The Hobbit

Bilbo Baggins is a reasonably typical hobbit: fond of sleeping, eating, drinking, parties and presents. However, it is his destiny to travel to the dwarflands in the east, to help slay the dragon Smaug. His quest takes him through enchanted forests, spiders’ lairs, and under the Misty Mountains, where he comes across the vile Gollum, and tricks him out of his ‘Precious’ – a ring that makes its bearer invisible, and wields a terrible power of its own.

1. Story  – Getting Into It (6) This is more of a children’s book and seems a little slow at times, especially since I already had a good feel for Tolkien’s world thanks to The Lord of the Rings.  
2. Story – Staying Interested (7) It is a really short novel and there is plenty of excitement to keep you interested.
3. Story – Finish (8) The book finished well and sets up The Lord of the Rings well. It just felt a little rushed at the end for me.
4. Characters (7) Bilbo is a good lead character to get behind. I like the lesser characters but they lack depth with how many dwarves there are that all seem too similar.
5. Writing (6) Tolkien creates a wonderful world that I love to get lost in. I have read several of his works and sometimes they feel like reading ecyclopedias but I love the world he created and all the history that goes with it.  

Overall a 34/50 or 3.5 rating from me. I decided to get this review out since a movie is coming out so soon. This is a great story for those who enjoyed The Lord of the Rings.  I loved what Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings and it makes me really excited to see the Hobbit on Dec 14. I usually complain when too much gets cut out of movie adaptations so I won’t complain about it getting split  into three movies. As long as they use it to add some depth to characters and plot because I can see three segments to this book.