The Hobbit

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A real luxury - Rated
Rob Inglis' voice is lovely. It's like a great old 'cello - beautifully resonant. And he does the songs beautifully too. I don't think you could ask for more. (It's a pity they didn't use him for the audiobook of Tolkien's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.)

A very big adventure - Rated
The respectable Mr Bilbo Baggins, was extremely content and comfortable in his cosy little hobbit hole. He really didn't want an adventure so the wizard, Gandalf, had to trick him into joining the party of dwarves and helping them to recover their kingdom and their treasure from the dragon, Smaug. It was a dark and dangerous quest that took them through the realms of elves, orcs, eagles, a skin-changer, giant spiders and men, via mountains, caves and forests. Bilbo lost his buttons and his handkerchiefs but he found an amazing ring, made some wonderful life-long friends and learned what sort of person he was - not timid after all, but brave, hardy and resourceful when in a tight spot.

It's been one of my favourite stories since I first heard it, many years ago. It was read to our class in about 1961. Since then I've read it several times, listened to the BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of it, listened to Martin Shaw's excellent abridged reading and now I've listened to this unabridged reading by Rob Inglis. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's true that this version does seem to have been read with the younger listener in mind, but I didn't find the character voices excessively exaggerated. It's a matter of personal taste, where you draw the line, of course. I will certainly listen to both the Rob Inglis (for the full story, beautifully told) and Martin Shaw (for a more adult orientated reading) audiobooks again and again. The BBC dramatisation (this is where I draw the line) is aimed squarely at the youngest audience however, and I would not want to listen to that production again. I've also listened to Rob Inglis reading the unabridged audiobook of Lord of the Rings, where he employs a more serious tone. After enjoying that enormously - and satisfied that he'd done Tolkien's great legend full justice - I knew I wanted to hear him reading The Hobbit. I was not disappointed and would have no hesitation in recommending this unabridged version to anyone who likes listening to stories.

As a previous reviewer has mentioned, it would have been good to have a map with the audiobook. I referred to the one in my copy of the book, which I can now visualise in any case after so many readings.

Good as Stephen Fry! - Rated
Rob Inglis does a riveting, lively reading of The Hobbit. Don't be put off by other reviews commenting on the fact that he sounds like he is reading for children - after all, Tolkien intended it to be a book for children! But of course, as with many books intended for children, the story is just as much a favourite with grownups. I would thoroughly recommend this audio book for both young and old.

Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that the package does not include the author's maps (an essential feature of fantasy stories!) or a list of chapters (the index lists all the tracks by number and duration but does not show which chapter starts at which track).

The Hobbit - Audio unabridged - Rated
This is a super way to hear the story again.
Rob Inglis is a very entertaining narrator and I found myself listening to it, probably more carefully than I read the book.
It is highly recommended as a companion for a long journey as listening for long stretches really draws you into the story.

Hard to rate - Rated
Only 4 stars? Of course The Hobbit itself deserves 5 - but let me explain. Rob Inglis reads this book with vigour and obvious enjoyment. Each character in the book is very distinguishable, and the 11 hours of recording flew by. So far, so good.

However - and this I found a serious flaw - it appears to be narrated for younger listeners. The voices of many of the characters are very overdone in the manner that one uses in reading to children. This is particularly true with the Dwarves, who are rendered entirely comic. Thus Inglis' upbeat style irritated at times where I felt a more dark or serious tone would have suited better. In short - it is an excellent audiobook for the younger listener, or those who like their characters enlivened with almost Dickensian caricature. Other listeners may prefer Martin Shaw's more serious style, and I felt, more poweful reading.