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A great edition

Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy and epic adventure has touched the hearts of young and old alike. Over 100 million copies of its many editions have been sold around the world, and occasional collectors’ editions become prized and valuable items of publishing.

This one-volume deluxe edition contains the complete text, fully corrected and reset, which is printed in red and black and features, for the very first time, thirty colour illustrations, maps and sketches drawn by Tolkien himself as he composed this epic work. These include the pages from the Book of Mazarbul, marvellous facsimiles created by Tolkien to accompany the famous ‘Bridge of Khazad-dum’ chapter.

Review: I must have been between 12-14 years old when I read this for the very first time, and the same goes for many other people I know, and since then it has been passed down to our own children at about this age to read. Of course, since then I and many others have read it a few more times, but I do have to agree with the late Terry Pratchett, in that if a teenager thinks this is the best book ever written then there is no problem with that, but if someone about thirty says the same thing, then there are problems, not least being that that person is very ill read. The sequel to The Hobbit, the children’s book by the same author, this is a continuation of the saga, and tells us what happens with the ring that Bilbo Baggins found in his previous adventure. There have been a number of decades in between the two stories, and as this starts, we soon have a couple more before Frodo Baggins sets out with some friends to rid Middle-earth of the ring.

The Hobbit initially met with huge critical acclaim, but when this first appeared the reaction was somewhat different and very mixed, but since then this has become much better known, read and enjoyed. Along with the whole tale we also have many appendices, maps and other information, such as languages to keep those really interested more informed. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an academic and philologist and this becomes apparent as you read this, what with his creation of a whole world, and the different languages used, but also the way this is written. Taking in Northern European myths and legends, along with those from the Greek world, so he was able to create such a wonderful place as Middle-earth, and also of course Christianity plays an influence: the author was Christian after all.

As the story progresses so we find ourselves in the Third Age of the author’s world, and it ends with this book. With a quest for Frodo Baggins and others, so we have battles and many other elements, such as power, greed and obsession all coming into play. We find ourselves meeting the likes of dwarves and elves, orcs and so on, along with many other fantastical creatures and beings. With a fight between good and evil so our gang of hobbits, along with a couple of men, a dwarf and an elf have a lot to contend with, and even the wizard Gandalf goes through a transformation. This is still a great read for young or old, and if you have not read it before you have missed a treat; and it is still a good book to hand down to younger members of the family between the ages I mentioned above, not only because it may mean that they take a bit more interest in their own language, culture and myths and legends, but also perhaps tolerance, as well as getting them used to reading large books and complex storylines.