Disclaimer: I watched Peter Jackson's hobbit trilogy before reading this book. Which save for the second part was not good. I did have a general lack of suspense reading, as the film follows the same general beats.

This is the first Tolkien book I've read. So, off the bat I was waiting to be dazed and outsmarted by Tolkien. I mean, by no means am I an experienced reader so I consider myself stupid in that regard. But The Hobbit is very slim and to the point as it is a children's book and it reads like one.

A children's book.

Let’s start with the bad

The book is obviously written as a children's fantasy book. With that comes a negative for me. A lack of depth. Not all children books suffer from this, but they are more likely in my eyes. The book does a lot of world and lore building, and what it does build is done well and effectively. There were times though when I was reading that I felt something was lacking. The depth especially lacks on action scenes and overall character development. There was just that lingering feeling that he could have gone deeper or really brought this to life. My bias from watching the films first could be the core of why I felt that emptiness. The film did try to expand on characters. Especially towards the end the book begins to speed through points and events. It left me wanting a more.

So, wrapping back around to the good. Some of the best elements also come from the children's book aspect. The book is a clean cut of beauty from the fabric of fantasy. The book reads easily and swiftly. It's amazing how much of a world Tolkien built with so few words. The way he sets the basics of the characters is wondrous and my personal favorite thing about this novel is the poetic songs sprinkled throughout. They do a wonderful job of capturing emotion and portraying the different races and lore. It also gives a nice levity to the events. There is so much to enjoy in this brisk novel, its like a demo tape for an artist who has yet to create their masterpiece. A small taste of a long journey ahead.

So, in ending.

8/10 - Great

The Hobbit is the beginning of a series that has evolved and shaped fantasy fiction forever. It is a short tale written through a children's book lens, it carries its weight and manages to hold up to this day. A must read for any fan of fantasy. Its only short coming is a speedy ending and a feeling of brevity when it came to characters and events.

P.s I know there is a lot of errors, if you see any let me know. Thanks for reading! Have you read The Hobbit? What did you think??