Three-volume boxed set edition lavishly illustrated in full color by Alan Lee

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth still it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.

From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.

On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo dissapeared bequeathing to his young cousin, Frodo, the Ruling Ring, and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.

The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the wizard, the hobbits Merry, Pippin and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

This is an amazing edition of The Lord of the Rings. The books are very heavy, printed entirely on acid-free superbright textbook quality paper. The illustrations are beautiful, and seeing elements of Alan Lee's work that were inspirations for the films is always fun.

All told, this is THE collector's edition of the books as it is still three separate volumes (instead of the MASSIVE single edition) yet has all of the illustrations and is printed on very high quality paper.

Is it the most practical for reading? Probably not. I would honestly suggest getting a simple paperback boxed set if you want to be mobile with the books. These books are designed to be the centerpiece of your fantasy section of your library and are of the very highest quality. I would recommend them for someone who is fan of the books and wants to have the best edition to date as part of their library.

These heavy books were more then worth my money.
If your going to buy all 3 books you best get this set and have discount + a nice box around them for extra protection.

Well, guess I don't have to tell you the story is great with tons of background history in Tolkien's other books if your interested.

This review is for that of the edition of the book not the writing itself. Or course Tolkien's writing is phenomonal.

This edition has a beautiful case and amazingly illustrated cover protecters. They are all hardcover and are not too heavy. The pages are near tear-proof (of course, not if you try) and are resistant to dirty fingerprints and small bends (if you don't do it on purpose). All in all, this version is quite worth the price.

I was completly satisfied with this gift. I ordered it for my boyfriend for Christmas with The Hobbit hard cover. The pictures are beautiful, any and all collectors should own this collection.

Good reading as always. Fast and Quick shipping and Delivery. Was at my door step 1 week before Christmas, which was amazing, because I was told it might take longer than that, but somehow it all happened all right.

If you are a fan, and you already have the series, then you should know, it's still the same story, but if you do not have the series and you want one that will last and continue to out-live all the others, buy this one, and you'll never have to buy another collection as long as you live.

Being a Lord of the Rings fan for 7 years, I decided that it was time to buy an illustrated set of it. I'm so happy that I bought this one!!

The dust covers are very beautiful with illustrations by Alan Lee. The box is also illustrated and the books fit in very good. Every book has ,under the dust cover, the actual cover: nice red fabric with in gold the title etc. It looks very 'Tolkien-ish'
The books are all illustrated, about .. well I haven't counted them but there are lots and lots of beautiful illustrations. They are all a bit 'watery', but it fits the mood of the book.
I read complaints about the glossy pages. Personally, I don't have any trouble reading, even if there's bright light. The pages are smooth, but do not reflect much light.

So, I don't really see one negative thing about the box - except that the books are very tight in the box and it is difficult to get them out.

If you are a real Lord of the Rings fan, please buy this edition. It's great!