The Hobbit

By: J. R. R. Tolkien

Narrated by: Rob Inglis

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

The complete unabridged audiobook of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit.

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 an unexpected 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 beloved and influential books of the 20th century.

©1937 The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust (P)1991 HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

Enchanting children's tale, beautifully read

Superb! One of the classic children's fantasy tales, set in a rich and enchanting world of dwarves, goblins, wizards, elves, and dragons, along with the most unlikely of heroes, Bilbo Baggins the hobbit.

The recording is beautifully done. Rob Inglis's voice is pleasant and relaxed, and he reads at a leisurely and comfortable pace. The character voices are generally appropriate and varied, although some of the dwarves were not what I expected. Most surprising of all, Inglis actually SINGS the songs, giving an extra touch of character and authenticity.

A word of caution: While the story is set in the same world as the Lord of the Rings and relates events a generation earlier, this is not merely a prequel in the same style. This is a fun children's tale, written for a younger readership.

To be read before you have lost your childlikeness, and reread many times to keep regaining it.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

One relative short book, in 3 separate purchases?

What disappointed you about The Hobbit, Part 1?

This was a bummer to me. Next time I will search for de 1 purchase book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Hobbit, Part 1?

That It ends in de middle of the story. This book is expensive!

Which character – as performed by Rob Inglis – was your favorite?

I like them all.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The book is lovely and I like it a lot. I just feel trickt. It is not that there was no way of knowing. It says part 1 after all. Next time I will pay more attention.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Hobbit - Great rendition

Would you consider the audio edition of The Hobbit, Part 1 to be better than the print version?

Nothing, of course is ever as good as the print versions and our own interpretations. This audible version is a great interpretation of this timeless classic.

What other book might you compare The Hobbit, Part 1 to and why?

Unfortunately this is one of my first audible listens - it is certainly a much pleasanter listen than the many freebies out there. Someone with reading talent makes a huge difference. This is a great book which gives a lot of background to the Lord of the Rings series.

Have you listened to any of Rob Inglis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First listen - sorry.

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

The original - the one ring and where it rested.

Any additional comments?

Loved it - it made the commute a pleasure rather than a chore.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

great book, bad business choice

a great book that should have a 5 star rating. Rob Inglis gives a fantastic performance. however I give it 3 stars due to the dismaying choice of separating it in 2 parts for no other reason then making more money.
I would rather pay for a more expensive version with both parts then having to buy both parts separately, as a consumer the first option makes me feel like I'm paying more for a quality product. the second option makes me feel like Audible is cheating me.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Hopping along with the Hobbit

Would you listen to The Hobbit, Part 1 again? Why?

This is one of those texts you can listen to over and over.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Hobbit, Part 1?

Listening to Rob reading this text was like visiting an old friend. His reading of LOTR is brilliant as well, and I have been listening to that for years. Rob Ingliss has a wonderful vice and he reads with so much nuance that each character is readily recognisable.

Any additional comments?

I wish they hadn't added the music. It is really jarring. But it is only a minor element.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable, but....

Having previously read The Lord of the Rings I found this story lacking somewhat. Perhaps as I read them in the wrong order that was part of the problem. I just found The Hobbit a little boring in comparison. But still enjoyable to listen to, as a result of the excellent narration.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A really entertaining story

The Hobbit is a really enetertaining story which I have been meening to read for several years but finally got around to listen to. Rob Inglis did a good job narrating this story (and a good job singing in it). I would have loved to listen to the full story in one go, but didn't have the time to do it. I absolutely recomend you to listen to this audiobook.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Why is this a classic?

Having read LOTR I did not expect the characters in the Hobbit to be extremely well-rounded or realistic. However, what I did expect were a set of solid and credible reasons for why characters made certain decisions or took certain actions - but this was completely lacking up until the battle of the five armies near the end of the book. In some cases the reasons given were extremely poor - we are told for example that Gandalf and the dwarfs traveled all the way to Bag End in Hobbiton to pick up someone with no relevant experience whatsoever (Bilbo) to join their extremely dangerous mission because they didn't want to be a party of 13, an unlucky number (?????). In addition, sometimes no real reasons were given at all - for example, we are told that the goblins captured our party whilst they were asleep at night because goblins are an evil and wicked race.

The other problem I had with the audio-book were the numerous lengthy poems and songs that contributed nothing to the plot. They just went on, and on, and on (I can't fast-forward on my iPod). I found them tedious in the extreme. I generally like fantasy stories and have no problems reading children's literature (I love the Harry Potter series for example) but I really did not enjoy the Hobbit as much as I expected. It wasn't terrible, don't get me wrong, but I really don't understand why this book is considered a classic. The plot is very weak due to a profound lack of credible (or indeed any) character motivations. Nevertheless, the story has lots of action and the numerous adventures Bilbo experiences are all described well and really draw you in. For this reason I give the book three stars overall.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great for kids but not for adults

I heard a lot about this book so decided to go for it. I am underwhelmed and not quite satisfied by it. The reason I think is because this book is more for kids than for adults. If I would have read this 10-15 years ago then I would have loved it. But as an adult I can only admire the plot.
And the narration is average because at many places the words were not quite understandable.

Best hobbit audio book,

If you want to listen to any lotr books, i recommend rob inglis, he da best

Loved it!!!

Ok fistly I'd like to say that the book is really enjoyable and the narrator is very good and I even enjoyed the singing parts. But I have to say that it is a cheek of audible to split this book into two seperate purchases as has been done with the lord of the rings. The physical books are not split as neither should these. It is a poor attempt at getting more money out of their customers. I have has the lord of the rings on my wish list for a long time but am annoyed I have to use two of my credits for one book!!! Audible sort it out!

157 of 164 people found this review helpful

A real pleasure

Despite some previous reviews, this is now the whole, unabridged Hobbit in a single recording. The story is a joy, as much as it was when I first read it at 10 years old. The narration is a fine effort of a difficult book, resisting the temptation to overact. The treatment of the songs was always going to be challenging, and although the occasionally grated a little, it is hard to see how he could have done otherwise. It has given me a lot of pleasure.

47 of 49 people found this review helpful

Interesting and very enjoyable.

Many years ago I attempted to read this book but failed and it wasn't till recently that I decided that I would give it another try. This time, though I decided that I would try it as an audiobook and hoped this experience would be different.

Which it was because this time I both completed and enjoyed every bit of it. The story was enjoyable and I listened on eager to get to the end. There were parts of it that I found a bit slow and my interest started to go. But the pace soon because fast again and I found myself getting back into the story. The singing, I found a bit off putting because it just really wasn't for me.

Bilbo and Gandalf, were my favourite characters out of them all as I found them funny and interesting.Thorin, came as the biggest shock in this story because I found him different than what I expected. I found him likeable and he came across as a good leader. Beorn, was the character that I found most interesting, because of the way he could change. Also how he came across as scary. I liked how he cared about the animals that he looked after and I wished that he had been in the story more.

The narration was good and I think was what helped me this time. It made me want to listen on and I could just imagine the characters and the places that they travelled.

Overall, it was very good and I would recommend to people who like J.R,R Tolkien's books. Now that I have finished this I plan to try Lord of the Rings to see if I like that.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

The Hobbit parts 1 & 2

Although the books were good,I think that the presentation of the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings(all parts), could easily have been done in one part instead of two,(which everybody knows is a money making ploy.)By this I I mean that each book could have been in one part per book..Although this is the grievance I wished to make ,I think that all the books are BRILLIANT.

26 of 28 people found this review helpful

A good story nearly spoiled by overacting

Coming from an epic fantasy lover's perspective, the way the dwarves especially were portrayed by the perfomer was infuriating. Rather than coming across as fierce and proud fighters and extraordinary crafters with an extremely long history, they were just a series of caricatures. I really don't hold with overacting as a way to distinguish between different characters - I like my audiobooks skillfully read rather than portrayed.

If only Stephen Fry could read every audiobook!

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Good story but TWO volumes? Despicable!

This is a great tale and well read in this version. It can be a little monotonous in parts. My biggest grievance is the fact that the tale last around 11 hours in total, yet is still split into TWO books. On that basis, Stephen King would be very expensive!!

To summarise, it's ok, but I can't justify the price and won't be getting the LOTR "trilogy" (6 books!) to follow.

47 of 53 people found this review helpful

DULL

I am a fan huge of Tolkien and have read The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and Similarion on many occasions. I purchased this to gain a new experience of the work. I was however, left feeling disappointed. The narration was dreadful. Rob Inglis does attempt to 'play' the different characters and he even does some of them well but aaah the monotony! I did finish the book, it did not improve and I shan't bother with the rest of the series as it's the same narrator. Also, most importantly WHY IS THIS BOOK SOLD IN TWO VOLUMES??!!. I have books in my library over 40 hrs long that are sold as one volume. I noticed this also applies to The Lord of the Rings. I do love audible but I'm quite disappointed with this two volume nonsense, 8 credits for 4 books, rip off anyone....

34 of 39 people found this review helpful

Great story and a thoroughly enjoyable narration

I absolutely loved this book as a child and even more so a few years later... :)) It is written with a lovely sense of humour with none of the somewhat oppressing seriousness of The Lord of the Rings. It is light-hearted, with a captivating style and story line.



The narration is only adds enjoyment to this audiobook. It is a shame that it has been split into two books, as there is no need for that. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend it.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

much better than the abridged version

Much more expensive because it is sold as two books instead of one, this recording of The Hobbit is much better than the abridged version available on Audible. Tolkien’s prose is more than half the fun, and the abridged version loses the sparkle and colour of it.
Rob Inglis has done a great job again in narrating Tolkien, although his pronunciation of the word ‘eyrie’ is continually irritating in episodes featuring the eagles. Some of the Dwark names are a bit odd to my ear too, but I can live with those, unlike eyrie.
As an postscript observation on a great many titles in the Audible catalogue, why don’t audiobook editors and producers actually do their job and ensure narrators pronounce words correctly? Some books are desecrated by bad editing and Audible surely has enough influence in the market to insist that their providers up their game on pronunciations – especially non-English words.

23 of 27 people found this review helpful

This version takes the shine off the treasure

"The Hobbit" is one of the treasures of English fiction: a rattling tale told by Tolkein with wit and unique imagination.Given the status of this book and the spectacular attention given to the sequels, it is all the more surprising that this audioadaptation is so lacklustre and pedestrian. The narrator lacks any true range in his animation of the characters; relying on degrees of pomposity alone to voice Gandalf, Thorin and the dwarves. This is in stark contrast to the vivacious, varied and comedic audio interpretations that we have grown accustomed to with modern classics (e.g. Stephen Fry's sparkling rendition of the Harry Potter series). In my view, the poverty of this production of the Hobbit is a greater crime than the insouciance of making us pay double for the book by splitting it unneccessarily into two parts. Audible should be careful not to repeat either of these transgressions in future.

27 of 32 people found this review helpful