People complain that The Fellowship of the Ring is slow but I always appreciated that Tolkien took the time to establish the Hobbits as relatable people who had no idea what they were in for. It’s unfortunate that more epic fantasy novels don’t bother to make their protagonists goofy bastards, but Tolkien was kind enough to include an extended chaos bath sequence full of singing and buffoonery before sending off his heroes to be traumatized by terror and tragedy and soul-destroying powers.