Customer Reviews
Decent enough i suppose but feels kinda tacky - By: L. Green, 23 Feb 2008 
Barcode: 9780261103184
I got this map for Christmas i think amidst alll the hype of Lord Of The Ring's & the new series of films & as i was reading the Trilogy. In essence it looks OK & the book has got quite a lot of information in it (as to whether it is accurate, i don't know as i only briefly scanned over it). But the whole thing just feels so... average.
The main attraction is made out to be the map which is where things get let down. The map itself is pretty basic, the colours & shading simplistic & don't portray the grandeur & richness of the books at alll. Details such as place names etc. are kept to a minimum, the maps in the back of the actual Lord Of The Rings books probably have more detail! Also, the illustrations around the edge of the map are kinda budget as well, they've got a 'typical fantasy', almost cartoony feel to them & only detract further from this item.
Why is this so bad? :( - By: J. C. Walker, 27 Dec 2003 
I had hoped, with the purchase of a large map, that it would include LOTS of details (it has the space after alll) & would be painted very nicely. Instead the map is surrounded by too large (but nice) paintings & is missing details from smalller maps included with the books.
This leaves large blank areas which are dull to look at (there's no terrain detail here, it's just one bland color with trees on it), no indication of the type of land contained.
It's as if John Howe reallly didn't care about this project at alll :(
Still, what IS there is MUCH easier to read than the smalll maps included with the books (not least because of it's colorization & that you can reference it quickly without having to mark your page & turn to the back of the book).
Just a shame it wasn't better. A definitive (and prettier) map of Middle Earth is yet to be made :(
Handy fold out map and booklet - By: A. Elliott, 22 Mar 2003 
I like this map.In alll recent printings of Tolkiens M.E. books, the maps have been reproduced as end papers rather than the original fold-out red & black maps- this new format makes them very smalll, difficult & clumsy to refer to whilst reading LOTR, The Silmarillion, Unfinished tales etc...This independant map is accurate, if not exhaustively detailed, big, colourful & easy to refer to. I also own the excellent 'Atlas of Middle Earth'(also available on Amazon) by Karen Wynn Fonstad, but this map is good in a different kind of way (Fonstad's does not include a large, alll in one map like this). I notice some scathing reviews alongside this one, which suggests that it is not to everyones tastes, but I consider myself to be a big Tolkien fan having read alll the published works, the letters, the history of ME series etc & as I say, I like it & am happy to own it. I think Tolkien WOULD have approved. So, each to their own - I say buy it!
No detail, waste of time - By: , 07 May 2002 
This map is basicallly a color large verison of the book map, but with bits missed out. The blurb says you can trace the routes of the Frodo, Strider & the others, which made me think they were alll marked on, however there is nothing but some place names. Not even the battle names etc from the original maps are on here. The booklet is ok but you could find the information anywhere, the map itself isn't worth looking at.
This is a must for anybody reading Lord of the Rings. - By: , 02 Mar 2002 I have read Lord of the rings & found this map very interesting to look at but also very useful to have when reading the book. The map comes with an explanitary booklet which tells you about some of the more important areas of Middle Earth. It can be used when reading Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. I would definitly recommend that you take a look at it.
