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)

lol.....what if....

i liked the books, liked the movies......but why didnt they used an eagle to deliver the ring to the volcano?

great world building, rubbish dialogue

A lot has changed since Tolkien wrote his masterpieces of world-building. I say it this way because - notwithstanding his liberal borrowing from assorted mythologies and the history and language of the Welsh people - he synthesized it into a very coherent whole in a way that merits all the praise he draws. However, given a general absence of the things we would recognize as in-home entertainment and the no doubt pricey outlay for his books, we can assume that the original readers desired as many evening hours as possible from their investment. In today's terms the dialogue is woefully slow and affected, and the ponderous pacing more suited to a decorous old gentleman's club. I have a new respect for the work of Jackson in making his trilogy, in such scenes as the encounter with the black riders which, in the book, carries none of the drama familiar to those of us who watched the film. Unless you are possessed of the patience of an auditor, I'd recommend giving the original a miss. Now for this heresy, I await the arrival of elvish assassins

Americans: Don't Buy!

Any additional comments?

You can't download the rest of the books if you live in the U.S., beware. All Americans who have downloaded this are stuck with only half a book.

Story telling drudging trough unnecessary detail

Tolkien is one of the greatest world builders there has ever been, but I wouldn't say that he is one of the greatest story tellers. His presentation of Middle Earth and its locations has an academic feel to it with a lot of time being spent on recounting its history and not enough driving an exciting story forward. That being said it's still a must listen for any fantasy fan, it is, after all, The Lord of the Rings.

Movies are better

I went in with high expectations which I should not have done. The books feel somewhat empty.

too slow

by recomendation I tried this book again. this time in audio format. same situation. Very slow and I cant keep up with that

Familiar story, boring performance

Apparently an early verison of the book so the language is quite outdated and sometimes a bit dull to listen to. The performance isnt bad as much as it is just plain boring. For example We k ow frodo is 50 y/o when setting out but all the characters get "old man voices". Granted its an old man Reading but it Just makes the whole story very monotone to listen to. Also as mentioned in other reviews, I could do without the singing.

The lotr world is facinating and you get bits and bobs here and there that you dont get in the movies. That being said its an old book and doesnt quite keep up to par when it comes to capturing the reader such as many more moderen writers do. Its still a good classic and one series you simply must have read or listened to.

Can't get it here!

Evidently can't get it in Colorado, therefore hard to rate!

whole book not available for download

While the first half of the fellowship of the ring (Book 1) is great, the second half (Book 2) evidently isn't available on the site for download. If it is, I haven't found it. This makes buying the first half of the book fairly worthless - I shouldn't have assumed "Part 2" as identified on the download meant the same Part 2 that is in the actual book.