Product Description

Stunning covers by John Howe and David Wyatt. A beautiful gift edition - new to the Collins Modern Classics series.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59384 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1600 pages

Guardian
‘A most remarkable feat.’

From the Publisher
A beautiful illustrated boxed set collecting the two most popular Tolkien hardbacks - the Centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings and the 60th Anniversary edition of The Hobbit, both illustrated by Alan Lee.

About the Author
J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Superbly presented and beautifully illustrated
I bought this book set for my grandsons as an introduction to Tolkien. The typeface is clear, the paper good quality and the illustrations are mystical. My grandsons love it.

Similar to Beowulf.
J. R. R. Tolkien did his homework before writing these books. One of the Poems he studied was [Beowulf]. He even wrote a book on the subject [Beowulf: the monsters and the critics]

These stories can be read on many levels. They are no more children's stories than Alice in Wonderland is. However children can read these stories and enjoy them. They contain a lot of symbolism and if it is not evident then you may want to obtain [J.R.R. Tolkien's the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings (Barrons Book Notes)]

There is a definite style change between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I found that due to the more simplistic form of the Hobbit and the fact that the stories are not as fleshed out, that it worked out better for me to read The Lord of the Rings first. Then when the mysterious creatures came to tea in The Hobbit, I could better understand who they were and why they were there.

The only real drawback to this set is that there isn't more. Where do you go from here?

Great story, not so great publication
Obviously, I don't need to blather on about how amazing the LOTR is or how much of a genius Tolkien is... there are many reviews that have already done that. Instead, I would like to comment on the actual edition of this book set - something I think will be a little more helpful to those of you deciding which set of LOTR books to buy.

Advantages of this edition are:

1. This 4-book paperback set includes "The Hobbit", which is a must-read before starting the LOTR trilogy.
2. I would describe the paper as "normal" paperback quality.
3. The presentation box is nice and sturdy.
4. The cover artwork (though not from the film) is really nice.

However, there is ONE major disadvantage of this edition:

1. THE TYPSET. The typset of "The Hobbit" is great - nicely spaced and easy to read, but don't let that fool you... The publisher has made the decision to make each of the 4 books in this set the same size (I assume for aesthetic purposes). Therefore, as each book of the trilogy is much longer than "The Hobbit", the typset for each of these 3 books is very small and very close together. Make sure you have a good pair of spectacles and/or a very well lit room and you'll be fine!

All in all a good price for a box set of 4 books. However, if you're looking for paperbacks that will get worn after re-reading many times, I would suggest purchasing the books individually in a more "eye-friendly" edition!