The Best Story Known To Man. (1 Viewer)

[Silver]

I was scanning through some of the book recamondations, and i found that no one had talked about my al time favorite, and best trilogy ever written was not mentioned at all. The Lord of the Rings, and the prelude The Hobbit, are, in my opinion, the best story known to man at this point. is there anyone else who has read them all, and agrees or am i the only fanatice in the forum.

 

[sully474]

They are good, but not really that great. They were something interesting, and diffferent, but not the best that I've ever read.

 

[jules]

i have read them all multiple times, and could likely be considered a fanatic however, Pride and Prejudice ranks number one on my all-time faves list (because i'm a complete sap). the Hobbit and LOTR trilogy are pretty much next, though!

 

[Lupin3]

Jules, Jane Austen has been coming up so frequently lately that I'm beginning to sense someone is trying to tell me something. I think she may well be next on my list...

As to LOTR, I think its quite good as far as "stories for boys" (as they used to be called when Tolkien was a boy - not that they are strictly for or about boys) go.

However, I think Hamlet, King Lear, Don Quixote, or even the Bible might have something more to offer. Just me though.

 

[jules]

*grins* oh, DO read Jane Austen, if you get the chance, i love all her stories, though P&P is my fave... and Northanger Abbey is my least fave...
i'd love to hear what you think of her writing!
xoxoxoxo

 

[huni]

A sap! I think not!

Jules don't ever say you are a sap for liking Jane Austin! Well you can if you like, of course, but I will never believe you are. Jane Austin is one very smart lady. Her writing is witty and observant. Of human nature that is. She has a touch of cynicism that delights me and I am pleased to see others are still enjoying her. This is when I am actually grateful to the movie industry, since it does have some influence on people getting back to the good books. Notice I didn't say great. That's another list. Tell why you like her so much. regards huni.

 

[daniela]

They are not my favourites, but I do adore Tolkien's books. I remember reading the Hobbit and LOTR for the first time in Middle School. Those books blew me away. Shakespeare was my favourite author at the time, until Tolkien got me interested in the Fantasy genre (do not worry--I still like good old Will--I am just not as fanatic about him as I used to be). Here is a thread from the Books and Authors forum that you might find interesting, Silver.

--DM--

 

[desired_destiny]

nope, I haven't read the lord of the rings. I guess it's because I couldn't get into the Hobbit. The endless description bored me.

 

[MisterRaziel]

It was the constant singing what did me in. Then I realized I could skim the songs without missing anything.

The trilogy is good fantasy, but hardly the best books ever written. I wouldn't even say they're the best fantasy ever written - they're certainly not my favourite (that honour goes to David Eddings' Malloreon).

In fact, I don't think anyone could determine the best books ever written, simply because it's so dependent on personal preference. Me, I hate Anne Rice with a passion, but some people gobble that stuff up. Go figure.

Plus, LOTR pretty much goes without saying, these days. Almost everyone in the english speaking world has read them or seen the movies.

 

[sully474]

Is it just me, or when you are reading the second book, slightly less than halfway through, does it not get really boring.

 

[Nbiz]

I enjoyed the Hobbit more than LOTR. The story seemed to move at a quicker pace. The only problem was that the Hobbit was more of a children's story.

LOTR was a great story, but difficult to get through. Tolkien spent so much effort trying to describe the scenes that I found myself not caring. I really enjoyed the plot and characters, though.

Nelson.

 

[Creative_Insanity]

I've read them. I really appreciated them for Tolkien's genius, but overall I couldn't say they were my favorite, because they don't meet ALL my needs in a book.

While from a writer's perspective, I am awed by LOTR, from a reader's perspective, sometimes it get's boring.

Naturally, that is only because the way it's written is a bit inacessible to many of us in this day and age, and I understand that, but still, it's slow, and that's all that matters.

Really, I used to be a huge fan, but it got old after a while.

 

[Gladiator_008]

Lord of the Rings is possibly ONE of the greatest ever told, but it's the most special story of all time to me. It's the one that got me writing, and that means a lot. Tolkien had, and still does in many people's minds, a great vision of a story that he wanted to write from beginning to end with the history of all that happened before and after The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings written afterwards, which he sadly never finished but his son published anyway.

He never knew what he was getting himself into, much like the characters in his books, and that is very interesting. But anyways, J. R. R. Tolkien is one of the greatest writers of all time and has created a story that will live in people's memories for a long time to come, which is something to say.

 

[Eiji Tunsinagi]

I've read the begining of the series many times---and found myself stopping, putting it up, coming back, and starting from the begining. I just couldnt get into it. I love the whole epic fantasy thing, but sometimes he just too his time with the book----and a lot of mine, which I only sort-of appreciate.

 

[Silver]

I respect all of your responses, and i just like to say that when i say it's the greatest story known to man, that’s obviously only my opinion. i Too took a while to read them because i would have to get into them. But as a writer’s point of view, Tolkien was one of the greatest. Not too many people know the history behind his writings. But if you did look into them, you would see the story, behind the story. LOTR is the book that inspired me to write Lost in Her Own Insanity, which is still in progress. The actual story he is telling is the story of his life and him living through the great world wars, and how his life was changed by this great evil. I would highly recommend writers to look into Tolkien and the hidden story behind his trilogy. Even if you didn’t really enjoy the book, as a writer, you should see how his mind worked. He was really a genius. I personally am more actuated with Tolkien as a writer, and a person in general than his work. And as for the comment on the writing being out of date for this day of age. I agree completely. I know a lot of people who couldn't understand some of the terminology, but as for me, i love it. I am a student of old English, and enjoy it immensely. Old English is so much more beautiful, and more of an art than our language today. Like the Anglo-Saxons language, which the elves in LOTR are based on. They are the last civilization and culture that still uses a type of old English. And they're dieing out. And to me it's sad, because once they are gone, their no one left. And old English will die as a used language. Like the old Latin, that no one really knows. And when it dies, a type of art dies. It’s like losing painters and paintings. Instead of paining we just click a mouse and create it on a computer. And that’s why i love the Lord of the Rings, and books like Shakespeare. And it's sad that not a lot of people can read them now a days because they don't understand the language. So by losing the language we're losing the books and stories with it. That’s why LOTR and Tolkien will always have a place in my heart and mind.

 

[Ralizah]

*Shrugs*
I appreciate how influential LOTR has been, but I didn't really enjoy them.

 

[Talia_Brie]

I felt LOTR got boring, and often. I too agree that it is a flagship moment in the evolution of modern fantasy, but I think what Tolkein really needed was a good editor.

Then, of course, he got one, in the form of Peter Jackson.

 

[Emma LB]

I read LOTR when I was 13 I think and the Hobbit was one of the first books I ever read. The good thing about reading this trilogy early is that I hadn't read my fantasy books before, may even have been the first fantasy book I read. That's probably how you are suppose to read the book too, as like one of the first fantasy books. I suppose if you've read other fantasy first you may think: LOTRs is so normal, but that's just cause everyone copied him and made elves and dwarfs and such normal, they weren't before.
I really enjoyed re-reading the books too and I think that he is a great writer. Maybe he does some things which modern fantasy writers wouldn't have done, but for me it still works very well, but most importantly of all for me is his writing style. He can write, and after reading LOTR it is often torture for me to read any other author, because although you don't appreciate how he handles the English language while your reading it, you'll miss it when you read another book afterwards. Most authors are clumsy writers and none can wield the English language like Tolkien can, but that's probably down to the fact that that was his job really, to know the language inside out and where each word came from and so on.