A Long, Long Journey

     The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien follows the long adventure of Bilbo Baggins. At first Bilbo seems to be a stereotypical hobbit and does not want to go on this adventure to go slay a dragon. However, with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves urging him to go, he gave in. Bilbo stuck with the group through many adventures including run ins with trolls, goblins, wolves, and, in the end, a huge, deadly dragon. Bilbo was brought on the trip to be the "burglar" and fulfilled this role fully, especially in the end when he stole gold from the dragon Smaug. Although nobody in the group actually slain the dragon, the trip was still a success. After a dead dragon and a large, bloody battle peace was restored and Bilbo was able to go home and live out a slightly alienated life.

     In my opinion, the story line of The Hobbit was entertaining and enjoyable to read. However, as the group walked from place to place the story did get a little dry. Luckily, after getting through the dry spots there were always upbeat adventures. As this book came to a climax it was exciting, but I believe there could have been more build up and more suspense. Then, Bilbo Baggins got back to his hobbit hole. It essentially said that he lived alienated for the rest of his life. This left me with a slightly sour taste for this book. Overall, though, this was an entertaining book full of adventure.