Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: The Hobbit

Top positive review

Is this the fifth or sixth time?

Reviewed in Australia on 16 February 2022

I really have lost count - I regard this book as a beautifully formed masterpiece. For some the LoR is a little overblown and intimidating while this book is the perfect in its form. That's why I find the 3 film version quite off putting (as opposed to the 3 film version of LoR) you can take this in in one sitting - if you so desire.

I still remember the Sunday afternoon when I first sat down to read it and how quickly I was swept away!
Something that has happened on each subsequent reading.

Please read this if you haven't yet done so or why not reward yourself with a re-reading?

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Brian

Classic Book

Reviewed in Australia on 10 October 2020

Tolkien's world of hobbits and fantasy won't suit everyone. Tolkien isn't necessarily the best, but his depictions, imagery and lore are certainly one of the most broad and consistent. The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings are great, but now outdated concept. His books drag hopelessly, requiring patience. A classic, but not a book that will grab the evolved imagination of today's youths. Grammatically, Tolkien is fine, with structured and flawless sentencing, expression and paragraphing. I recommend a look if detached fantasy enthralls.

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From Australia

Brian

Classic Book

Reviewed in Australia on 10 October 2020

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3 people found this helpful

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Andrew Nestorovic

Good read but not thrilling

Reviewed in Australia on 4 June 2019

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A little slow at times, not easy free flowing read. Writing improved in LOTR

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Kyle

Great writer!

Reviewed in Australia on 29 January 2020

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Print quality ok. Delivered on time. Slightly damaged on tips of cover.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Boring

Reviewed in Australia on 27 May 2022

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Horrible Book, Super BORING

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Charlene ☼

kind of underwhelming classic

Reviewed in Australia on 15 August 2021

I read this book for uni course on fantasy books. It's interesting to look back at 'classic' fantasy books, quests and the idea of journeys and heroism.

Theres the glaring fact that this book has no people of colour and has been theorised the villains are colour-coded to represent people of colour. There is also the issue of women or the lack thereof of any women. Only Biblo's mum has any characterisation and she's dead and gets a few mentions of her side of the family.

That being said this was a book written in the 1930's after the War, during a time of colonisation and where woman were just entering the workforce, with little rights and little say. Tolkien is an intersting historical figure but that doesn't mean I should take this book outside its context.

As a book, it's an fine story with the message that through hardship and the path of suffering, any 'average joe' can be self-sacraficing, become the hero and realise the true meaning of life is the friends we make along the way. And something about don't be materialistic because you'll end up like Gollum or Thorin.

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Lisa

It did finally get around to reading it after seeing the first Hobbit movie and can I just say that it was amazing. The novel wa

Reviewed in Australia on 13 June 2015

My first Tolkien novel was The Lord of the Rings but I just couldn’t finish the really long first sentence with so many descriptive words that made my head spin a little. So when a friend of mine suggested that I read this I was sceptical. It did finally get around to reading it after seeing the first Hobbit movie and can I just say that it was amazing.

The novel was bursting with action and Tolkien created a fantasyland that had me drooling to be part of. There were dragons, elves, hobbits and more. Bilbo’s character was fabulous, he goes on an adventure with a bunch of dwarves as the role of a burglar. There were some high moments and low of course but during this adventure Bilbo somehow keeps saving everyone from danger and eventually leads the group to the treasure they seek.

This is a great book full of humour, adventure, action and a classic of its kind.

Lisa from www.mademoisellesnow.com

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Bromley customer

BORING

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2020

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I dont know if this is just me or does this book make no sense at all. Why would anyone risk their lives to kill a bloody dragon and get gold if the dragon basically has nothing to do with you!! I mean who does that. And also the whole book is basically telling the reader ' that bilbo misses his home' and ' they are hunry' ' they are tired'. There is a huge lack of description. Especially from the dragon, i would really have loved to hear about its ' razor sharp teeth' or ' its incredible amount of pure muscle'. Also i would have liked to hear about what they actually saw, heard, smelled or touched in the woods. I mean he could have described the height of the trees or the noises at night. You might like it but this is not a very good one for me

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Robert Groom

Great story, unfortunately this production has aged badly

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2012

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Originally recorded in 1968, this is a full cast Radio 4 production of the absolute classic The Hobbit. One of my favourite ever books, I have read it several times over the years.

I had never heard this audio rendering of the book, and looked forward very much to hearing it.

The production was actually recovered from an amateur tape recording of the original. The master copy having been wiped by the BBC some time following its original broadcast on radio. This explains the slightly sub-par quality of the audio - although it has to be said, it is still quite listenable.

Acting and casting is extremely good for the most part, with Paul Daneman as Bilbo and John Justin as Thorin Oakenshield being especially entertaining.

Unfortunately I personally feel that Heron Carvic as Gandalf does let the side down somewhat. His voice is rather meek, and not the dominant, masterful tones one might expect from such a commanding character in the story. He also seems to struggle with his lines at times, and just doesn't quite match up to the other cast members' performances. This is a real shame.

The narrative music is written and performed in a medieval style, which is refreshing and feels very authentic, but it is used too repetitively to book-end each section of the story, and it does begin to grate after a while. Not a major criticism, but something which could have been done somewhat better.

Most of the human, elf and dwarf voices are portrayed naturally as one might expect. However, the non-human voices (eagles, trolls, goblins and spiders) are heavily modified with some kind of frequency modulation of the type obviously employed by the Dr Who production team. As a result, all of these characters tend to come across as 'variations on a Dalek' which detracts greatly from their performances, and makes them difficult to understand. It is also rather harsh, and begins to grate on the ear after a while.

In summary then, a well produced script and excellent acting from most of the cast, let down by some very dated sound effects and mis-cast Gandalf.

No doubt in its day it was a cutting edge production. Unfortunately, time has not been kind to it, and I fear many modern day fans of the book will be somewhat disappointed.

Certainly worth a listen, but I'm not sure whether you'll want to re-visit it often.

One person found this helpful

Jules

An epic tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 April 2021

Verified Purchase

Re-reading this after more than 40 years, it seemed a little more rambling than I remembered, but the story itself held firm and it is a cracking tale (for those that like this kind of fiction).

Many memories were brought back as I read and I am proceeding on to re-read the Lord of the Rings just to completely remind myself of this epic tale.

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Jfizzable

Bilbo Baggins; a small man who creats a massive impression!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2013

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A classic children's novel written by JRR Tolkien; a man known world wide for legendary tales such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy! The story follows Bilbo Baggins as he ventures with a group of dwarves to their past home thanks to the wizard Gandalf! However, that previous home is the host of a dragon hoarding gold and the path to this destination is very far from safe and sound! As they encounter many creatures both friend and foe, will Bilbo and the dwarves make it to their destination and will they survive the dragon? All shall be known as you venture through this book!

I have to admit, I did feel that The Hobbit was definitely written for children as it lacked the horror most would expect in a journey such as Bilbos; the horrors they encountered were very child safe compared to past novels I've read! However, I still very much enjoyed the adventure it took me on and I much loved the spirit of Bilbo Baggins; I very much would love to be as encouraging and warm as he is!! To sum Bilbo up; "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world". Bilbo however overshadowed many characters with only Gandalf, Thorin and Gollum making what I would consider a impressionable appears and that's why I can only give this novel 3 stars; I enjoyed it but the adventure was a little too safe and Bilbo (for me) was so dominating that I could hardly remember half the dwarves' names!

I have however have to warn you lot that are checking out the book due to the film release, the book and the film are two separate identities so please don't complain if there are differences!! The film is only an adaption and its truly unfair to judge a book by its film adaption! However, I do think that its worth the read, its a good adventure, especially for the kids out there; its the perfect bedtime story for those little adventurers seekers!!

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