Books on Tape: The Lord of the Rings

By C. Antonio Romero


NEW YORK, 23 December 2001 - With the arrival of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on screens across America and worldwide, interest in Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth has never been higher. So now seems like a perfect time for Random House to release this BBC adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy. Starring a distinguished cast headed by actor Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins in the current films, but here taking the lead role of Frodo Baggins), this remarkably faithful and effective product was originally offered up as a radio drama. Random House is now releasing it as a collection of 13 one-hour CDs.

To today's audiences, it may seem like a bit of a throwback, but it does one thing that the current (quite good) film production cannot: leave room for the listener's imagination to fill in the landscapes of Middle Earth with special effects that even Hollywood's digital labs can't touch. Those with children who would enjoy the stories and those who like books on tape will find that these recordings are one way to bring new life to these old tales, and that they make a great last-minute Christmas gift.





The Fellowship of the Ring
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Random House; Audio Cassette; October 2001
|$25.95
0-553-71477-5





The Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Random House; Thirteen Audio CDs, 13 hours; December 1999
|$69.95
0-553-45653-9




The Hobbit
By J.R.R. Tolkien
Random House; Audio CD (Unabridged) 3 hours 35 minutes, 5 CDs
$39.95
0-8072-8884-5


C. Antonio Romero is the Nouveau editor of Culturekiosque.com