The Hobbit was one of my favorite books as a kid, but beyond that I just love the scope of the world Tolkien built. The people and cultures vary without being direct copy pastes of existing civilizations like you see in most fantasy settings these days. Yes, Tolkien took inspiration here and there, but Tolkien blends his inspirations together well enough that I don't walk away going "So this is Fantasy China, and these guys here are Fantasy Holy Roman Empire..." His creations were so outstanding that they are now what we point to when describing other fictional societies. "These are not-elves and these are not-hobbits".
I also adore the themes of the setting. On it's surface it is a standard good vs evil story, but it's really more along the lines of "hope vs despair". Sauron never appears in the books, but his presence lingers over every step of the journey as a cloud of unease around the Fellowship. The knowledge of the futility of their task and the certainty of their doom. This presence is at it's weakest in Fellowship where they spend much of their time in the idyllic Shire and beautiful Rivendell, far from the conflict. But it peaks in Return of the King as Sauron's gloom lingers over Gondor. Denethor's character is perhaps my biggest issue with the movies, which I otherwise love. In the books he is a proud, noble man with a keen mind that can rival even Gandalf in wit and foresight. But he had gazed deeply into the Palantir where Sauron showed him images of the greatness of his army and the inevitable end of the War of the Ring, driving Denethor into hopelessness and in turn madness. It makes Sauron's influence much more frightening than the movie version where Denethor was a weak willed ruler already.
This is why Sauron is one of my favorite villains of all time. He doesn't need to show up and punch things to death to feel like a threat. His constant presence is felt from start to finish. Through the Ring's seductive presence to the dark cloud of doubt and fear that settles over the people of Gondor. His terror is personified by the nazgul, dark riders who tirelessly pursue the main characters from the very first book and bring ruin on Sauron's enemies as generals in the last. Despite, or perhaps because of, Sauron's lack of personal presence in the series he easily becomes one of the most influential and daunting villains I've ever read. It is only through courage and the guiding hand of Gandalf and his fool's hope that the people of Middle Earth make it through to the end.
And the ending. People often give Tolkien crap for all his heroes surviving (minus Boromir, who doesn't count apparently) to the end and having a happy ending. I often wonder if those people were reading the same book as I was. The ending to Lord of the Rings is a bittersweet one. Frodo doesn't save the day. He fails at the very end, finally being consumed by the Ring. It is only through Sam's courage that the Ring is destroyed and Frodo is saved, and even then Frodo is ruined. He constantly feels the pain of his old wound and the gnawing influence of the Ring. Sam goes on to have a happy life with a wife and kids. Frodo is so spiritually ravaged by his experiences that he isn't able to find happiness even when the war has been won. That is why he is taken to Valinor at the end along with the elves and Gandalf. So he can finally find peace. But to do this he needs to leave Sam, Merry, and Pippin behind and depart this world. In other words, Frodo dies and finds peace in the afterlife. Sam is forced to continue on without his best friend, but moves on with the love of his family.
I could keep going. I absolutely love the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit. As well as the Children of Hurin, a darker tale set in the First Age of Middle Earth that I highly recommend to fans of LOTR. Unfortunately I have other things I wanted to do tonight, so I am stopping myself before I go on an even longer rant.
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