When I set out to read this book, around 900 pages in all, it felt like I was going off in a journey of my own like young Frodo does. I’ll admit it right out, the book is a bit slow, with significant pages used to provide detailed descriptions of the world. But then the book was written decades ago, and the prose, while it seems heavy handed today, would have been quite at home when it was written. Personally, I like the style, as it adds to the mysticism of this stark but beautiful world which Tolkein created, and the world has immortalized. The book does not give you fast paced action, spells a minute or a lot of humor. What it does have in spades though, is the lonely haunting feel, where shadows cling to you, smothering you, where hopelessness reigns, and the light at the end of the tunnel seems far far away. And yet, it is there, ever present, calling you. Just like this book will keep calling you, once you have crossed eyes with it.