If Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy introduced you to “The Hobbit,” you may have the impression that each film has one book dedicated to it. After all, a total theatrical runtime of 474 minutes (almost eight hours) shouldn’t be possible unless the movies come from multiple tomes.
“the hobbit” is not a series of books. instead, it is a single 293-page tome of j.r.r. tolkien, who is also famous for writing the lord of the rings trilogy (lotr). if he’s looking for more hobbit books, the middle-earth blog counts “the adventures of tom bombadil” as another “hobbit” book.
You are reading: How many hobbit books are there
In the following sections, I will answer other possible questions about “the hobbit”. At the end, I’ll mention some differences between the movies and the book.
is the hobbit book a prequel?
the merriam-webster dictionary defines a prequel as “a work… whose story precedes that of an earlier work.” Applying that definition to the film series, “the hobbit” is a prequel since its events take place before lotr.
“the hobbit” is not a prequel, however. tolkien published “the hobbit” in 1937, while the first lotr book, “the fellowship of the ring”, came out It came out in 1954. Since Tolkien wrote “The Hobbit” and the Lotr books in chronological order, you shouldn’t consider the former a prequel to the latter.
Tolkien, “the hobbit” and lotr make up the main plot of tolkien’s fantasy universe. With that in mind, you may be wondering how many books you should read to understand how the Tolkienverse works.
how many books are there in the hobbit and lord of the rings series?
if you’re not already familiar with tolkien’s works, “the hobbit” and lotr are good places to start. on the one hand, they form the backbone of the tolkienverse.
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Together, “the hobbit” and lotr make up four books. “the hobbit” is a stand-alone novel, so you don’t have to read the lotr trilogy to understand it. however, some events in lotr may not make sense unless you read “the hobbit” first, such as how the one ring came to the shire, the homeland of the hobbits. hobbits.
You are probably curious about the book “the hobbit” if you have only seen the peter jackson movies. I’ll cover it in the next section.
is the hobbit worth reading?
one of the most common complaints against “the hobbit” movies is that they are “bloated”. If you haven’t read the book, you might be wondering if Tolkien’s work is that extensive.
if you love fantasy novels, you’ll probably love “the hobbit”. The main character, Bilbo Baggins, is an ordinary individual caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Along the way, he discovers that there is more to him than he realizes. it’s your standard hero’s journey, but no less compelling.
given that “the hobbit” movies adapt the book of the same name, how faithful was peter jackson’s version of the bilbo baggins story? The short answer is: the basics are there, plus “some” (read: a lot) of bells and whistles.
Do the hobbit movies follow the book?
There is always a concern about how a filmmaker translates a beloved work to the big screen when it comes to book-to-film adaptations.
The movie “the hobbit” follows the basic plot of the book. is an adventure story about a hobbit named bilbo baggins, who (despite his homely tendencies) becomes part of a treasure hunt along with a group of dwarves. the problem? A fierce and intelligent dragon named Smaug guards the treasure.
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As most book lovers who have turned their favorite works into movies will tell you, books are “better” than movies. conversely, moviegoers will say they prefer the visual medium to the laborious task of reading walls of text.
in the case of “the hobbit”, is the book or the movie better? I will not give you a definitive answer to that question. however, I will discuss the apparent differences between the two.
differences between the hobbit movies and the book
If the movies were a total of 474 minutes long and the book was only 293 pages long, that means each page translated into around 1.6 minutes of running time. what did peter jackson add to make movies last so long?
“the hobbit” trilogy expands on the books.
The film further develops the characters’ personalities and motivations. furthermore, characters that are only mentioned in the books play a more prominent role in the plot. finally, the movie adds several scenes that the book didn’t have.
I’ll list the most notable differences between the movies and the book in the table below. If you haven’t read the books or seen the movies, this is the part where I warn you about spoilers later.
For a full list of changes, check out the excellent guide at theonering.com.
key points
peter jackson took many liberties with his film adaptations of “the hobbit”. you decide if these changes add or detract from tolkien’s work.
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sources
- tolkien gateway: the hobbit (film series)
- coming soon: ‘the hobbit’ trilogy extension: by the numbers
- middle-earth blog: are there two hobbit books?
- merriam-webster: prequel
- britannica: the hobbit
- britannica: the lord of the rings
- the golden knight: review: ‘the hobbit: the battle of the five armies’ wraps up the bloated trilogy
- on the brink: topher grace is the latest hobbit fan to re-edit peter jackson’s bloated films
- Vanity Fair: Lord of the Rings Star Criticizes Peter Jackson for Bloated Hobbit Trilogy : The Complete List of Movie Changes for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
- imdb: the hobbit series