The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Volume 1: The Ring Sets Out

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!

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 !!!

Rob Inglis is the perfect narrator for this story. I just wish the book wasn't sold in six separate parts - very (and unnecessarily) pricey. But I bought and enjoyed all six anyway - the story is too well written, and Rob Inglis does too good a job reading it, to stop after the first one.

For some reason "The Lord of the Rings" was split into 6 separate downloads, even though it's by all standards a single book. Different parts of it are not meant to be read by themselves.

It appears you can get this title when you first sign up for audible, but if you think you're going to spend the rest of your tokens to get the whole series, think again Americans. Once you log in to your account you get a red error saying, "Due to publishing agreements, this title is not available in the country where you live." I hope I can cancel without penalty.

I've read the Fellowship of the Ring twice. With Rob Inglis' voice added to this classic, it becomes ten times better. It is sad to see the Fellowship being broken up into two downloadable parts, for which you have to pay separately. It must be mentioned however that Audible's price for it is still much cheaper than buying the audio CD's.

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.

Rob Inglis does a very good job of narrating. Personally I could do without the singing and I would rather he simply read the songs but no complaints overall. You can hear every word very clearly and he reads with feeling so you don't feel as though he's just going through the motions.

My only complaints are:

1. In common with most Tolkien fans I think the book is too short.
2. The publisher and/or Audible are guilty of greed by dividing the book into 6 credits. This is not in the spirit of the contract that I have with Audible. Lord of the Rings is one book and should be one credit. It could arguably be divided into three books but certainly not six! Shame on you!

In a way, yes. Many people have a problem reading the print version because Tolkein loves to use very long descriptions and histories along with a very liberal use of songs and poems. These suit an audio version, where the listener can just sit back and soak in the atmosphere created by the vivid descriptions, or enjoy the songs actually sung by the narrator. The voices are also a treat.

The format of the book also suits a voiced narrator as Tolkein writes in the format of a story teller telling you a tale of a world bigger than the books.

The scale of the story is so epic yet personal. And having just listened to The Hobbit, the many references make the world feel so alive and real.

As someone who watched the films before listening/reading the books, I can appreciate the care that both writer and director put in in creating this world in print and in film. Amazing!

The audio book is not better, it is different. The narrator has the skill to bring a book I struggled to read in print into vivid and exciting life. He does not act the books, he 'narrates' them extremely well, telling the story with rhythm and pace, while giving each character in the book an individual voice.

If, like me, you really struggled with the Lord of the Rings in print, then try a volume of this read by Rob Inglis, this may be the avenue into the Tolkien world you are looking for.