Maika, persevere with it, really. The first bit is a bit slow, and on my first reading, I admit, I did actually skim through it. But it is necessary, to understand Melkor's role as the outcast and general bad guy. That book is an excellent piece of literature, and some of the characters will stick with you- the determined Beren, brave and beautiful Luthien, cruel Glaurung, devastated but true Tar-Miriel, and fiery Feanor, the creator of the silmarils. Also, it gives you the history of some things the Lord of the Rings never explained- for example, Shelob's origin, Sauron's beginning and why he turned bad, Elrond's lost heritage, and, of course, the forging of the rings of power. Keep going, really- the love story of Luthien and Beren is beautiful, and the tale of Niniel, the Maiden of Tears.
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i am just starting to read the books and i was wondering if any1 else found it kind of borinh bc i already saw the movie and i know whats coming..
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I know it may be too late (as in you may have alreay read it; it is never too late for LotR. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] )but don't be disheartened. This first part of Lord of the Rings is a little slow, because in the movie that was one part they stuck to particularly faithfully. But the first movie did bring up certain gripes among Tolkien fans, because it missed quite alot. One of my favourite characters, Tom Bombadil, was missed out, as well as Goldberry, who has been viewed by some as Frodo's first love, because he was so taken by her. Similarly, the namesake of this very website was missed out- the entire escapade in the downs is a bit in the books that have stuck with me was entirely missed out.
The film also takes certain view points on some things that readers of the book may not have seen, and by the end of the first film, most of the dialogue has been at least altered, if not completely missed or reallocated to other characters, or in different conversations. For example, I always saw Faramir as a good character, but its interesting the way Peter Jackson, along with the lovely David Wenham, have brought into it maybe a hint of the weakness of men again, a weakness which Faramir's brother struggled with so strongly. Also, to Boromir himself- he never seemed to me to be a main character in the book to me, and his death scene, a beautifully filmed and acted part of the film, was actually not in the books. The way Gandalph behaves around the ring is another thing. To see these things portrayed in such different ways, whether I agreed with them or not, are just a few points that made me enjoy the film so much.
(Well, after the initial "wow, look what Aragorn can do with his sword!" thing. Naturally. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] )
[ June 20, 2003: Message edited by: Amanaduial the archer ]