Lord of the Rings

[siren_noda]

Is still terribly boring to me. Almost painful, in fact. Do I really need to know what happened to the five shire ponies? That they went off to find Fatty Lumpkin, then were directed back to the Prancing Pony? People may call Brooks Tolkien light, but I'd call it streamlined. Much as I may criticize aspects of the Sword, once you get out of the

Comments

[carik]

I've got to agree, LotR was not a very readable series. I like the story, I admire the craft of the writing, and I respect the fact that Tolkien more or less invented the fantasy genre, but really... it's just a dull read. I suspect he could have pared it down to a single book, or at most two books, and not detracted from the story at all.

[siren_noda]

I'm willing to forgive bad writing for a good story. However, I will not forgive overkill, and this is overkill.

[_orchid_]

I'm thinking two books would be about right, though I hear that The Hobbit is more readable. I tried--three times, maybe?--and have never succeeded in making it past a chapter or two, so I am probably not the best judge of that.

[siren_noda]

I'm listening to The Hobbit on audio right now and it too is painful. All I can say is that I must have somehow known, deep in my bones, not to read them for fun.