The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Visual Companion

This book is small, but it packs a great deal of information into its pages. I was very impressed with the assessment of Thorin Oakenshield, the dwarf who would be king under the mountain. O(ne cannot doubt his bravery, but his outlook is flawed. The true effects of gold on an individual are aptly shown in Thorin's behavior. Which helps to set the stage for the fi8nal battle. The Wizards, the Elves, and the Humans, are well portrayed, as they will all have a place in the final conflict. I highly recommend this book, just for its outlines of the different characters involved in this final story. JRV

For a book that is billed as a 'visual companion' to The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,' this book comes up short on substance. I have collected all of Jude Fisher's companion books to the Lord of The Rings/The Hobbit movies. This one is visually beautiful and put together well. It has a nice, shiny, colorful hard cover and a dust cover to match. Regarding content, the first 2/3 to 3/45 of the book are just there to tell the reader the story of The Hobbit 'up to now,' and include photos from the first two movies. The latter part of the book is very ambiguous, regarding The Battle of The Five Armies. Ms. Fisher talks about the trolls, ogres, bats, and more that appear in the great battle, but there are no photos of these, odd for a 'visual companion' to the movie. She alludes to Thranduil's lack of love for the dwarves, unlike Tauriel's, but goes no further. She alludes to Kili and Fili's propensity for being 'young and reckless,' and says '...that propensity places them in greater danger...' but doesn't say what that danger is. The photos that are included in this area of the book are indeed from the movie the book is said to be about, but they are all close-ups of the various characters. Its nice to be able to see what they are wearing, but there is very little background to view. A few Elven bows, some injured folks from Lake Town, some old Dwarvish armour and weapons in the foreground or background.I pre-ordered this book, and rec'd and read it before the US release of the movie. Perhaps Ms. Fisher was not allowed to divulge too much info before the movie premier?It is just fine if you are looking for a good-looking book for your shelf or coffee table, or to complete your collection. But for information about the movie, The Battle of the Five Armies, there is very little to discover.

If you love the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series, you should get this. I am a big fan, yet, I read some things in this book that I did not know. It gives a synopses of the story, which was nice, even if you are a fan and know the story. It also has great pictures and the writer did a very good job. I enjoy having this added to my library and will highly recommend.

We all loved the books, and enjoyed all the movies. The books are fun and really interesting. They're almost better than the extras on the DVDs. We all have really like all the behind the scenes information, and the actors talking about their parts. The history and the making of the different characters, and their weapons and costumes is fascinating. If you like the movies; you'll love the books.

Nice book... 5 if had better packaging

Great for reference pictures which is why I am buying all of these.These as well the "official" ones have WONDERFUL pictures for cosplay references or fanboying or fangirling.Could all use More Lindir,Elrond,Thranduil, But I might be biased to Elves And Bret McKenzieIf you just like picture books or tolkien,And could ignore the Hobbits fan fiction, These are great!

I totally enjoy enjoyed all three books. I was not the least bit disappointed.Thank you for your great customer service.Chuck Baggott

Beautiful done...hardback souvenir! Would give five stars, but the introductory recaps of the first two movies took up way too many pages. Very happy to have this book!

Extremely disappointing. Actually feel that this is a bit of a rip off. I have collected all the previous visual companions from the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit and enjoyed the story of the file being told with pictures. I feel we are missing the battle of the Five Armies. Did the author have no access to material from the third film because the book largely contains material from the first two. The film was absolutely brilliant, in my opinion the best of the three Hobbit movies. This visual companion the worst and does not begin to give justice to the film

I like the photos and general lay out. Some of it was similar to a free booklet handed out by the cinema chain when attending the film, but still worth the money. For die hard fans looking for really indepth info this may be too visual and they may want another version.

I found this very informative as a J.R.R. Tolkien fan ifound this visual companion interesting, I enjoyed seeing all the characters brought to lifethe films were marvellous, what is wonderful is to have a genious like Peter Jackson bring them to life

a valued addition to the collection. with a bonus of being about the film I had been looking at. Arrived earlier than expected, well securely packaged, and at a bargain price. thank you.

I am a huge fan of these movies and this is a great book for fans. Some amazing pictures too and more of my favourite characters Bard the Bowman and Thorin.