I'm always annoyed when people say, "Tolkien will spend pages and pages describing a tree" because 1) no, he doesn't, and 2) we get the descriptions of the trees and landscape when the characters are traveling. These descriptions help us get a sense of where we are and what the place is like. The descriptions of Lothlorien are what make us want to live there, and the descriptions of Mordor help us realize what a place of despair it is.
I also don't understand why people will say that Lord of the Rings is a slow book, when many are perfectly happy reading 10+ book series that have volumes of 800 or more pages and a positively glacial pace. Compared to something like that, LotR races along.
I preferred the opening chapters of Book One. I knew and loved The Hobbit for many years before finally reading The Lord of the Rings, and I was so disappointed when the tone of the latter did not match the tone of the former.
Did Tolkien revise the Riddles in the Dark chapter in The Hobbit more than once? I recall an old edition, circa 1940s(?), that I borrowed from the library, and that chapter was different from what it is in the modern editions, but not quite like what I have read about the original edition.
I'm always annoyed when people say, "Tolkien will spend pages and pages describing a tree" because 1) no, he doesn't, and 2) we get the descriptions of the trees and landscape when the characters are traveling. These descriptions help us get a sense of where we are and what the place is like. The descriptions of Lothlorien are what make us want to live there, and the descriptions of Mordor help us realize what a place of despair it is.
I also don't understand why people will say that Lord of the Rings is a slow book, when many are perfectly happy reading 10+ book series that have volumes of 800 or more pages and a positively glacial pace. Compared to something like that, LotR races along.
I preferred the opening chapters of Book One. I knew and loved The Hobbit for many years before finally reading The Lord of the Rings, and I was so disappointed when the tone of the latter did not match the tone of the former.
Did Tolkien revise the Riddles in the Dark chapter in The Hobbit more than once? I recall an old edition, circa 1940s(?), that I borrowed from the library, and that chapter was different from what it is in the modern editions, but not quite like what I have read about the original edition.
Hmm, interesting. I know of only two versions, but there may have been changes in early reprintings that I’m not aware of.