J.R.R. Tolkien fans can save big on a wide selection of Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Middle-earth books at Amazon and Target this week thanks to buy one, get one 50% off book promotions. Both retailers are hosting sales that run through October 26. As usual, most books are eligible for the offer at Target, whereas Amazon’s sale has more exclusions and requires you to poke around to find eligible books. But we already did that, so you can find the most notable editions and box sets of Tolkien’s beloved fantasy novels and stories below.
Some of the best and most beautiful editions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are included in Amazon’s B1G1 50% off book sale. The fan-favorite Tolkien Illustrated Editions–LOTR, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion–are eligible. Numerous new releases are featured as well, including the budget-friendly Collector’s Editions published in September, the new hardcover box sets of The History of Middle-earth, the lavish and pricey Deluxe Illustrated 3-Volume LOTR Box Set, and Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, which features work written across 60-plus years.
The Tolkien Illustrated Series is special because all of the full-color illustrations and sketches throughout each book were drawn by the author himself while he penned the manuscripts that would become The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The illustrations in The Silmarillion were drawn by Tolkien while drafting his exhaustive backstory and lore for the world of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion was published posthumously and is now the first of a 12-part series, The History of Middle-earth, compiled by his son Christopher Tolkien.
The illustrations aren’t the only notable aspects of these editions. Each hardcover comes with a gorgeous dust jacket, sprayed edges with Elvish script, the complete text printed in black and red, a ribbon bookmark, and a pair of removable fold-out maps. Since it compiles all three volumes–Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, and Return of the King–The Lord of the Rings Illustrated is by far the largest of the three at 1,248 pages; These editions of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion are 432 pages each.
Your price will vary slightly depending on which two you pick. If you get The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, your total will be roughly $66. LOTR and The Silmarillion together is $67, and The Hobbit and The Silmarillion together is $59. Each book originally sold for $75, so you’re getting a huge bargain here.
Since it’s B1G1 50% off, you will want to find a fourth book to pair with the three Tolkien Illustrated Editions if you want all of them. The Special Edition of Lord of the Rings is eligible for the promotion and discounted to $140. With a clothbound slipcase, a binding made of leather and cloth board, foil-stamped cover art, and gold-stained edges, it looks like a book you’d find in a library in MIddle-earth. It also comes with a few extras inside the slipcase, including poster-sized removable maps and other neat inserts. The other two Special Editions aren’t eligible–The Hobbit’s Special Edition released earlier this week and has received a steep launch discount. Instead, consider pairing The Lord of the Rings Deluxe: Special Edition with The Complete History of Middle-earth ($139). Since these are just about the same price right now, you’ll save an additional $70 at checkout.
New Tolkien Collector’s Editions
Four of the five recently released hardcover Collector’s Editions are discounted in addition to being B1G1 50% off. These books have foil-stamped covers, stained edges, ribbon bookmarks, and maps of Middle-earth on the inside of the covers. The only ineligible items are the Collector’s Edition of The Two Towers and the box set featuring the three volumes of LOTR. This set releases November 5 at Amazon, because Target has an exclusive on it until then. Target’s price for The Lord of the Rings Collector’s Edition Box Set is less during the exclusivity window, too–and it’s eligible for the retailer’s B1G1 50% off book sale.
The History of Middle-earth
Three of the four striking new History of Middle-earth Box Sets are included in Amazon’s promotion. These released throughout 2024 and are as beautiful as any book on these lists. Alternatively, you can get the mammoth three-volume set totaling 5,440 pages that collects all 12 parts. At $139, The Complete History of Middle-earth is pricey, but again, it’s 5,440 pages. To maximize your overall savings, as mentioned above, pair it with The Lord of the Rings Deluxe: Special Edition, which will effectively drop the price of The Complete History of Middle-earth to only $69.50.
More Tolkien Box Sets
The Lord of the Rings Deluxe Illustrated Box Set is a three-volume, enhanced remaster of the 1992 edition illustrated by legendary artist Alan Lee. This premium hardcover set was published on October 1 and includes brand-new paintings and over 50 never-before-seen pencil drawings. Also featured in sale is The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, a three-volume hardcover collection containing many previously unpublished poems Tolkien composed throughout his life. The 1,728-page set contains 60-plus years of poems as well as commentary by two leading Tolkien scholars.
In addition to the two pricier sets below, two budget-friendly Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit box sets are included in the promotion. The Leatherette Pocket Set is a cool gift idea, though be warned: The text is very small.
More B1G1 50% Off Tolkien Books at Amazon
B1G1 50% Off Tolkien Books at Target
Box Sets
Collector’s and Illustrated Editions
The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Middle-earth Books Galore
To help you navigate the many, many editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, we put together a custom Amazon hub filled with notable collector’s editions and box sets of the author’s beloved fantasy novels, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as the complementary tomes that provide fascinating insight on Middle-earth.