The Hobbit

By: J. R. R. Tolkien

Narrated by: Andy Serkis

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

This brand-new unabridged audiobook of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved The Hobbit will be coming to listeners everywhere this September, read by the BAFTA award-winning actor, director and author Andy Serkis.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of 13 dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on a journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon....

The prelude to The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most influential books of the 20th century.

©1937 J. R. R. Tolkien (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"The Hobbit belongs to a very small class of books which have nothing in common save that each admits us to a world of its own. Its place is with Alice and The Wind in the Willows." (Times Literary Supplement)

"One of the best loved characters in English fiction...a marvellous fantasy adventure." (Daily Mail)

"Finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls...an exciting epic of travel, magical adventure, working up to a devastating climax." (The Observer)

Great piece of art narrated by an incredible Andy

Absolutely beautiful version of my beloved Tolkien's book that could not be narrated by a better person than Andy Serkis. Especially Riddles in the dark chapter is a memorable in this version.

Fantastic!

If your cursor is hovering over this one don't hesitate to download and listen. I enjoyed it immensely and much more than when I first read the book myself. Can't recall an audio book with a better performance.

fantastic

Andy serkis is doing an amazing job here. I love it so much. it's my favorite book and It was a delightful listen

great story and narration by Andy Serkis

The performance is amazing, especially gollum and the song breaks. Would continue the series.

Recommend!

Simply delightful!

The most delightful and immersive experience of my life. Andy is a true storytelling master! I highly recommend to all my friends!

Utterly brilliant

Absorbing, captivating, a riot of characters so wonderfully narrated it is as if the journey is yours.

Excelent book and acting!

Awesome story! The way Serkis delivers it is very good. Voice interpretation lets you know which character is talking, and the rhythm is excelent!

The best

Love all the Amdy Serkis versions of the Tolkien books. Makes the story come alive

Thank you Andy Serkis

I appreciate him doing different voices for all the characters AND singing every song! Who else but Andy Serkis can sing as an elf, dwarf, hobbit, and goblin? Quality was consistent throughout and pacing was perfect. On to The Fellowship next!

Serkis does Tolkien's legacy justice

My first encounter with JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit came when I was around six years old, and my mum picked up a paperback copy from which she read parts of to me. I do admit I was probably a little too young to appreciate this, back then, but I did go on to reading the book on my own when I was about 11 or 12. Which is also when I plunged headlong into The Lord of the Rings and knew from that moment that I wanted to be a fantasy writer.

I'm always somewhat baffled when people complain that The Hobbit is boring, but hey, there's no accounting for people's taste. But what I will say to those of you who didn't quite gel with the reading, do give the audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis a try. It's my firm belief that some fiction only truly comes alive as the spoken word, and in this case, The Hobbit is a prime example.
Tolkien is a master of the third person omniscient, so often interrupts the main flow to give a little of his own opinion – and sometimes the references to things from his own time, like football, can be a bit jarring. This is especially the case considering that the conventions of present day fiction favour a limited first- or third-person point of view. So I'm guessing the 'narrator voice' of the author might be off-putting to some readers (though I do believe that they don't quite know how to articulate this, judging by the reviews out there – worth a laugh and an eye-roll if you're trawling to see the one-star reviews for The Hobbit.)

But Andy Serkis as a narrator of this book surpasses himself. His minute details in characterisation, for everyone from Bilbo and Gandalf, to Smaug, and of course the Gollum we all know and love, are an absolute delight. This is the unabridged version of the book, so we're looking at plus minus 10 hours of entertainment, and I'm beginning to wonder if Peter Jackson shouldn't have just stuck to the plot instead of his mangling of the film adaption of the book. Because yes, there is enough content for three movies here, if you look hard enough.

This is most certainly one of my audiobook highlights of the year, and I cannot recommend it enough. Serkis is an absolute treasure and he has without a doubt done justice to JRR Tolkien's legacy with his reading.