Here we have the Battle of Five Armies. If you’re keeping track, it’s the dwarves, the men, the elves, the goblins and the eagles. That is unless it is the dwarves, the men, the elves, the goblins and the wargs. Both the eagles and the wargs are involved, I’m just not sure which one constitutes…
A Thief In The Night is a short, but crucial, chapter. The action is really straightforward. Bilbo, you may remember from Chapter XIII – Not At Home, is in possession of the Arkenstone. Thorin has basically lost his mind. He is completely obsessed with the treasure, and the Arkenstone in particular. He will not listen…
We’re back to the story with this chapter, so that’s a relief. We’re back with Bilbo and the dwarves. This is really a transitional chapter, so there isn’t a lot to talk about. Up until now, the dragon has been the big threat. But, with the dragon gone, there are still plenty of problems. First,…
The title of this chapter pretty much covers it. Smaug is not at home. This is a lucky break for the company. They are trapped in the tunnel by the back door, as the door has been destroyed, so their only option is to go down to Smaug’s lair and explore. Of course it isn’t…
We had to get through eleven chapters and almost two-hundred pages, but we finally get to meet the dragon, Smaug. It’s totally worth the wait. There is a lot to this chapter, pompous dwarves, brave hobbits, treasure, tunnels and a bird, but really it all comes down to the dragon. The chapter opens with the…
Way back in my first entry in this series, I commented that I like the fact that Tolkien apparently doesn’t care about spoilers. The title of this chapter proves it again. Before you even start reading, it is pretty obvious that the dwarves will be imprisoned and will escape in barrels. Like all good stories,…
From the very first time I read The Hobbit, Flies and Spiders has fascinated me. It’s hard for me to put my finger on exactly why, but I can always speculate. It is the first chapter without Gandalf. Before this, there was always the sense that Gandalf could take care of whatever problem they faced. …
The title of this chapter betrays the age of The Hobbit (First published in 1937). People just don’t use the word queer in this way anymore. I suppose if it were a modern book, the chapter would be Weird Lodgings. As a kid, I’m sure I didn’t even notice the title of the chapter. As…
Chapter VI has always felt to me like the end of the beginning. Up until now, Tolkien has been setting the stage, establishing the characters and putting the plot in motion. After this chapter we will get into the real meat of the story. There is a lot of action in this chapter. Bilbo finds…
This is another short chapter, but it has a lot of action in it. It starts with the thirteen dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf climbing the Misty Mountains. It is slow going, but they start off confident and cheery. The good mood doesn’t last long. The main action of the chapter starts when they are caught…
