Customer Reviews
Bad reading of a brilliant book - By: C. L. McManus, 15 Jan 2008 
Brilliant book, dreadfully abridged, shamefully read.
I felt there was no need to abridge this brilliant book, but then the reading just adds insult to injury.
There are other unabridged versions available & substantially better well read...sorry, but don't touch it!
NOTE: One star is the lowest rate on this item...zero would have been a better choice!
the hobbit by rob inglis - By: lc, 25 Oct 2007 AFTER listening to the entire harry potter series narrated by jim dale on cd/ipod, i could not wait to hear the hobbit, by jim inglis!!! i was horribly disappointed by this narrator's rendition! his voice is annoying, & i can't stand when he makes up tunes for the songsin the book. & when he does, i can barely understand a word he's saying. it makes me wish i had the bookin front of me. i find myself fast forwarding through the "songs" which of course, makes me miss some important dialog.
i don't get it. does the author tell the narrators what tune to use? or do they make it up as they go along? after all, if i'm reading the book, its not like a tune will pop upin the book when its song time. so why can't the narrator just stick to the script???
my vote is that for an english accent, all books should be narrated by jim dale.
Martin Shaw - By: matthew harper, 31 Jan 2006 
J.R.R. Tolkien really write well, & Martin Shaw reads amzingly. His readings are just as good asin the Silmarillion, & that was an achievementin itself, but this is a good buy because its about the only rendition of the Hobbit that can be enjoyed by both children & adults. His readings truly bring you into another world. And his voice truly belongsin Tolkien's world, as some of the other reviews say, he truly brings you into another world, & you enjoy every minute of it.
Although this is abridged, it is better than Rob Inglis' version.
The well-read Hobbit - By: Sally-Anne, 17 Aug 2004 Our teacher read The Hobbit to us over the course of a few of weeks when we were about seven. It's one of the few stories that stuckin my imagination from those early school days - four decades ago. Our teacher was good at reading stories. She could mesmerise us. I wouldn't expect Martin Shaw to be anywhere near as competent as that teacher. I would have been satisfied if he'd been half as good. Well, he was much better than I was expecting. He was good! The right reading style for this book is really a matter of taste & opinion. Martin Shaw's reading hit the spot for me. He conjured up different characters with different voices - all realistic & none exaggerated. I closed my eyes & I was there, with Bilbo & the dwarves.
I have listened to the BBC Radio Collection's dramatised version of The Hobbit & didn't like it at all. It was clearly produced for the younger audience & I shouldn't complain about that because, of course, The Hobbit is a children's book. I've heard that the unabridged reading by Rob Inglis is also aimed at the younger listener (though I'd like to hear it before making a judgement). I'm an adult (oh yes I am!) & this version, read by Mr Shaw, met with my total satisfaction because even though I enjoy some children's literature, I still want to be read to as an adult.
There is no mention on the CD case of the person responsible for abridging the tale, but I would like to congratulate that person for doing an excellent job. I had to check that I was actually listening to the abridged version because it seemed so complete & seamless.
I recommend this audiobook. It's one of the best I've heard.
Martin Shaw Narration of The Hobbit (Abridged) - By: mike@wottle.free-online.co.uk, 19 Mar 2002 
This audio version of The Hobbit tells the first tale of Bilbo's adventures with his trusted Dwarf companions & of course Gandalf. It tells the tale of their journey to gain wealth & treasure & all of the dangers they experience along the way. It more importantly tells how Bilbo comes across "The Ring" & its affects on him. From this the follow up story of The Lord of the Rings was eventually told (The three part unabridged versions are available on both tape & CD format, read by Rob Inglis)
This audio book is very well abridged, although there is an unabridged version narrated by Rob Inglis for those of you who would prefer the complete version, rather than this 6 hour shortened version.
Martin Shaw reads this tale well, but I do have to say that his voice does lack some enthusiasmin my opinion. I would much prefer to listen to Rob Inglis voice & his characterisations.
It is not a requirement, but I would recommend reading (or listening) to The Hobbit before going onto reading the Lord of the Rings.
