The Lord of the Rings

The Fellowship of the Ring: The Ring Sets Out

By: J. R.R. Tolkien

Narrated by: Rob Inglis

Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Continuing the story begun in The Hobbit, this is the first part of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.

Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power – the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring – the ring that rules them all – which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

©2025 Paul Delaney (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary book. It deals with a stupendous theme. It leads us through a succession of strange and astonishing episodes, some of them magnificent." ( The Observer)
"Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." ( Sunday Telegraph)

Stay for the long run!

Being a first time listener who is only familiar with the films, I had my doubts hearing the many songs and poems sung by the Hobbits and their company in the early hours of the book. I was more than pleasantly surprised with how captivating the story got after we meet Aragorn. The story rolls on and the many hours went by way too quick. I finished listening to this audiobook within a week, and plan on jumping directly into the Two Towers.

The books truly give so much more of Middle Earth and it truly establishes a world that I now know as if I lived there for many years myself.
World building by Tolkien is unmatched in any way. The wonderful Rob Inglis did a fantastic job translating it’s magic into this audiobook.

Start listening and stay for the long run. It’s worth it.

Great story, great reader

I read LOTR ages ago and have gotten lazy to read it again. Rob is an excellent reader and his singing of the songs is superb. Tolkien was a fantastic writer. Definitely worth to listen again.

Truly amazing.

Amazing book, even better narrator.
I would give Rob Inglis 7 stars if I could.

Just BRILLIANT

I just can't get enough of this magnificently written masterpiece. Lord of the Rings is a wonderful exciting escape for me and now thanks to audible I can take it with me everywhere. I can listen to it in the car, lying in bed or sitting on a park bench. Absolutely BRILLIANT audible - give me more !!!

The Preeminent Adventure Story of Our Time

The first part of the most influential fantasy series ever written; it is an adventure one can return to again and again whatever age. Rob Inglis does a decent job but lacks the proper drama The Lord of the Rings should be read in; a bit of a disappointment compared to Andy Serkis's brilliant performance of The Hobbit.

Very exciting to listen to

I really enjoyed listening to this audio. The narrator is talented and interprets the book very well. Tolkien of course is an artist and I can't wait to spend my next credit on the second part.

Great!

This was one of my first readings of all times, I never get tired of it.

The greatest book I have read

I have watch all of the movies but almost 20 years later decided to read the book and it is so brilliant. the best use of the English language (and other made up languages) I have ever encountered, and genius character development. I cant really write about it well enough to do it justice. do it.

Classic

What did you love best about The Lord of the Rings?

The story

What other book might you compare The Lord of the Rings to and why?

The Hobbit

What about Rob Inglis’s performance did you like?

His voice

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

There are movies of these books and it is wonderful to read it and compare it to the movies

A joy to hear

The reader has done a marvelous job. I had struggled through the book many years ago and had eventually, after persevering for several years (!) reached the end, but this book tripped through my headphones like sweet music.
In fact that is one of the aspects of the book that I most enjoyed. The reader does a marvelous job of singing the many songs that are recounted in the book and, instead of simply seeming a way to pad out the story, they become an intrinsic part of the narration. For this aspect of the audiobook alone I would highly recommend this title!