The Fellowship of the Ring

At last - The Definitive Recording!

There are a number of Lord of the Rings recordings out there, including a superb dramatization by the BBC. But there is only ONE set of unabridged recordings of the trilogy -- from Recorded Books and read by Rob Inglis. For many years, I've treasured the set of these recordings I have on compact disc. But never before now have I been able to find them for audio download -- until now!!! Words cannot express how thrilled I am to listen to the Lord of the Rings on my iPod (and on my Kindle too!) Audible members who have never yet heard the saga read in its entirety, you are in for a very special treat indeed! In a whole new way will you enjoy the story you've read years ago and have seen transformed into the motion pictures. It'll be almost as if you're experiencing the story for the very first time.

261 of 280 people found this review helpful

Greatest Book, with the finest reading

What made the experience of listening to The Fellowship of the Ring the most enjoyable?

The audiobook doesn't let you skip or skim the songs (or the whole Tom Bombadil section); the result is that you experience the book as Tolkien intended it.

What does Rob Inglis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Rob Inglis's reading is superb on general principles - he distinguishes characters well and interprets them beautifully. But the best surprise is the authenticity and quality of his rendering of Tolkien's many songs. Heroic when that's appropriate; funny or moving or spiritual by turns, this is an effect you can't produce for yourself in a silent reading. (And Tolkien heard and authorized some of Inglis's tunes.)

180 of 198 people found this review helpful

A Classic Done Right

This book marks the beginning of Frodo the Hobbit's quest to resolve the question of the Ring of Power which hangs over the fate of Middle Earth like a menacing cloud. I read this book over 40 years ago and it has headed up (together with the others in the trilogy) my list of books to be stranded on a desert island with ever since.

Although the fantasy genre predates The Lord of the Rings, it is no exaggeration to say that Tolkien's books inspired the tsunami of fantasy fiction which is with us even today. More than once, I have read some particularly dreadful specimen of the same and thought to myself that J.R.R. Tolkien has a lot to answer for (tongue-in-cheek) but his genius speaks for itself and is recognized today. When I was in college, stating that The Lord of the Rings was a great work of fiction elicited (from my English professors) stares of incomprehension from some and mild contempt from others. As Norman Cantor has remarked, however, it is the reading public that determines whether a work is great or not and by that standard The Lord of the Rings is now a classic.

Rob Inglis is able to do the series full justice. Not only is he a superb narrator, but he can sing which is important in a work with such an emphasis on songs and music (not always the case.. sometimes I've cringed in sympathetic embarrassment as a narrator, competent in other respects, attempted to sing or chant his/her way through a song with dismal results).

In short, you can't go wrong with this series, particularly if you like stories about quests or knightly adventures. There's very little in the way of boy-girl romance however and no sex so readers who like plenty of that in their fiction may want to look elsewhere.

57 of 64 people found this review helpful

Epic Fantasy's Heritage

I should start off by saying I am a huge fan of epic fantasy. The longer, and more epic, the better. And I believe The Lord of the Rings really gave birth to the genre.

If you are a fan of any fantasy genre, you should read or listen to these books. I hadn't until they were recently released on Audible, and must say I have mixed feelings. It was quite interesting to see some proto-forms of tools modern authors employ frequently, and this gives me better insight into how the modern authors work.

The story, to me, was a bit boring and too full of songs. The narrator does an excellent job singing the songs and reciting the poetry, and overall does a quite good job with the books.

I am glad the series is finally available on Audible so we can see where it all started with ease. I think anybody who enjoys Fantasy Novels should listen to The Lord of the Rings books - just don't expect them to blow you away.

Worth the credits? Absolutely. Worth the time? Probably. Best books ever? Unfortunately, no.

37 of 42 people found this review helpful

Perhaps my favorite narrator ever

Would you listen to The Fellowship of the Ring again? Why?

Yes, for sure. It was just a pleasure to listen to it. The narrator made it so captivating... Even though the book is of course from The Lord of The Rings series and wouldn't need further reasons to listen to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Fellowship of the Ring?

Surprisingly the songs. I loved that the narrator managed to put into melody the songs on the book and actually sing them.

Which character – as performed by Rob Inglis – was your favorite?

Elrond. Perhaps because of the contrast with the Elrond from the movies. Rob's voice for this character was lighter and melodious.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I could, I would, but it's a bit too long for me to listen in one sitting :)

30 of 34 people found this review helpful

Love the story, narration, not so much

If you could sum up The Fellowship of the Ring in three words, what would they be?

Heroic quest epic.

What did you like best about this story?

This has always been one of my favorite stories, from childhood. It's always delightful to reread it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Rob Inglis?

I don't know who I would prefer, but Rob Inglis is just not working for me. He did The Hobbit. Now I've got three LOR rings with him, and I just don't like his characterizations or the way he emphasizes his sentences. Plus, he's slow. Yes, you can speed it up a bit, but then it's off.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

26 of 30 people found this review helpful

Will the poems and songs ever end?! Please, end!

Middle Earth is a fantastic world to get lost in and I loved all the time spent with world-building. What I didn't like is how longwinded the poems are. You have forgotten you are listening to the book, you've become one of the fellowship, then suddenly you realize that Gandolf has been reciting the same sonnet for, what feels like, the last million years. Tolkien must have been a talker because most of his characters can't shut up. It's a wonder that Sauron needed spies because the Fellowship is LOUD!

39 of 46 people found this review helpful

irritating narrator

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator uses an annoying theatrical accent. This method of speaking was appropriate when orators and actors were performing on stage without modern sound equipment. The rolled R's and exaggerated enunciation helped listeners in the back of the theater understand what was being said. In the context of an audible book, that same accent is unnecessary, pretentious, and grating on the ear. I didn't notice it at first, but found it more and more annoying as the book progressed. now, after being forced to listen to it for 20+ hours in this first book, i am dreading having to hear it for the remaining two books.

20 of 24 people found this review helpful

great story but...

Love the story, but I personally found the narrator voice grating. I also hated the abundance of ryms in the story. I also feel that the reader lacked any sort of emotion and instead read it like it was a instructions manual.

23 of 28 people found this review helpful

So disappointed with this narrator!

I am a huge LOTR fan, but I simply cannot continue with this story in audio version. The narrator is horrible. He struggles switching between characters voices making it difficult to follow the story. This is made even harder due to the fact that he uses the same accent or tone of voice for different species of characters (wizard, hobbit, etc). I literally cringed when he did female voices, and fought the urge to fast forward simply to avoid listening for a few seconds. Dreadful, absolutely dreadful. It's unfortunate for such a beautiful and great novel series! If you enjoy the LOTR series, please save yourself the disappointment and pass this series on audio.

34 of 42 people found this review helpful