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E**N
Vital exploration of Tolkien's work, but for fans only
If you're not a Tolkien fan, you need not apply to the sprawling History of Middle Earth series. But if you're interested in seeing how the Professor developed the rich creation of Middle Earth, warts and all, this is a treasure trove of material.The 12 volumes of the History of Middle Earth take a close look at the creation of Tolkien's greatest achievement - Middle Earth itself - through early drafts, unpublished texts, and dead end writings. For ardent Tolkien readers it is a fascinating look at one of the great literary creations of the 20th Century. For more casual fans, it's text better left unread."The Return of the Shadow" marks the first in the four volumes dealing with the history of the writing of "The Lord of the Rings." Like the other volumes in the series, it features unpublished writings by Tolkien, supplemented, explained, footnoted, annotated and expounded upon by his son, Christopher Tolkien.Here we have the earliest versions of what would later become the most beloved fantasy epic in the world, detailing the extraordinary and convoluted history of the earliest chapters of "The Lord of the Rings." Some readers might be surprised to know just how different a book this was in its earliest stages, and just how much Tolkien was making it up as he went along in those early days.The wealth of information is fantastic, and Christopher Tolkien goes to great lengths to examine each text, putting them in the context of the larger puzzle of his father's writings. The exploration of how "The Lord of the Rings" came about is fantastic - for those interested. Otherwise, it will bore. This is, after all, a series of unfinished draft chapters and essays on the text. I enjoyed it, but many won't.Anybody wishing to do a study of Tolkien's craft, into "behind the scenes" writings, or just interested in finding a few snatches of new Middle Earth material (even if in unfinished form, there are some scattered throughout the series) will certainly find what they are looking for here. Christopher Tolkien's work here is appreciated by scores of ardent Tolkien fans.Those looking for fresh new tales about hobbits and heroes, however, will be disappointed. This isn't new fiction, nor does it even feature finished works. Seek elsewhere if you are looking for more tales in the way of "The Lord of the Rings."
D**V
Learning much in this book about Tolkien's methodology & the progression of the composition of LOTR.
Ah. My title said it the best. Very much enjoying the book. I do not find Christopher's intricate details cumbersome at all in these HOME volumes. It is fun to discover so many interesting tidbits about my favorite author and the wonderful characters that sprung from his mind over the course of his lifetime. 5 Stars for certain.
S**Y
Details, details, details
I like reading these books but I don't think very many others will. And I'm starting to get burned out on them. Previously I got the paperback edition of the first 5 books of this series. In the very first book there is a new story and it's a pretty good one. Some of the old stories are introduced to a traveler in the olden days. It's actually very interesting. But then it gets tedious.What is happening here is that JRR Tolkiens son Christopher went through all his Dads old papers to put these books together to show how JRR went about the process of writing Lord of the Rings. This volume and the next deal with Fellowship of the Ring. The story line you read sticks to the Fellowship line but it's different. This book shows the steps of character development. Ideas coming and going. Editing and rewrites. In short, to some folks this would be intensely boring. But I liked this book and I'm about half way through the next one, The Treason of Isengard. It's the same thing, the Fellowship story. Parts of what you read go from ideas that appeared in the Silmarillion to the end of tale of the Rings. Christopher Tolkien must have loved his father very much because he's put together an analytical series of books that leaves no comment untold, no idea unrevealed.
W**2
Interesting read
Lots of great facts. It shows how the story progresses and improved over different renditions. I found it interesting how the characters and their names changed. Great book.
C**N
Fascinating read
As a Tolkien lover I have every book in this set though the first 5 books I own in paperback I have the rest in kindle. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this!
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