The Hobbit Bookreview Alex Ghilus

Dear John,

Your book is a wonderful classic hero quest story. It has become the inspiration and template for the modern fantasy genre. And it is an adventure that is filled with wonder, magic, action and vividly memorable characters. These are impressive accomplishments for any story. But considering the fact that your book was originally intended to be a simple children’s tale, the success of the book is all the more pronounced. Readers who are interested in the entire Lord of the Rings saga would do well to begin their journey with The Hobbit. Although the Lord of the Rings books loosely follows the overall structure of The Hobbit, there is a distinct difference in tone, mood and accessibility. This book is a simpler tale than The Lord of the Rings. It isn’t nearly as epic. But it is a more efficient, more humorous, more pleasing story. I love how the quest itself is fairly straightforward. Bilbo will accompany thirteen Dwarves from his home in The Shire, through Rivendell, across the Misty Mountains, and through Mirkwood to the Lonely Mountain. There, Bilbo’s job, as burglar, will be to gain entrance to the mountain so that they may defeat the might dragon Smaug and reclaim the Dwarven treasure which Smaug stole many years before. The quest may sound unremarkable in today’s age, but that is simply because it has been replicated so many times since The Hobbit was first published. But even if I think I’ve heard this story before, your version is worth reading. My favorite part of the book was not the confrontation with Smaug but the confrontation with Gollum. Immediately after acquiring the ring, Bilbo’s innocence is lost. He bends the rules in a game of riddles against Gollum. And, later, he flat out lies to Gandalf. These are minor occurrences, but they would be harbingers of a great danger had Bilbo not “defeated” his shadow. The defeat itself doesn’t come during the riddle game, but rather a few moments later when Bilbo, made invisible by the ring, has an opportunity to murder Gollum. He doesn’t, however, and so he defeats the darkness within and his quest continued. Your book is the essence of adventure stories, hero quests and fantasy. You prove yourself to be...