The Fellowship of the Ring — Wilson Biggs

        What do you think of when someone says these four words: Lord of the Rings? Perhaps you think of the movies by Peter Jackson. Those are great movies, but to fully enjoy them, you need to read the original books. In this case, I’ll be talking about the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring. It is the first volume of the revolutionary fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. It sparked a whole new type of book; one that had fantasy, action, and took place in a sort of medieval time. One of the most popular series’ the books spawned is the Game of Thrones series, which has gained worldwide acclaim, largely due to its accompanying TV show.

        Let’s get back to the books themselves, shall we? They take place in the land of Middle Earth, where there’s everything from wizards to elves to giant walking trees. It’s a sort of medieval time, with kingdoms, like Gondor, and wars without guns. Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, which is a sort of short human with big feet, goes on a quest to destroy an evil ring, which is possessed by the dark lord Sauron. He was killed a long time ago, and basically turned into a spirit, possessing the ring and also becoming a giant eyeball on top of a tower. Frodo’s friend Sam and various others join him on his way.

        The conflict in the story is mostly that of good vs. evil; Sauron vs. everyone else (but mostly Frodo). It’s a person vs. person conflict. My favorite character is probably Frodo; he never gives up, and is usually optimistic about things. The point of the book is that it’s a great adventure; you should walk away having read a very fun book. However, that’s only after you’ve read all three. Even after reading the first one, you won’t want to stop.

        To tell the truth, I really can’t relate to most of the characters in the story; Gandalf, the good wizard, would be the closest. He’s pretty smart and does a lot of research when he needs to find something out; and he’d sacrifice himself for the good of his friends. I’ve felt like I should never give up on my friends, much like Sam, who is always loyal to Frodo. The reason I relate so little to the story is that the situations in the story are completely different from anything that has happened in real life; not just the fact that they’re on a quest to defeat an evil spirit thing, but how hard they had to test their strength and loyalty.

        I loved the book; it could get boring at times, but all of the boring parts were still relevant to the plot and were necessary to read. It’s extremely well written, and there are relatively few plotholes; however, there are a few weak spots. For some readers, it may be a bit too slow, it wasn’t for me, but I would understand if it got boring for someone else. It also can be hard to understand at points, as it was written in the early 1900s, and some of the vocabulary is not used anymore. If there was anything I could change about the book, it would be to not have the hobbit Merry in it. Merry does pretty much nothing in the book, and is an unnecessary character.

        I would recommend this book to anyone who likes any sort of adventure story. All you need is a little patience and some free time and you’ll be completely absorbed by the book. I think everyone should read it anyway, as it’s one of those classic books that, once you’re in college, everyone but you will have read. You know what that means! Next time you have nothing to read, go to the library and get the book The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien! That is, if it’s not already checked out.