A sure 4 star possibly as high as 4.5 (I can't decide) audiobook from J.R.R. Tolkien. Read by a whole cast of readers, 'Tales from the Perilous Realm' are four short stories from the mind of Tolkien. Three of the four were new to me ("Farmer Giles of Ham," "Smith of Wooton Major," and "Leaf by Niggle.") and I thoroughly enjoyed these unique tales. The fourth, "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", was a rereading of the excerpt from the "The Fellowship of the Ring" where Ol' Tom appears. While I have heard and read the part of that story before and was quite familiar with it, it was a new experience with the reading from the cast. My real complaint is that there were only four stories, the book version of this has five! More, more, more, please! I guess the other complaint (I mean, it is not really complaining, but more like the lowing of a cow...) is that the Bombadil story was just a retelling of the old tale. Kind of a been there done that feeling when it first stared. But I really did enjoy it all, readers were great, stories were new (to me) and fresh and quick, none of them were very long at all. Just had a real good time listening to it. I would recommend to any and everyone who has read and has an interest in Tolkien, and for those that would like quick, fantastical stories to listen to or read. ( )

5/5
Everyone needs a little Tolkien in their life

I picked this up because I'm curious about Tolkien's work and don't want to be overwhelmed by heavy lore yet.

And boy let me tell you, the stories, the poems, and everything is very very good and lovely. No wonder everyone likes Tolkien.

Now that has been settled, brb gonna buy Lord Of The Rngs.

Favorites : Leaf By Niggle, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Sea-Bell, Errantry ( )

I wasn't overawed by this, unfortunately. Or awed, as the case may be.

There was nothing wrong with any of the five stories here, but they all felt a bit average if I'm going to be perfectly honest.

Farmer Giles of Ham was a light romp with nothing but standard fantasy tropes, and I mean, super standard. The hero with the magical sword doesn't quite defeat the dragon, however. He just tames it. *shrug* Not related to LotR.

Smith of Wootton Major was a lightly magical, almost magical realism tale of the Fae with the passing on of gifts from one generation to another. Also not related to LotR.

The Tom Bombadil tale was almost exactly out of LotR. Rather disappointing.

The only one I actually rather liked was Niggle and the Leaf. No LotR, either, but at least I loved the story. :) It's almost too dark for words if you're an artist. :)

I don't know if I would really recommend this for anyone. Not unless you're a completionist for Tolkien in general. ( )

The audio version of this book was a delight, with the sole exception of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, which I think is less a criticism of the work and more a failing on my part to connect with the poetry. ( )

Primeira leitura: há mais de vinte anos. Do que é que me lembro? Lembro-me que gostei. É o que interessa, não é? ( )