The Lord of the Rings
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4.5 • 784 Ratings
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
All three parts of the epic masterpiece combined in one definitive edition of the text.
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 the Ring is entrusted to his care. He must leave his home and make a perilous journey across the realms of Middle-earth to the Crack of Doom, deep inside the territories of the Dark Lord. There he must destroy the Ring forever and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy has touched the hearts of young and old alike.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Originally broadcast in 1981 on BBC Radio, this full-cast adaptation of Tolkien's epic trilogy is justifiably regarded as a classic; unfortunately, in 2008, it faces inevitable comparison with Peter Jackson's films. While Jackson had stunning visuals, purists may find this simpler adaptation more to their taste. The radio version remains, in some ways, more faithful to the original trilogy. The extensive cuts to the narrative mean that much of Tolkien's poetic description and a degree of emotional resonance are lost, but narrator Gerard Murphy gives what remains the appropriate gravity. Most of the dialogue is pure Tolkien, and the fine cast does it justice. Ian Holm (who appeared as Bilbo in the films) offers a mature, nuanced portrayal of Frodo that is far truer to the text than Elijah Wood's wide-eyed innocent approach. (On the other hand, Sean Astin's accent and inflections as Sam are so similar to the audiobook's Bill Nighy's, one might suspect that Astin studied this recording before filming.) The 12th CD is devoted to a selection of songs from the books, set to original music.
Customer Reviews
Good, but typos.
I very much enjoy this, however it has its problems.
There are some typos, which make it a bit difficult at times. They are not terrible, or anything, but they could be fixed. Additionally, I came across at least one instance where and entire sentence was missing. There was a blank line. I consulted the actual book, and sure enough. Also, the maps aren't zoomable, so they are pretty much useless. Other than that, it is pretty awesome. I'd buy it again.
Still Too Many Typos!
It is wonderful to see Lord of the Rings in the iBook store, and it looks very nice. But even in the sample, this edition is plagued with typos. Very disappointing. Same thing in the version distributed by fictionwise, by the way. I have written HarperCollins about the problem but had no reply.
Main problem seems to be related to the nonstandard letters in some of the proper names, so that "Théoden," for example, shows up as "The" instead. And this in the Foreword, before we even get to the body of the book!
I will gladly buy the book once these kinds of simple errors are corrected, or we see some attempt to correct the editions after purchase. Until then I will regretfully pass.
Wonderful fantasy classic
This work is famous enough that I need hardly comment on it except to say that there are some typos or errors in here that I hope will soon be corrected.