An Epic Tale

Before I chat about the series I finished a few months ago, I want to set up the scene a little bit. These books have an unfair reputation of being "uncool." They were written in the 50s by an English author, whose voice I find very similar to other classics that came out of English writers, such as Jane Austen. It is completely my loss that I don't enjoy reading books that were written that way. Do you know what I mean? I know that is stupidly vague. Here is an example:

“Begone, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!"

A cold voice answered: 'Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye."

A sword rang as it was drawn. "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may."

"Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!"

I am ashamed to say that I am a bit dense when it comes to these types of novels. I was never able to get even halfway through Pride & Prejudice, even though I love the plot of the story (thanks to the movie). Same with Anna Karenina. Or anything written by Shakespeare.  I feel like it's sacrilegious for me to call myself a reader and lover of books and not love the classics...but there it is. 

Those who have read them will know right away what series I am referring to after reading the quote...I'm talking about the Lord of the Rings series.

I watched the movies first. If you are going to read the books, I highly recommend that you watch the movies first. It really helps put the many strange names and places into perspective. And the movies were AMAZING. Seriously. Watch them. You will have such respect for Peter Jackson in addition to J. R. R. Tolkien and the worlds they created together. The way he uses technology and special effects is nothing if not inspiring. 

In summary, I think you should read Lord of the Rings if you like any of these things:

1.) An epic story (One story split into 3 books...4 if you include The Hobbit)

2.) The Harry Potter Series (Another epic fantasy series)

3.) Fantasy  (I actually don't generally like the Fantasy genre, so going off those other 2 points alone is enough!)

So watch the movies. Read the books. Listen to the books on audio DVDs. You won't be disappointed.