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Title: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Gift Set by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rob Inglis ISBN: 1-4025-1627-4 Publisher: Recorded Books Pub. Date: January, 2002 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 46 List Price(USD): $129.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.58 (50 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great performance by Inglis, but some quibbles
Comment: This reading of the entire Lord of the Rings is hard not to rate highly because of the quality of the performance. Mr. Inglis seems to have a whole world of different voices. I can't imagine how he managed to come up with so many or how he managed to remember what voice he picked for each character. He performs so well that this is really more a dramatization of the whole book rather than just someone reading it; even his voicing of the narration is perfect.
I've not listened to the whole yet, being about half-way through the Fellowship of the Ring. I assume that the quality of the performance will be just as good for the parts I've not listened to yet. However, I do have several quibbles (which are not enough to lessen my rating, but which I found surprising against the overall quality).
The first quibble has nothing to do with Mr. Inglis himself: Sometimes I can hear, faintly, another voice in the background. It sounds like this voice is also reading something. To the creators of this recording: get better sound-proofing. Mr. Inglis's voice and performance are so wonderful that it is a pity to have this distraction.
The second quibble has to do with Mr. Inglis: I happen to be listening to this recording while following along in my printed books of the trilogy, therefore it becomes obvious when Mr. Inglis departs from the text. I really don't mind the sometimes excessive use of contractions that are not in Tolkien's original (even though "don't use the ring" really does not have the same emphasis as "do *not* use the ring") and it's not so bad when he substitutes one word for another of the same meaning (possibly he may be reading from a different edition).
However, occasionally, Mr. Inglis makes boo-boos that change the meaning of the sentence being read. At least two come to mind (and these from the first half of the Fellowship): Near the end of the Tom Bombadil episode (when Frodo and Co. are taking leave of Goldberry) a "morning" is changed to a "misty morning". The word "misty" is not in the text and confuses the meaning of the passage as the sentences that follow imply that the morning is a clear one. The other most noticible change is that Sam's statement "How do *we* know that you are the real Strider..." gets read as "How do *you* know that you are the real Strider...", which makes no sense. These are the two errors of reading that first come to mind, but there were more. Enough, let's say, to surprise me in a performance that is almost pitch-perfect.
However, like I said previously, these quibbles don't reduce my rating and the set is well worth any amount of money.
Rating: 5
Summary: This should be in any Tolkien fan's collection
Comment: I have listened to the majority of the CDs in this collection and what a terrific experience it has been. Rob Inglis' voice is absolutely perfect for the story. All the characters come to life from this single narrator. What's more, the songs and poems in the book are sung and read brilliantly. The passage where Aragorn and Legolas sing to the western, southern, and northern winds for the passing of Boromir has been done exceptionaly well.
As noted by others, there are some minor word substitutions and differences in the edition being read from but that in no way diminishes this elegant work. The story is timeless, the reading masterful. It's almost as if the Rob Inglis' voice has been tailor made for this type of story. The imagery of the book really comes alive with the reading. One passage sticks in my mind. It's the one where the Fellowship is travelling down Anduin and Legolas steps out of the boat to shoot down the Nazgul and his flying steed. The reading and imagery are so vivid that the entire scene just builds an image in the mind. Few books and readings have achieved such a high level.
Undoubtedly others will find their own favorite moments. That's what the combination of literary and narrative masters provides. At the very worse this work will provide hours of enjoyment. No Tolkien fan should be without this exceptional effort.
Rating: 5
Summary: Perfection.
Comment: Inglis' delivery was very nearly flawless. He also has an excellent singing voice; I was astonished to find there were so many songs written down in the books. The only major problem I had with this set is that it was finite.
I had never heard of Mr. Inglis before listening to this set. He actually made me look forward to an hour-long commute. If someone were to publish his reading of the Zip code directory, I would purchase it immediately. He's that good.
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Title: The Hobbit (Leatherette Collector's Edition) by J. R. R. Tolkien ISBN: 0395177111 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 24 October, 1973 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. TOLKIEN ISBN: 0345325818 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 January, 1985 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition) by Karen Wynn Fonstad ISBN: 0618126996 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 10 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Full Cast ISBN: 0807288845 Publisher: Bantam Books-Audio Pub. Date: 27 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J. K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré ISBN: 0439064864 Publisher: Scholastic Pub. Date: 02 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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