Is Lord of the Rings too short?

[SilvaRanger]

In the foreword of my edition of LoTR Tolkien says that the only criticism he might agree with is, that LoTR was too short. What does everyone think? Would it be better if longer and what would you have in it to make it longer?
At first I thought LoTR is perfect length, but I would like more on Striders early adventures, both with Gandalf and alone. Remember when Strider says that he travelled alot with Gandalf, and how much he learnt from Gandalf. Also how he travelled among men in the east, where many of the men were corrupted by evil, all this would make a great story, and be more of an insight into character and developement of my fave character, Strider.
Maybe Tolkien should have written another book, Adventures of Aragorn:)

[Xivigg]

You can found little more on Strider adventure in Lost tale third age

and maybe in HOME but i never read HOME so i'm realy not sure

[Finduilas]

I wish it had been longer, but it covers almost everything as is. It's not just the length of the book, but how well the story is told. I would have liked a bit more of the ending, (such as some variation of the epilogue in Sauron Defeated) maybe a definitive statement of whether Sam joins the Ringbearers, but then again, the extras might have wrecked the story.

[Fat middle]

perfect for me.

if you'd like it longer read it slower ;)

[Grand Admiral Reese]

Its already over 1000 pages long. Which isn't a problem for me to read, but it can be considered a hassle. IMO, its the perfect length for a book of its caliber.

[SilvaRanger]

Whats HOME?

[dunedain lady]

For what it tells, it is perfect. I just wish it never ended!

[SilvaRanger]

If I read it any slower I'd never finish it, I already read most bits 2 or 3 times before I go on to next bit;)

[Finduilas]

HOME is the History of Middle-Earth. It's the discarded and unfinished texts and drafts for the LOTR and Silm, along with some other material such as The Notion Club Papers, The Lost Road and some other short narratives.

[SilvaRanger]

Thanks, please ignore where I just asked you this again in another thread, hadn't read this one yet:) Though I have another question re HOME, if its discarded, unfinished, whatever then doesn't that mean unpublished? How do people know whats in these texts if they're not published? Or are they published?

[Eruve]

Oops... Answered you on the other thread. The material in HoME was previously unpublished, but Christopher started having it published over 10 years ago.

[SilvaRanger]

Thanks, I know the books you mean now.

[Sephiroth9611]

The Lord of the Rings was "written" by Bilbo and Frodo, in association with their friends and with special help from the Wise. Any additional material outside the scope of the story covered in the books would be out of place.

[Finduilas]

Agreed, but there was still some interesting material in Treason of Isengard and War of the Ring that could have gone into the final version of the story.

[amylovescarnage]

I really do not like christopher tolkien;s work
he is a horrible writer
he takes like 32 pages to detail everything!

[Inoldonil]

You don't see much of his potential as writer actually, he put things together, and The Fall of Gondolin was mostly his, but otherwise he just tried to make a consistant narrative from sketches and writings of his father. But I like the Silmarillion

[Niffiwan]

If I read it any slower I'd never finish it, I already read most bits 2 or 3 times before I go on to next bit

:eek:
If this is true, then you'd better forget reading HOME until reading Lotr is much easier for you...

Trust me, you'll get bored pretty quickly. :p

You should read the books in this order (each one's a more diffcult read than the last):

The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
The Silmarillion
Unfinished Tales
HOME books

Right now I'm about 1/3 of the way through Unfinished Tales; it's difficult to find the right oppurtunity to read it because if I stop reading it for a while I often forget something that happened in the story earlier because it's all so cluttered.

As for the comments about Christopher Tolkien, I think he's a superb editor; Tolkien's works are very hard to work with because of that writing style that he used in his later life, and I personally don't notice who's writing when I read texts that Christopher has edited. I count that as a good thing.

Personally, I think he should have followed in his father's footsteps and expanded upon his creations, but I'm certanly glad he did what he did.

[Finduilas]

So am I. The drafts and other texts are a real help (if a bit confusing with abandoned ideas). Sometimes they do get boring (3rd or 4th almost identical draft) but it's worth it.

[Feanturi]

i think it's niether two short nor too long. although with tolkiens writing it probably wouldn't have hurt it.

[ladyisme]

I think if LOTR got any longer it might actually scare off new readers, after all it is three volumes long and I know some people who find that fact a little scary.

[Morkhon]

Three volumes too long? Try reading the Wheel of Time, 9 books so far with at least 3-4 more to come and each over 600 pages. Or the Deathgate Cycle, that was 7 books with each one at least around 400 pages.

[Idril Celebrindal]

well yeah, WoT is much longer, but... I actually read the 9 books in not much longer than it took me to read LotR... They don't make you want to take your time reading in the same wat tolkien's works do.

[Manwe Sulimo]

Yeah, I know... I spent one week on each of the WoT books, approx... Not much more for the LoTR if I read actively, if I just read in bed and such it takes much longer... I think it could have been longer, but I don't really know what could have been used to make it longer... it's so... brilliant... the way it is...

[Inoldonil]

I still shudder when the Wheel of Time is mentioned. When I started reading them, it had been several years since my dad had, and he was still waiting for the next book. The first three books were awesome, and the fourth was okay. From there, they went down hill. The fifth wasn't that good, and the sixth was bad. The seventh was worse and the eighth was so unbearable I couldn't finish or even make a good start on the ninth. And the series continues. It got too dark and too boring. I read Harry Potter after that, it was really refreshing.

[hiku747]

the length of lotr is perfect, then there is always every thing else he wrote to go along with it, of course, id like the story to be longer, but that's because i never wanted it to end. :(

[hiku747]

Inoldoni, do you find that harry potter is a lot like lotr? my friend ellen loooooooooves harry potter and i jsut got her to start reading the hobbit and then lotr, she says they are a lot alike. i have never read them, but if they are, i was thinking about starting to read them...What do you think?l

[Idril Celebrindal]

hmm... I can't say I see the similarity, really. Did your friend say anything specific that was similar? I love both LotR and HP, but they're pretty different.

[hiku747]

Idril, no she didnt i guess iwill have to ask her. she just read the hobbit and has begun the fellowship. i will ask her what shet hinks the similarities are....

[hectorberlioz]

Perfect length, need more anyway, unfortunately professer tolkien cant give us any more...:(

[Dreran the Green]

It is weird how all of a sudden extremely old threads are getting brought back up to the top of all the forums...

But yes! IT MUST BE LONGER! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! MORE! MUCH MUCH MORE!

:D Yeah, I want there to be more stories about Gandalf, escpecially an elaboration on what happened while he was spying in Dol Guldor(sp?)

[IronParrot]

Thank goodness LOTR - the core story - wasn't longer than it ended up being. By having a clearly defined curve - beginning, middle and end - over a very specific length, it managed to keep a good sense of pacing, structure and unity. Most of all, it had focus - something that is often sacrificed when trying to achieve completeness.

Tolkien made the right choice in relegating extraneous matter to the Appendices. I count The Silmarillion as one big extraneous Appendix as it is, but that's a different matter.

I'm glad somebody brought up The Wheel of Time, my favourite example of needless length and fluff. I'll grant that it has its brilliant moments every few hundred pages, but sometimes you begin to wish Robert Jordan would just shut up.

[Lalaith]

Of course it is too short ... or better said .... I would have wanted to know what happened after the war of the ring and more details about the earlier ages ... therefore not LotR should be longer but Tolkien should have lived longer to complete his work.

[katya]

I think it's the perfect length. There's plenty to read. But at the same time I didn't want it to end. the thing is thought would you have wanted it to end even if it was 1,000,000 pages long? (well, maybe...) so i guess no, i don't want it longer.

[kiwi52291]

If anything was short it was the hobbits!:D (just kidding)

In the forward of FOTR Tolkien said this:

"The Lord of the Rings has been read by many people since it finally appeared in print ten years ago;* and I should like to say something here with reference to the many opinions or guesses that I have recieved or have read concerning the motives and meaning of the tale. The prime motive was the desire of a tale-teller to try his hand at a REALLY LONG story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them."

I also have to quote something he said in the forward that was kinda funny:

"Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or the kinds of writing they evidently prefer."

[Lalaith]

Originally posted by kiwi52291
"Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or the kinds of writing they evidently prefer."
Yah, that was good!

[kiwi52291]

I'm glad you like it too! Nobody else I know thinks it's that funny!

[durin's bane]

Lol, Tolkien's a genius!
I noticed that "too short" thing when I read the foreward last night, and, no, I don't think LotR is short. It's perfect length.

[Nimrodel_White_Lady]

*Waves* Hey Durin's Bane!

Ooo the LotR was not to long, yet, not to short. But when I got to the end, telling of everyone's departure and what happened to them in the end, it was quite sad. Cos everything that you had just read ended, and there was nothing to look forward, but to read it again. Its kinda hard to explain really.

[elixir]

The LOTR is just perfect, perfect in every possible way. :D

Of course I was sad when I finished reading it, I know I can re-read it (which I am doing now actually) but it's not the same as reading it for the first time - being excited how things would turn out, guessing how it ends...

[Valaróma]

It should never end. It should go on forever...:( I was so sad when it finished.


But then I'd never have any time for The Sil and HoME..
Just a little more detail, but I guess it can't last forever and I'd be sad whenever it finished so just more detail.

I too read it again and again but like you said. its not the same! :(

And anyway, Tolkien had alot of trouble publishing it because the length as it is!

[Melko Belcha]

I do feel the book is to short. It just feels like alot of stuff is still missing, more stories to be told. But I also love very long books and 1,000 pages to me is a very short book.

[Bombadillo]

No.

No. LotR is perfect from every aspect possible. It is of perfect legnth, and it feels somewhat short because of its incredible and inevitable impression it leaves on the reader, and the reader's unquenchable crave for more.

[Durin1]

Definitley too short!

There is not a lot to criticise LoTR, but the main thing that haggles me is that the end of the book just sort of whizzes past the reader.

Also,

I would have liked to hear more about how the Fellowship got to Rivendell in the first place (I know it is briefly touched upon in The Council of Elrond), and the role that Celeborn and Thranduil played in clearing up Mirkwood.

[Elrond the Wise]

I don`t think that the books are short but books could be longer. :D Christopher Tolkien could continue his fathers work and write a little more about the 2nd age in Middle-Earth. I`d like to hear a little bit more about fangorn forest, ents how Isengard was built etc. MayB someone has wrote about thease things but I havn`t read it. Becouse I don`t live in UK or US it is hard for me to get books that haven`t been translated to Estonian. :( (I live in Estonia)

[melianmaia]

i think it is as long as it should be
there are many things mentioned only breafly and that makes you wonder and think more about it
it makes you want to find out new information conserning the subject- it makes it more intresting this way
if it would have been longer and everything would have been explained- it wouldn't have been so itresting and real (real life always leaves some questionmarks in the air)

[ArwenEvenstar]

I think it's a perfect size. I wish that there was a book about the fighting and stuff way back when up in the North with the Witch-king and Fornost and all. I would love that!

[Melonethriel]

Originally posted by Bombadillo
It is of perfect legnth, and it feels somewhat short because of its incredible and inevitable impression it leaves on the reader, and the reader's unquenchable crave for more.
Yes, but I would really like to see what happens to Frodo when he leaves, or hear about how Sam's kids turn out to be, or see how Gondor changes with Aragorn at the throne.

[Balrog_of_Morgoth]

I really like FOTR, but after that, I think that Tolkien sped things up a bit. Beginning with TTT, but especially in ROTK, there is not enough detail. Pelennor fields, and the parts at Orodruin, as well as after Sauron was vanquished seemed very quick. I would have liked the Grey Havens to have more detail.

[Wayfarer]

Depth supercedes Length.

[Attalus]

Originally posted by ladyisme
I think if LOTR got any longer it might actually scare off new readers, after all it is three volumes long and I know some people who find that fact a little scary. Pooh. Look how much of the new fantasy goes over three volumes and is lapped up by the reading public. I would love it to be longer, and I can give some suggestions, like "The Hunt for the Ring," in UT.

[Wayfarer]

An alternative answer: Yes and No. ]; D

[Attalus]

"Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no." - Frodo ;)