The Lord of the Rings

The Fellowship of the Ring: The Ring Sets Out

By: J. R.R. Tolkien

Narrated by: Rob Inglis

Continuing the story begun in The Hobbit, this is the first part of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.

Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power – the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring – the ring that rules them all – which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

©2025 Paul Delaney (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary book. It deals with a stupendous theme. It leads us through a succession of strange and astonishing episodes, some of them magnificent." ( The Observer)
"Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." ( Sunday Telegraph)

"The Lord of the Rings" is 1 novel, not 6.

Any additional comments?

For some reason "The Lord of the Rings" was split into 6 separate downloads, even though it's by all standards a single book. Different parts of it are not meant to be read by themselves.

Audible locks you out of the rest of Inglis' LotR.

It appears you can get this title when you first sign up for audible, but if you think you're going to spend the rest of your tokens to get the whole series, think again Americans. Once you log in to your account you get a red error saying, "Due to publishing agreements, this title is not available in the country where you live." I hope I can cancel without penalty.

Excellent

Great narration of a great story. Not much more to say, really. I listen to this every now and then. The films do not do the books (nor audiobooks) justice.

well done

I enjoyed it a lot. he reads very clear and the singing of the songs provide a nice break to the normal reading.

Lord of the rings

Would you consider the audio edition of The Lord of the Rings to be better than the print version?

I think the Audio is just as good.
My eye sight has detiorated and have found audio books are good
for that reason.
I still love to read.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I mlike the hobbits,
Being Little folk who are peaceful
makes the intrest in the story
also I like Aragon he is good as a king humble yet
commanding when needed

Love it!

I was sceptical about the audio quality after listening to the sample, but it's great

Es la versión mejor

El valor de la producción es excelente! La narrativa genial y las canciones, cantadas y los desenlaces y ganchos de la historia hasta con música! Una verdadera joya.

Great (but pricey) production

Rob Inglis is the perfect narrator for this story. I just wish the book wasn't sold in six separate parts - very (and unnecessarily) pricey. But I bought and enjoyed all six anyway - the story is too well written, and Rob Inglis does too good a job reading it, to stop after the first one.

Absolutely worth listening

I've read the Fellowship of the Ring twice. With Rob Inglis' voice added to this classic, it becomes ten times better. It is sad to see the Fellowship being broken up into two downloadable parts, for which you have to pay separately. It must be mentioned however that Audible's price for it is still much cheaper than buying the audio CD's.

Amazing Story Matched by an Amazing Performance!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Lord of the Rings to be better than the print version?

In a way, yes. Many people have a problem reading the print version because Tolkein loves to use very long descriptions and histories along with a very liberal use of songs and poems. These suit an audio version, where the listener can just sit back and soak in the atmosphere created by the vivid descriptions, or enjoy the songs actually sung by the narrator. The voices are also a treat.

The format of the book also suits a voiced narrator as Tolkein writes in the format of a story teller telling you a tale of a world bigger than the books.

What did you like best about this story?

The scale of the story is so epic yet personal. And having just listened to The Hobbit, the many references make the world feel so alive and real.

Any additional comments?

As someone who watched the films before listening/reading the books, I can appreciate the care that both writer and director put in in creating this world in print and in film. Amazing!