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  • Tales from the Perilous Realm

  • By: J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
  • Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (161 ratings)
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Tales from the Perilous Realm cover art

Tales from the Perilous Realm

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
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Summary

Combined into one volume, this is the definitive collection of Tolkien's five acclaimed modern classic 'fairie' tales in the vein of The Hobbit, read by Derek Jacobi.

The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are joined here in one volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for listeners young and old.

  • 'Roverandom' is a toy dog who, enchanted by a sand sorcerer, gets to explore the world and encounter strange and fabulous creatures.
  • 'Farmer Giles of Ham' is fat and unheroic, but - having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant - is called upon to do battle when a dragon comes to town.
  • 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil' tells in verse of Tom's many adventures with hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls.
  • 'Leaf by Niggle' recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle, who sets out to paint the perfect tree.
  • 'Smith of Wootton Major' journeys to the Land of Faery thanks to the magical ingredients of the Great Cake of the Feast of Good Children.

Taken together, this rich collection of work from the author of The Children of Húrin will provide the listener with a fascinating journey into lands as wild and strange as Middle-earth.

©2016 J. R. R. Tolkien (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

What listeners say about Tales from the Perilous Realm

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hmm

I'm not really sure what I think of this odd collection of stories. Tolkien's imagination is clear but I found some of them quite unfathomable. I'm not sure how many children would enjoy them. Brilliantly read.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unabridged?No title headings for start of tales

Ch 1 - Roverandum
Ch 11 - Farmer Giles of Ham
Ch 19 - The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Ch 36 - Smith of Wooton Major
Ch 40 - Leaf by Niggle

Why no title headings for the start of each book, audible? It makes such a difference if you can easily navigate. You can do it yourself if you place a bookmark at the start of each and give them a name.

I'm not convinced this is the unabridged book. It seems to be just the main stories, nicely read by Derek Jacobi, with occasional bursts of appallingly irritating and pointless music that seem to have divided it for going on cassettes or CDs, as some are in the middle of nowhere, but give a break in the narration. The only introductory material is in the middle, at the start of Tom Bombadil, as though it has just been the main story of each individual book that was first recorded. With Tolkien, the introductions are usually quite informative, and often give details of the different variants on stories found in his notes.

The stories are J R R Tolkien, so always going to be good, though this has always been an odd combination, as Roverandum really doesn't fit with the others - it's a pleasing child's story. My favourites are the proper fairy tales - the final two, Smith of Wooton Major, and Leaf by Niggle, with Farmer Giles of Ham, nearly as pleasing.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

FIX THE CHAPTERS

Other Audible audiobooks consisting of short stories manage named chapters in the app to allow easy navigation so why can’t an important book by a major publisher?

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

No chapter headings

Nicely read, and great for Tolkien fans like myself.

Badly spoiled by the lack of informative chapter headings. A book of short stories would surely benefit from being able to jump to the beginning of any particular story, but the chapter headings are seemingly random with no detail at all.

A real shame to go to all of the effort of reading the book out and then not to quite finish it off

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just so relaxing

Perfect reading of these stories, brought together in one volume. The only criticism is a technical one. Why when each story, poem or chapter has a name does audible only list them as chapter 1,2,3 ..... etc

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

dogs

I like dogs and fantasy this is perfect for me :3
I keep coming back :D

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

lovely listen

Apart from Tom's story ( personal preference), it's a delightful collection of stories in typical Tolkien's style.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tales from a perilous realm.

one of Tolkien's lesser known works,in truth I found it rather tedious but redeemed by the leaf by Niggle story and not without humour in fairness.
Derek Jacobi's voice also seemed absolutely ideal light and more than capable of expressing both the humour & when necessary the odd time of darkness .
I have mr. jacobi's Letters from Father Christmas also by Tolkien which I think is superior and well worth a listen especially at this time of the year.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Yo
  • 30-06-19

First class reading

I'm a fan of Tolkien and this book gave me the chance to explore some of his less known work. They are tales for children, plus a few poems of Sam Gangee's style, and the best: Leaf by Niggle, which is a Christian allegory. Jacobi's performance is outstanding. It's a real pleasure to listen to him. He even manages to read Oliphant with aplomb. Bravo.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Takes from the perilous realm

Very entertaining and inspiring can't wait till I get started on the next book that's it

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1 person found this helpful