In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction of the year (1938). Also, The Hobbit has been recognized as "Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)" in the Children's Books of the Century poll in Books for Keeps.

I should probably have read this book before reading Lord of the Rings since quite a few characters in the epic tale have been introduced in The Hobbit: most notably the titular protagonist Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the wizard, Gollum aka Smeagol. Also noteworthy is a side character Gloin, who is said to be the father of Gimli- Elf Friend (Fellowship of the Rings). Two other noteworthy characters are the dwarves Balin and Ori. Recall that the Fellowship of the Rings discovers Balin's tomb in Mazarbul in the Mines of Moria and the Book of Mazarbul written by Ori. The story also accounts how Bilbo Baggins gains the possession of the One Ring. The ring, along with the character of Gollum, sets the tone for the much known sequel.

The tale is based around a typical comfort loving, homely hobbit Bilbo Baggins who finds himself on an adventure with thirteen dwarves also accompanied by Gandalf, an itinerant wizard who disappears in the middle of the story later to reappear at key moments (typical Gandalf). Gandalf is out on his own business but incidentally assisting the dwarves on their quest. The team of the thirteen dwarves and the "burglar" Bilbo have set out to reclaim an ancient treasure of Thror the Dwarf King under the mountain which is now guarded by a ferrocious dragon Smaug. Their journey takes them over strange and dangerous lands which lands them into mortal peril more than once. The story is in the form of an episodic quest and the prose is interspersed with poetry and songs that are typical to Tolkien's works.

The publishers of the Hobbit requested for a sequel which eventally resulted in the epic Lord of the Rings. Tolkien rewrote some of the parts of the Hobbit in order to facilitate a smooth transition into the darker themes of the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a story for children, and The Lord of the Rings for the same audience who had subsequently grown up since its publication. The Lord of the Rings was written in less humorous tones deals with more philosophical and darker themes: while the Hobbit has its share of death and danger, it is about the quest for a lost treasure. Even though many of the encounters are dangerous or threatening, the general tone is light-hearted. On the other hand, LOTR is about the war between good and evil: it is the war for middle earth. One can scarcely underestimate the gravity of that situation.

All said, I am quite amazed at the detailed work of Tolkien who has gone to extraordinary lengths to bring his fictional world to life. Middle Earth has a very well documented history: wars and legends, legacies left by kings, generations and genealogies, maps, ancient lands, wild characters, magical objects, runes, languages, lores, music, poetry; and all this changing through the times as characters change and their places are taken up by new generations. The chronology almost reads like a history textbook.

A live-action film version was announced on 18 December 2007, to be co-produced by MGM and New Line Cinema, and produced by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. A date of 2011 has been proposed for its release.

 Far over misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold.