After having read some of the other Goodreads reviews for this book, I am terrified of this fan base and hesitant to even write a review for fear everyone will come for my throat, but alas, I’m going to be brave.

Tolkein seems to take the title of “Father of Fantasy”. I certainly can understand how this book revolutionized or even was the genesis of the fantasy genre, and high fantasy in particular. The characters were detailed, the worldbuilding is (obviously) unmatched, to the point where I think Tolkein may have needed psychiatric evaluation. It is evident he saw this world so clearly in his mind that it would be impossible for it not to be written down and I think I could have read them just wandering through Middle-earth forever. I loved the characters in the Fellowship (largely because those are the only ones of which I could reliably keep track), they were each unique in their origin and in their respective utility to the group’s larger mission.

This was my first time reading a quest-based fantasy, as opposed to the typical, perhaps more modern, style of fantasy where there is clear exposition, rising action, climax, resolution. This proved to be a bit of a problem for me personally (shut up fans, I don’t want to hear it) as I found the lack of defined plot points resulted in a lack of momentum. I loved the first 50-60% of the novel and was happy to be on the journey alongside Frodo, however when we hit the council with Elrond, I was just eager to move on, and really feel that section of the book killed any momentum the story had. It felt like Tolkein had put on the emergency break and I was jolted from “movie in my head” to “words on a page” territory. I wanted more of a defined resolution, they didn't even complete their task and while I know it is a trilogy I still feel there could have been more of a "wrapping up" than we received.

As I mentioned before, it is evident that Tolkein had an unbelievable imagination and clear vision for the world he built, but as a reader I found the ways in which he portrayed this world to occasionally veer more into info-dump territory, and I think there were better ways to portray world building to the reader. He is declared father of fantasy for a reason, but I believe still that he could have benefited from a bit of editing that would have made the world more clear without sacrificing the depth of story. There were several times in my reading where I thought to myself “this feels like it’s more for him than for me”.

Lastly, there is so much sexual tension between Frodo and Sam and I really think the story would benefit from them “living happily ever after together to the end of their days”.

Fellowship of the Ring is a wildly impressive first book and even more so when you remember it is a first of it’s kind. I am extremely grateful to my Fiance for being knowledgeable enough about this series that I could ask him all of my clarifying questions. For that reason, I am excited to see what awaits in Two Towers, I am hoping it is Tolkein just a tad more refined!