Avg. Review:

With the approach of the new movie coming out, Ballantine Books has released the boxed-set of the Lord Of The Rings series from J. R. R. Tolkien.  For years, Tolkien has set the benchmark for other fantasy writers by creating a fantasy world of the heroic struggles between good and evil.  Memorable characters such as the mighty dragon Smaug, the corrupt Gollum, the powerful Gandalf and the hobbits, Bilbo/Frodo Baggins, are hard to forget.  The introduction of the hobbits into fantasy lore remains strong even to this day.  Many authors who write for this genre credit Tolkien for inspiration sometime in their writing careers. 

For those of you who have read the series by borrowing the books from a friend or another source, this is the perfect opportunity to get the set for yourself without hitting the pocketbook roughly.  The new paperback set includes the following books from Tolkien: 

The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King. 

The boxed set includes the four books along with a hard-cardboard case to house the books on a desk or shelf.  The illustrations on the covers are well designed on the glossy coat. 

Even if you have never read the series before or know of someone who hasn’t, this would make an excellent choice to add to the collection.  Once you start reading, it’s hard to put down.

 --Gary Reynolds, Wizard's Keep staff