The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a story about friendship in the face of adversary, a story about loyalty to others, a story about destiny. Tolkien’s world building and character development is extremely well executed. Bilbo Baggins as a character works extremely well with the obstacles presented to him and the characters that he meets, allowing the reader to get engaged with the story and with Bilbo. The descriptions of the fantastical areas in this world are extremely detailed, allowing for more immersion in the story.
While the book excels in these two departments, there are some shortcomings of the book. One is that the text might be confusing to a reader who is not accustomed to old writing styles. The dialogue can be hard to follow at times, and this is one con to writing in a Middle Earth setting. However, overall, I believe that this book is a must read for any fantasy Middle Earth story fans, and it could be a steppingstone into a much more complex series of books known as The Lord of the Rings.