The Lord of the Rings fans can save big on some of the best editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary fantasy novel, The Hobbit, and other books about Middle-earth thanks to the latest Buy Two, Get One Free Book Sales at Amazon and Target. These early Black Friday promotions include all three Tolkien Illustrated Editions, which are unique hardcover versions of the author’s three best-known books: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion. If you add all three to your cart, you’ll only wind up paying $86 ($225) total, which breaks down to $28.66 ($75) per book.
Plenty of other Tolkien books and box sets are featured in the B2G1 Free Book Sale at Amazon, including The Lord of the Rings Collector’s Edition Box Set, which was published on November 5. You can read about our favorites below or check out the Amazon hub we created to see the best B2G1 free LOTR books.
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.
The Lord of the Rings Collector’s Edition Box Set released earlier this month and is already on sale for $72.63 (was $105) at Amazon–and it’s eligible for Amazon’s B2G1 free promotion. This set comes with a display box containing hardcover editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. All of the new Collector’s Editions have foil-stamped covers, stained edges, ribbon bookmarks, and maps of Middle-earth on the inside covers. The books released individually in September, just a few weeks after matching Collector’s Editions of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion released.
In addition to the box set, four of the five Collector’s Editions are eligible for B2G1 free on their own, and all five are available for nice discounts. The only book that isn’t eligible is The Fellowship of the Ring.
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. The only set that isn’t eligible is No. 2, which comes with three books and is on sale for only $48 (was $100). The other three hardcover sets include four books each and are on sale for their best prices yet.
If you get The History of Middle-earth Box Sets 1, 3, and 4 with this promotion, you’ll only pay $144 for 12 hardcover books, which is an average of only $12 per book. Considering these three sets started at $125, you’re saving literally hundreds of dollars compared to launch prices.
It’s not included in the sale, but the alternative here is a mammoth three-volume set totaling 5,440 pages that collects all 12 parts for $139. The budget-friendly five-book paperback box set containing several parts of The History of Middle-earth is eligible for buy two, get one free, though.
More B2G1 Free 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.