Finally have time to review this book and I have no idea where to start, aha.
*This may or may not contain spoilers, but does discuss the ending of said book, which is marked beforehand*
The narrator follows Bilbo on his adventure, to claim a part of the dwarves treasure in the Lonely Mountain claimed by Smaug the dragon. Each chapter in the book acts a mini adventure, with different creatures or travelling between places taking part. The pace of the book is forever moving, which made it hard for me to put down. There are a lot of characters in the book, both major and minor, but none of them are out of place within the main story or side stories. But anyway.
The characters themselves are (there are more):
Bilbo Baggins: Hobbit, loves his home, handkerchief, bed and breakfast. His Took side is brought out in him with the arrival of Gandalf the Grey, who tricks him into becoming the thief for the company of dwarves.
Gandalf the Grey: Wizard, knows lots of things that no one else does. Knows Elrond, disappears half way through the book and returns near the end.
Thorin Oakenshiekd: King of under the Mountain, main dwarf, doesn't like Bilbo but then does. Wants his treasure, doesn't like Smaug, bad ass fighter.
Other dwarves: Kili, Fili, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dwalin, Balin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin (Sadly I only remembered 4 names off by heart.) These dwarves like treasure, dislike elves and want their treasure back.
Beorn: Shapeshifter? Lives on the edge of Mirkwood, I believe, like animals, not to be messed with. Likes a good story.
Elrond: Elf, Sage, whatever that means. Seems to have been alive forever, where are his books? I like Elrond.
Smaug: Dragon, likes gold, lives in The Lonely Mountain, has banter and a short temper.
I surprisingly really enjoyed The Hobbit, not that I thought it would be a bad book, I was just surprised how involved I got into the story. I was really upset when I got to the ending, as I just wanted to read more. I think what makes it a good book, is that Tolkien describes just enough information to be detailed but not too much for it to be boring and long winded.
The genre of the book is fantasy, so if you're not into dragons, magic and general miscellaneous creatures, you will not like this book. But these things are what make the book so convincing. Tolkien has created a whole world and filled it with immense detail to make it believable. Languages and songs fill the pages and this edition, HarperCollins, also has drawings and maps that Tolkien drew. It is worth noting that The Hobbit is a children's book, as Tolkien originally wrote and told it to his children. However I feel that anyone can enjoy it as it has not been dumbed down in anyway.
PROS:
Easy to read.
Entertaining.
In depth without being boring.
CONS:
*Where the ending of the book is mentioned*
Too short
Not enough character development with all characters.
The ending. To me, it kind of just happened really abruptly, some random archer kills Smaug? It felt really unfair to all the dwarves. And then Bilbo goes home and occasionally visits the elves? It was all too sad for me.
RATING: 3.5/5
Worth reading. (:
N.B.
I apologise if this review is sorely lacking, I have not written a book review since I was like 10, and trust me, they were a lot better. I didn't want to look for any help and tips when I was writing my first book review as I felt this might have been cheating. And I also didn't want to just say what happens. Next time, I will put more effort in.
LB
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