The Hobbit is a fantastical adventure that provides an excellent introduction into the world of The Lord of the Rings. Its incredible use of descriptive language provides a good look into the world of Middle-Earth. The adventures which come from the Unexpected Journey are plenty in number and full in substance. Each new leg of the journey keeps you engaged in the story and makes you want to keep reading until the very end.

The book follows the story of a normally docile hobbit named Bilbo Baggins as he is caught up in a journey by a group of dwarves who lost their kingdom to a fierce dragon named Smaug. The band of adventurers, headed by the audacious heir to the throne of the King Under the Mountain, Thorin Oakenshield, seek to reclaim their kingdom and their gold from the fearsome dragon who sits upon it.

In this book, Tolkien does an excellent job of captivating the reader and making it a book for all ages. From young to old, this book captures the attention of all audiences and is an essential mainstay of the fantasy genre.
This being said however, the book is not without flaw entirely. It introduces an immense cast of characters relatively quickly, making it at times difficult to keep track of them all. Even aside from the characters that appear in the book, many people within the world are discussed as well as settings which do not even appear within the story. The inclusion of this unneeded and often unwanted information to the casual reader makes it difficult to separate the important information from that which is unnecessary. This is a double-sided coin though, as those who are heavily invested in the world and lore of The Lord of the Rings would likely find all of this information to be very helpful and interesting.

Overall, the positives of this book far outweigh the negatives and it makes for a very compelling and captivating story. Even with some names that are difficult to pronounce and a vast variety of characters, places, and scenarios which can be difficult to keep track of, this book remains one for the ages to be remembered as a classic for all time.