Guide to the Hobbit

If you haven't read it, I'm sure you've at least heard of it by now. JRR Tolkien wrote this novel before writing The Lord of the Rings and, although many may assume it's the same as LOTR it is actually quite different. The Hobbit follows a much more linear story-line than LOTR, staying with the main character, Bilbo, throughout the tale. Another huge difference is in the writing style: the narrator voice is very distinct and it makes you feel as if you are sitting down and being told this tale by a storyteller.

For those who were unable to get through LOTR I would suggest trying the Hobbit, you will find it quite different   (plus there's no Tom Bombadil chapter!)

I will review both the book and the trailer for the upcoming movie below:

World Building Rating: Awesome
Characterization: Great
Plot: Great

Middle Earth is so well-developed that there is no question about the world-building here. The reader dives into the world right away and feels perfectly at home in it. There's something new every chapter, a new creature or a new dynamic, but it never feels unrealistic. I don't even know why I'm writing this paragraph: the world-building in this novel is what inspired generations of fantasy fiction.

Bilbo's characterization in this novel is awesome, as is the characterization of Thorin, the leader of the Dwarves. The change that Bilbo goes through from beginning to end is so well written that it kind of sneaks up on the reader unawares. The only thing that I found lacking in terms of the characterization is that many of the dwarves were very one dimensional and, even though I just finished re-reading the book, I find it hard to remember which was which.

The plot was also great. Following Bilbo so closely meant that we weren't able to see the interesting things that Gandalf was up to when he went away, or to spend more time with certain characters from laketown before they became important in the story. I also noticed a weird tendency for Tolkien to reassure his reader that Bilbo was going to get through the current predicament alright, and so on. It wasn't exactly annoying, because I've read this several times already and I knew what was going to happen anyway, but I found it a little strange...

Overall, this is an excellent book, with enough adventure to keep you on the edge of your seat. I would highly recommend it to everyone who hasn't read it yet. To the reluctant: it's much easier to read than LOTR! Read it before the movie comes out!

Speaking of the movie:

Peter Jackson made epic movies out of LOTR. There are many fans that loved the movies despite never having read the books. In fact he did such a good job that I haven't felt the urge to read the books again in the past couple of years - I just re-watch the movies instead! There were problems with it cougharwencough but these were minor issues that the forward button can easily fix.

I was always confident that is Peter Jackson wanted to make this film he would do a great job and the pictures and video blogs and trailer that have been released recently have only boosted this confidence and made me highly excited for the movie to come out.

The trailer was excellent. It had just enough spookiness and action in the background to act as a wonderful teaser for the movie. It also showed fans that Peter Jackson is serious about portraying the novel faithfully and using all the elements in the original. One of the songs in the book (most of which were extremely silly and unnecessary in my opinion, was wonderfully performed by the dwarves in the trailer. We also get  epic shots of middle earth similar in scale and awesomeness to the ones that made a wonderful setting for LOTR.

I think it was very clever of Peter Jackson and the rest of the team to include the dwarves' introductions in the trailer. This way, by the time we all go to watch the movie we will have seen the trailer a million times (I will, anyway) and we will be familiar with the characters and able to tell them apart.

The Hobbit movie can't come too soon for me! :D If you haven't read the book yet you have a few months in which to catch up and also to let me know what you think of it and of the trailer!