Customer Reviews

The Silmarillion, Second Edition

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The Silmarillion is by far one of the best books I've ever read. You've got the beginning of a completely different world from what eventually makes up Middle-Earth- the music, the trees, the making and unmaking of it all! The Ainur, Eldar and Edain, Lay of Beren and Luthien, Morgoth Bauglir, Turin and Hurin, Fingolfin, Feanor and the Silmarils, and much, MUCH more.. A true display of the original might, magic, glory and fury of the elves-the Eldar, that can only be briefly spoken of in the LotR novels, and overblown to the point of self-parody in theatrical adaptations. It's overflowing with epic stories, and the scope of them from the beginning to the end is hard to duplicate unless you're comparing it to epic tales from the bible or ancient Sumeria(Epic of Gilgamesh).

Many find this one hard to get through, as it can be like learning a new religion and all its patron saints, dieties, and what have you. I only felt that way until I *wanted* to know; I had read the LotR novels five or six times already, and the things that they referenced and songs they sung from another time and age intrigued me to the point where I had to just, well, do the research, so to speak. The first time I got all the way through, it clicked. I read it again, and then again and a fourth time within a couple of months. I really couldn't stop until I knew every detail, because it was such a massive scale of time and life to only be covered in one book, and to see that the entire world I grew up reading about in the LotR novels was but a facet of Tolkien's real masterpieces really blew my mind.

Most editions also have maps(to a more or lesser extent), family trees, and a glossary in the front and back for most of the names(and there's a lot of them) and objects that come up in the stories. This second edition looks to be the same as mine only with an expanded version of the elf picture(which I'm thinking is a depiction of Feanor and the silmarils) that's smaller and bordered in silver on my copy. A good fifteen years ago I tried to read it but I didn't even think to look for a glossary in that older edition, and didn't want to take notes for it, thinking that that would make it less of an experience for me, so its definitely an important part of the book. Notes or not though, I wish I had pushed myself through it then, as it's become the apple of my eye for fantasy fiction. A lot of the chapters are expanded into full books, like The Children of Hurin, which I would also highly recommend.

Any LotR fan that wants to delve further into that world should definitely pick this up and give it a read or five. The most epic, the most tragic: this is high fantasy at its highest.

I thought the Silmarillion was the perfect companion to the Lord of the Rings. It details everything before the Third Age, and even some in the Third Age itself. I especially like the parts that talk about Numenor and the great kings there. It explains Sauron even more and all of the First Age, formation of Orcs and Balrogs, and other interesting facts.

The Silmarillion is an amazing read to anyone who considers themselves a fan of Middle Earth mythology. Its breathtaking creation story is without compare in fantasy fiction (IMO), achieving the exact effect Tolkien intended of being a text that seems like an ancient history handed down through centuries of oral and written tradition. Tolkien fearlessly shows his audience the creation of the heavens and the earth, the origins of evil, and the ancient battles that set the stage for his later Lord of the Rings tales. Even though this isn't the whimsical yet dangerous frolic of The Hobbit or the world-saving epic journey of the Rings trilogy, fans should still be fascinated by the scope of Tolkien's imagination. He boldly starts at the very beginning of everything, then details the rise of the world and all life, the key conflicts that established the world's opposing forces, and the valiant quest for the Silmarils. This book is not recommended for casual fans of the Lord of the Rings movies, but for readers genuinely interested in Tolkien's unrivaled contributions to fantasy literature.

I love Tolkien and have read most works about middle earth. The amount of knowledge, names, and places is without a doubt vast but in this book it can be a little overwhelming in the beginning

This book is essential a collection of sometimes closely and other times loosely connected stories that begin with the creation of the Middle Earth universe to the downfall of Númenor. Some of stories of a more history fashion of how Middle Earth came to be. Then you have the epic and heroic struggles of characters or races. This covers the first and second ages of Middle Earth. You will learn of the orgins of Morgoth, Sauron and Baelrogs to just name a few. My favorite stories in this are the ones about "Of Beren and Lúthien" and the story of Túrin Turambar.

When I purchased this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. It is, in essence, a chronological summary of events and certain persons in the history of Middle Earth. It starts very early on, and ends by explaining a little bit of information of things that occurred after the Lord of the Rings Trilogy ended. If you want to know the back story of information about the history of Middle Earth, then this is the book for you.