What did you think about when reading 'The Lord of the Rings'?

As it did for many readers, The Lord of the Rings (and its prequel, The Hobbit) introduced me to fantasy fiction. ... All these decades later, the books can be generously called “problematic,” can't they? Coded .... “Yet I think I shall mention it to Gandalf, small matter though it may seem among his great affairs. read more

I’m going to presume you mean is The Lord of the Rings worth reading if one has already seen the movies. In which case, I say yes, it is. If you loved the movies, the book gives you a lot that the movies don’t. Things also make much more narrative sense. read more

The Lord of the Rings is the mother of all fantasy literature. Fantasy had been written prior to Tolkien, of course; however, there was nothing of its scope or kind. Every post-1955 fantasy novel you will ever read is somehow influenced by it. read more