I think it’s about time we tackled The Lord of the Rings trilogy's predecessor: The
Hobbit. Let’s have a look at it, shall we? Spoilers ahead.
The Hobbit follows the titular character, Bilbo Baggins, as he is swept
away from his comfortable life in the Shire onto an adventure with thirteen
dwarves and a wizard to reclaim the former’s home from a dragon. It shows Bilbo
slowly growing as a character, and he obtains something very special along the
way…
The Hobbit is a great book. I’ve read it once before in Dutch and, while I
couldn’t get into Lord of the Rings in that language, The Hobbit was a totally
different case. I liked it a lot then and still do now. It just has this charm
about it and is easier to get through than the amazing but admittedly longer
and more complicated Lord of the Rings trilogy.
This book introduces us to Bilbo very well, and it’s great seeing him
develop. There’s also the dwarves. Though not all of them have a very clear
personality, the most important ones like Thorin have a real presence and
character to them. Gandalf the wizard was also great, of course.
The story was also something I could really get into. While we don’t have
such a great trek across Middle Earth as in the trilogy, we still get a clear
impression of this fantastical land and the creatures, locations and cultures
in it. I say Tolkien did a great job on introducing us into this world in The
Hobbit.
Of course there’s also the pacing, which is good. Some things do go by a
little quickly, such as the great battle for Erebor at the end, but it isn’t a
huge loss. I much prefer this over the 45-minute long fight showcased in the
movie adaptation.
While The Hobbit may not be as grand and epic as The Lord of the Rings
trilogy, it no doubt did a great job on introducing us to Middle Earth and some
of its characters, locations and creatures. Even if you have a hard time
getting through the trilogy, I’d say this one is worth picking up as a
standalone, just to get an easier-to-digest taste of Middle Earth, because
Tolkiens deserve to be read and enjoyed.
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