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Tag: Fantasy

  • The Hobbit

    Bilbo Baggins lives a respectable, uneventful life in his hobbit-hole at Bag End until the wizard Gandalf arrives with thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield. They plan to reclaim their ancestral home under the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug, and Gandalf has decided Bilbo will be their burglar, whether he likes it or not.

    The journey east takes them through troll-infested woods, the elvish refuge of Rivendell, goblin tunnels under the Misty Mountains and the dark, spider-haunted forest of Mirkwood. Along the way Bilbo finds a mysterious ring in a cave and wins a riddle contest with the creature Gollum, gradually discovering resourcefulness and courage he never knew he had.

    Tolkien wrote the book for his own children, and its warm, chatty narrator makes it more playful than The Lord of the Rings, which grew out of it. Drawing on Norse myth and Old English literature, it helped define modern fantasy. It has never gone out of print and was adapted into a trilogy of films by Peter Jackson.

    Book details

    AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien
    First published1937
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreFantasy
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)310
    SettingMiddle-earth, from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain

    Themes

    • Adventure
    • Courage
    • Greed
    • Home
    • Personal growth

    Who should read it

    Children and adults looking for a classic adventure and an easy entry point into Middle-earth.

  • The Fellowship of the Ring

    Years after the events of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins leaves the Shire and passes his magic ring to his young cousin Frodo. Gandalf discovers that it is the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron to dominate the world, and that Sauron is searching for it. Frodo sets out with his gardener Sam Gamgee and friends Merry and Pippin, pursued by sinister Black Riders.

    With help from the mysterious ranger Strider, the hobbits reach the elven house of Rivendell, where a council of elves, dwarves and men decides the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, deep in Sauron's land of Mordor. Nine companions form a Fellowship to escort Frodo, passing through the mines of Moria and the golden wood of Lothlorien as tensions grow within the group.

    The first volume of The Lord of the Rings moves from pastoral comedy to deepening dread, rich with invented languages, songs, histories and landscapes. Tolkien explores temptation, friendship and the courage of ordinary people. Published in 1954, it became one of the best-selling and most influential works of fantasy, and the basis of Peter Jackson's acclaimed 2001 film.

    Book details

    AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien
    First published1954
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreFantasy
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)423
    SettingMiddle-earth, from the Shire through Rivendell, Moria and Lothlorien

    Themes

    • Temptation and power
    • Friendship
    • Sacrifice
    • Good versus evil
    • Courage of the small

    Who should read it

    Fantasy readers who want the foundational epic that shaped the genre.

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

    Harry Potter has grown up neglected by his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs in suburban Surrey. On his eleventh birthday a giant named Hagrid tells him the truth: his parents were a witch and wizard, killed by the dark wizard Voldemort, and Harry is famous in the magical world for surviving the attack as a baby.

    Harry enters Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, travelling from a hidden platform at King's Cross. He befriends Ron Weasley and the brilliant, rule-abiding Hermione Granger, discovers a talent for the airborne sport Quidditch, clashes with the snobbish Draco Malfoy and the cold Professor Snape, and starts to suspect that something valuable is being guarded inside the castle.

    Rowling combines a boarding-school story with a richly imagined hidden world of wands, houses, ghosts and magical creatures. The book was rejected by several publishers before Bloomsbury accepted it, then launched a seven-book series that became a worldwide phenomenon. It was published in the US as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

    Book details

    AuthorJ. K. Rowling
    First published1997
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreFantasy
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)223
    SettingSurrey and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland
    AwardsNestle Smarties Book Prize 1997

    Themes

    • Friendship
    • Belonging
    • Courage
    • Good versus evil
    • Orphanhood

    Who should read it

    Young readers starting out with fantasy and adults who want to see where the phenomenon began.