So, I have finally finished part one of The Lord of the Rings!
Some thoughts:
I am completely blown away by the depth of the world-building. This
reads more like a historical narrative than a story set in a made-up
world. The level of detail and the different languages and cultures
within the world feel real. I think this is one of the main strengths of
this book for me - it makes me want to discover more about this world,
and it feels like really it is only scratching the surface in this book.
Some of the descriptive passages are also beautiful. I rather enjoyed
most of the songs and poems as well, and felt that they added to the
authenticity of the world, as many of them tell legends and well-known
stories within Middle-Earth.
As for the story itself, I have to admit that I found it rather slow
going at times; there were sections where really not a lot happened. So
that did make it a little hard to get through at times. The pace did
pick up a bit as the story progressed, and I'm expecting it to be a lot
quicker in the remaining two books. I also found it quite difficult to
keep track of all the people and place names, let alone their legends
and traditions. I think it is a book I would appreciate more on
rereading.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book, although sometimes it was more
of an awed, appreciating enjoyment than anything else. I'm looking
forward to reading the rest of the trilogy, and hope to reread this
someday too.
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