Battle – DaneCobain.com

Title: Prince Caspian

Author: C. S. Lewis

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 192

Rating: 4/5

I’m glad that I enjoyed this one, because the last Narnia book that I read was The Horse and His Boy and I thought it was awful. But this one was a lot better, in part because we see the return of a bunch of characters from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a sense of character development from throughout the series.

True, it did still have the fairly generic storyline of the kids travelling across Narnia for a while and then getting in a big battle at the end, but it was told in a different way and there were a couple of new characters and some new lore that was actually enjoyable instead of just feeling like a load of exposition.

All in all then, the Narnia series bounced back for me after a real low with The Horse and His Boy, and now I’m back to being excited about finishing it off. Bring on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – I’m starting it straight away.

J. R. R. Tolkien – The Hobbit | Review

Title: The Hobbit

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 288

Rating: 9/10

J. R. R. Tolkien – The Hobbit

The Hobbit is easily the most easily readable of Tolkien’s books, and it’s the best introduction to his work that you could hope for – that’s probably why it’s so iconic. It was the first Tolkien book that I read, when I was about fourteen, and I enjoyed it so much that I’ve gone on to read almost a dozen more of his books. But there aren’t many of his works that are this easy to read, and so it’s definitely recommended as a starter book. Besides, it introduces you perfectly to Middle Earth!

In this story, Bilbo Baggins is recruited by Gandalf the Wizard to join his party to enter the lair of Smaug, the dragon, and help to reclaim the birthright of Thorin Oakenshield. At least, I think that’s right – it’s been a little while since I read it, and I didn’t bother to check. Either way, something like that happens, and then Bilbo finds this thing that sort of changes everything, and then some other stuff happens and there’s a big battle with a guy called Dain of the Iron Hills, who was played by Billy Conolly in the movie. That would be the guy I’m named after, although my mom insisted on changing the spelling so that my name was a little bit more… normal.

Overall, then, The Hobbit is just a vital part of your reading education, even if you don’t enjoy it and go on to read The Lord of the Rings. After all, there are always the movies if you don’t manage to stick through the books – they are heavy going.