragorn), interesting and, oddly enough, romantic. I absolutely loved seeing the relationship between Eowyn and Faramir unfold before my eyes, but was slightly disappointed when Tolkien merely thrust the love between Aragorn and Arwen at my feet without any prior inclination of a romance between them. On the whole, though, I thought this was the best book of them all.

What irks me about Tolkien, however, is the fact that he always builds up to the battles with endless pages of journeys and discussions; but when it comes right down to the battle itself, he only writes about a page on it. The battle scenes always fall flat. But in the epic battle between the Black Rider and Eowyn, it was written with more description than any other battle. I could see her courage, her greatness and her love for her family and people and was rooting for her from start to finish. I grew to love Eowyn more than any other person (other than Sam) in the novel, and wanted nothing but happiness for her at the end. She was the fearless character the trilogy needed. But more interestingly, I was intrigued by the fact that she couldn’t save her people without dressing up as a man first, as if being a woman wasn’t good enough. In today’s society, feminism and female power is almost second-nature to us. We’re used to seeing female leaders now and figureheads; so it was cool to see how Tolkien’s world viewed women differently. I don’t blame Tolkien for creating a story where men were the primary characters (as some people do); instead, I thank him for showing the strength women can have in times of trouble. We’re not all damsels in distress.

Anyways, I’m digressing.

Simply put, I liked The Return of the King a lot more than I thought I would. After The Two Towers, finishing this series seemed like an impossible task — and I admit, a few times throughout the last novel I thought I would just give up altogether. Many people did give up, so why should I feel bad? But the important thing is that I didn’t. I kept reading and when Frodo and Sam finally reached Mount Doom, I couldn’t have been happier. Gollum played his part well, and while I did think his ending was a little anti-climatic, he did provide a reasonable and satisfying end to the One Ring. The part of The Shire in turmoil caught me by surprise because it wasn’t in the movie, but I liked how it wasn’t just a perfect ending for the hobbits. Nothing in life is perfect, and I liked how The Shire wasn’t perfect throughout the various wars and battles. Saruman saw to that. His death was a little strange and abrupt… I would have preferred if he had lived but withered away.

On the whole, I was pleased by this concluding novel and I am beyond thrilled to say I have, once and for all, completed The Lord of the Rings series!

Rating: 8/10

To view this book, click here.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Book Review

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Book Review #12: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy

Days to Read: Around a month? Give or take a few days.

Synopsis (taken from Waterstones.com): Building on the story begun in The Hobbit, this is the second part of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Frodo and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in the battle with an evil spirit in the Mines of Moria; and at the Falls of Rauros, Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape the rest of the company were attacked by Orcs. Now they continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin — alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

My Thoughts: Okay, so I realize it took me a long time to get through this story, once again. But to be fair, I had school and a bunch of other things that took up a lot of my time. On the whole, I enjoyed The Two Towers a lot more than I enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring — it was a shorter story, to be sure, but it also flowed nicer too. I was really excited to get to Gollum’s entrance and I wasn’t disappointed. He was just as manipulative and creepy as the one in the movies. This wasn’t my favourite movie of the series, but I was greatly surprised by the plot of this novel — boy, did Peter Jackson change and shift some things! I’m not sure yet if I liked Tolkien’s choice in having Boromir die in the first chapter of The Two Towers versus Jackson’s idea of killing him off at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. For Jackson, it was a nice way to tie up some ends and get the movie ready for its sequel. For Tolkien, it provided a way for the reader to get back into the swing of things — and what better way to remind the reader of all the horrors that had ensued than by killing off Boromir?

While this wasn’t my favourite novel in the series (yes, I’m almost done The Return of the King now), I did enjoy it. I loved the chapter when Frodo and Sam get tricked into entering Shelob’s lair. It was descriptive and made me feel as if I was right there with them (which I thankfully wasn’t, seeing as how I’m deathly afraid of spiders). I was, however, mega-disappointed with Tolkien’s description of the battle at Helm’s Deep; it wasn’t as extravagant or interesting as I had expected it to be. However, there was a greater emphasis on the Ents’ war on Isengard which I enjoyed. I was introduced to new characters that I loved in the movie (Faramir, Eowyn, Theoden, the Ents and Gollum) and I was interested in getting to their parts in this saga. Eowyn was less memorable than I had expected her to be — but then I remembered that Tolkien wasn’t a fan of making females a bigger character than he needed them to be. It was an intriguing start though to the figures of Rohan and I began looking forward to reading the last book to getting a fuller development. I think the thing I loved most about this novel was that at the end in Shelob’s lair, Sam was given total control and took centre stage. He’s always been my favourite character in the series and I was proud to see him make a stand and rescue Frodo in every way possible. All in all, this second novel could still have been tighter (a common complaint with this trilogy) but it wasn’t as boring as The Fellowship of the Ring.

My Rating: 7.5/10

To view this book, click here.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Book Review

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Book Review #11: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy

Days to Read: 30

Synopsis (taken from Waterstones.com): Continuing the story of The Hobbit, this is the first part of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, featuring a striking black cover based on Tolkien’s own design, the definitive text, and a detailed map of Middle-earth. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power — the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring — the ring that rules them all — which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. Now published again in B format, J.R.R. Tolkien’s great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes of scene and character in an imaginary world which is totally convincing in its detail.

My Thoughts: This is probably the longest it’s ever taken me to read a novel, but it’s The Lord of the Rings so it’s understandable. As much as I loved The Hobbit, I just could not get into The Fellowship of the Ring. It was probably due to a combination of things… the pages-long songs, the ridiculous amount of detail and the fact that the story dragged down to the pace of a snail at the beginning. I’ve heard warnings about the first book before, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. But despite my first impressions during the first half of the novel, I did enjoy it. If it wasn’t for my class, I probably wouldn’t have picked the book up — but I’m glad I can say I’ve completed it! The Lord of the Rings is just one of those series that any literature-obsessed person should try. It’s like climbing a mountain — sure, you might not be able to reach the top the first time you try, but with persistence and further tries, you will make it to the top. I had many days when I couldn’t possibly imagine reaching the last page, but after 30 days I did! The novel didn’t change my life, nor did it make me feel like I had wasted my time. I enjoyed my time with this first novel and, as unbelievable as it sounds, I actually couldn’t wait to start reading The Two Towers after I had finished it.

The idea of an epic quest to destroy the One Ring is original in itself, and I’m so thankful Tolkien put his ideas to print because without this saga, fantasy wouldn’t be the same today. But while the idea is fantastic, I did think the first novel that set up the story could have been tighter. The writing seemed to drone on and I couldn’t wait to get to Rivendell. The characters were all captivating in their own ways, and I found I really did care about what happened to them. But what really made me love the novel was the fact that Tolkien put so much love and passion into it. This was his life for so many years and he focused so much time into making this a novel unlike any other. The idea that he created his own languages for the novel and developed so many intriguing sets of characters (from Elves to Hobbits, Wizards to Orcs), is awe-inspiring! While I cannot say, as much as I wish I could, that this is one of my favourite novels, I can say that I have a new appreciation for Tolkien and can look at the saga with better eyes.

My Rating: 6/10

32.

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I have yet another book-filled day today.

I went to my university bookstore and picked up the last copy of The Women of Brewster Place that I need to finish by tomorrow. It’s not too long, so I’m not entirely worried, but still… And I’ve got a chapter and a bit left of The Fellowship of the Ring before I’m finally done — only to start on The Two Towers right afterwards. 

This past weekend I went home and counted how many books I have on my shelf that are still unread and guess what the number was? 

32. 

I have 32 books to read before I’m allowing myself to buy another book (unless it’s for school, like today’s purchase was). 

Ahhh!

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I’ve got books coming out of my ears! I’ve never had to read so many books in one weekend for school, but alas, my teachers have bested me. Want to know what I’ve got to read by today and this coming week that’s the reason for keeping me from updating this blog?

Today I have to finish a large illustrated book called Tolkien’s Ring, which is basically an analysis of Tolkien’s mind and the many myths and historical events that Tolkien’s saga was inspired from. I’m a little over half done but what I’ve read has been fascinating. I love learning about the many myths from around the world, so this book is perfect for that. I need to write a review on this book for class today, so when I’m done, I’ll post it on here to share with you all.

On Tuesday, I have to be completely finished Nineteen Eighty-Four (which I’ve barely started) to write a short quiz on the characters, plot, setting, etc. Yes, I’m well aware that if I don’t get it done, I can just Sparksnotes what I don’t know. But I’d really like to finish it so I can move on to the next novel on my to-read list.

Then by Friday, I need to have finished  The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and get considerably into The Two Towers. I’m only halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring, so you can tell I have a lot of reading to do. 

Wish me luck because the reading gods know I need it!