The Lord of the Rings: Part 1, The Fellowship of the Ring (NPR Playhouse Dramatization)

In the ancient world of Middle-earth—a place of elves and dwarves, orcs and wizards, the darkest evil and the brightest good—a hobbit named Frodo Baggins embarks on a perilous quest: to carry the One Ring, ruler of all the Rings of Power, into the shadowy land of Mordor and destroy it in the fires where it was forged.

Customer reviews:

Original fantasy, 2008-09-27
Anyone says that the movies are preferrable to this needs to learn how to read (that said, I'm a huge of the movies--they are cinematic masterpieces).

But this is classic fantasy at its best. Every other fantasy author to come along, as great as they are, still have not managed to create the depth of what Tolkien created.

Stemming from the world he created for "The Hobbit", Tolkien writes a truly epic story of good vs evil, friendship, and loyalty. All simple, wonderful themes that speak to us whether we live in Middle-Earth or the real world. He has managed to great an entire culture that the reader finds himself caring for, a world that needs to be protected at all costs.

Tolkien is a master of plot. While the story isn't unnecessarily complex, it is broad and you have to hand it for him for juggling so much.

The characters even more so are wonderful. They are flawed, but at the same time properly heroic.

"The Fellowship of the Ring" is an excellent beginning to a classic trilogy.

I don't care what anyone else says about it, this is an excellent adaptation., 2008-09-22
The title pretty much says it all. In fact had it not been for this very version of the story I might never have been able to read the trilogy in its unabridged form. The Library of Congress version, better known to some of you as the Talking Book version recorded mainly for blind would-be readers, just didn't capture the story at all. Because of the narrator's voice I just couldn't get into it.
Then along came Recorded Books Incorporated with their unabridged recordings. In fact when I have a choice of audio book companies I generally go with them because of their excellent narrators. Actor Rob Englis does a fine job of bringing these classic novels to life, and Fellowship of the Ring is no exception.
The book comes in a very portable box and consists of about sixteen disks in four cardboard holders, although only fourteen or so are given over to the actual story. The remainder are given to Tolkien's afterward and the Concerning Hobbits material actually found at the beginning of the book. It's actually quite a nice setup. In fact I've got the entire trilogy, minus the Hobbit, stacked on my dresser beside my bed, next to a small boom box for easy listening.
As for the performance, as I said, Rob Englis does a very admirable job. With his deep, calm English voice he's able to convey the narrative quite well, and while his voices aren't extremely varied it's still easy to tell who's speaking, whether it be Aragorn, Boromir or one of the hobbits. I particularly like the fawning yet sinister portrayal he gives to Gollum.
All in all this is an excellent version, not the least because it includes everything found in the print editions. An excellent narrator only makes things better. It's great for lying at home reading or taking a long trip in the car. I listen to them at least once a year, generally more than that.