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The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth

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Book details

  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    William Morrow
  4. Publication date
    November 15, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.25 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    006328068X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0063280687
  8. See all details
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Book overview

J. R. R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume complete with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by renowned artist Alan Lee.

J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a "dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told." And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron.

It was not until Christopher Tolkien published The Silmarillion after his father’s death that a fuller story could be told. Although much of the book’s content concerned the First Age of Middle-earth, there were at its close two key works that revealed the tumultuous events concerning the rise and fall of the island of Númenor. Raised out of the Great Sea and gifted to the Men of Middle-earth as a reward for aiding the angelic Valar and the Elves in the defeat and capture of the Dark Lord Morgoth, the kingdom became a seat of influence and wealth; but as the Númenóreans’ power increased, the seed of their downfall would inevitably be sown, culminating in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

Even greater insight into the Second Age would be revealed in subsequent publications, first in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, then expanded upon in Christopher Tolkien’s magisterial twelve-volume The History of Middle-earth, in which he presented and discussed a wealth of further tales written by his father, many in draft form.

Now, adhering to the timeline of "The Tale of Years" in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, editor Brian Sibley has assembled into one comprehensive volume a new chronicle of the Second Age of Middle-earth, told substantially in the words of Tolkien from the various published texts, with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by the doyen of Tolkien art, Alan Lee.

Review

"How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?" — The Guardian

"Demanding to be compared with English mythologies… at times rises to the greatness of true myth." — Financial Times

"A creation of singular beauty… magnificent in its best moments." — Washington Post

About the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over sixty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

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J. R. R. Tolkien
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J.R.R. Tolkien was born on 3rd January 1892. After serving in the First World War, he became best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, selling 150 million copies in more than 40 languages worldwide. Awarded the CBE and an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Oxford University, he died in 1973 at the age of 81.

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Frequently bought together

The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth
+
The Silmarillion: Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien (Tolkien Editions) (Tolkien Illustrated Editions)
+
The Nature Of Middle-Earth

Frequently bought together

The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth
$20.30
The Silmarillion: Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien (Tolkien Editions) (Tolkien Illustrated Editions)
$40.08
The Nature Of Middle-Earth
$15.04
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From the Publisher

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars4.8 out of 5
2,171 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book well-edited and wonderful, with a step-by-step narrative that makes sense and simplifies. They also appreciate the thorough annotations that make the content easier to follow and fill in many gaps. Readers also appreciate beautiful illustrations that enhance the story and provide an influential background for major characters.

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IllustrationsContent depthEditing qualityStoryline
IllustrationsContent depthEditing qualityStoryline
23Customers mention
23Positive
0Negative

Customers find the illustrations in the book beautiful, wonderful, and well done. They also mention that the book fills in some second age gaps.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...of the Second Age gain new power and interest, enhanced by the many beautiful illustrations from one of the greatest Tolkien illustrators at work..." Read more

"...for the dust jacket (Alan Lee of course), a ribbon bookmark, beautiful interior artwork as well as some nice smaller chapter headers and footers...." Read more

"...It’s a beautiful book with fantastic b&w and color illustrations...." Read more

"...The illustrations are very beautiful. I also bought the audio book and listened as I read...." Read more

8Customers mention
7Positive
1Negative

Customers find the content depth of the book excellent. They say the annotations add inestimable value, making the information digestible and easy to follow. They also say the sub-headings in the chapters make it much easier to follow than scattered narratives. Overall, readers say the book fills in some second age gaps.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...greater life, and Sibley's impeccable editing and thorough annotations add inestimable value as well...." Read more

"...This makes it much easier to follow than the scattered narratives you find in Unfinished Tales, The Silmarillion, or the various Histories of..." Read more

"Just 50 pages in and already it is clarifying and answering many of the questions I have had about the first and second ages, and the places and "..." Read more

"Written by Tolkien’s son. Very well done. Fills in some second age gaps. If you love Tolkien and mime or you should be here" Read more

8Customers mention
8Positive
0Negative

Customers find the book well-edited, succinct, and reader-friendly. They also say it does not seek to overwrite or undo previous works.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"...help Tolkien's words gain greater life, and Sibley's impeccable editing and thorough annotations add inestimable value as well...." Read more

"...It does not seek to overwrite, or undo previous works...." Read more

"A well-edited, succinct review of the history of Numenor and the actions of the Dunedain in the second age, although a bit dry as histories go, with..." Read more

"...In summation, this is an excellent account of the Second Age, far more reader-friendly than what has heretofore appeared in print...." Read more

8Customers mention
8Positive
0Negative

Customers find the storyline wonderful, breaths life into the rich history of Numenor, and tells the story of the second age. They also say the book is interesting and reads like unfinished notes.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

"A good telling of the second age and how the men of human or rose and fell because of their hubris...." Read more

"A well-edited, succinct review of the history of Numenor and the actions of the Dunedain in the second age, although a bit dry as histories go, with..." Read more

"...A wonderful narrative that goes step by step so it makes sense and simplifies to some degree what was so difficult to get my head around reading "..." Read more

"...This story is full of action, betrayal, and influential background for major characters of Lord of the Rings." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

John D. Cofield
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
A Work Of High Scholarship And High Beauty
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2022
J.R.R. Tolkien was a prolific writer and scholar who worked on his legendarium throughout his life. Most of his readers will be best familiar with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings which were published in his lifetime. After his death in 1973 his son Christopher was... See more
J.R.R. Tolkien was a prolific writer and scholar who worked on his legendarium throughout his life. Most of his readers will be best familiar with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings which were published in his lifetime. After his death in 1973 his son Christopher was responsible for the editing and publishing of many other works, especially The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and the 12 volume History of Middle-earth. Since Christopher's own passing other scholars have taken on the task of editing and publishing more of Tolkien's work. The Fall of Numenor, edited by well known Tolkien scholar Brian Sibley, is the latest and one of the most interesting of these.

The Fall of Numenor is primarily a history of the Second Age, referred to by Tolkien himself as "a dark age." Primarily it deals with the rise and fall of the great kingdom of Men called Numenor or Westernesse, located on a large island raised for that purpose by the Valar and situated between Middle-earth itself in the East and the Blessed Realms in the Distant West. The Men who had fought alongside the Elves in the great wars against Morgoth in the First Age were granted Numenor in thanks and as a refuge from the troubles of Middle-earth. The Men, now known as the Dunedain, were given great gifts and blessings, but forbidden to sail westward out of sight of their own land. At first the Dunedain obeyed this limitation, but as the centuries wore on and their wealth and power increased many began to long for the immortality of the Elves. Eventually this led to a shadow falling over Numenor, abetted by the growing power of Morgoth's chief servant Sauron in Middle-earth, and finally to its complete destruction.

Tolkien was haunted throughout his life by dreams of a great wave falling upon the lands and drowning them. These Atlantaean visions found outlets in many of his stories which have been collected here for the first time. The Fall of Numenor contains material from The Lord of the Rings and its Appendices, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, the abandoned time travel tale The Lost Road, and The Nature of Middle-earth. In this collected form the tales of the Second Age gain new power and interest, enhanced by the many beautiful illustrations from one of the greatest Tolkien illustrators at work today, Alan Lee.

The Fall of Numenor is not only a work of great scholarship but of beauty as well. Alan Lee's color plates and smaller black and white illustrations help Tolkien's words gain greater life, and Sibley's impeccable editing and thorough annotations add inestimable value as well. The book is a delight to hold and look through, with every page demonstrating the care taken to make it a work of quality. This is a book worthy of the libraries of Rivendell, Lothlorien, Minas Tirith, or even Bag End. All Tolkien scholars and other lovers of Middle-earth will find it indispensable and an utter delight.
123 people found this helpful
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CJDsCurrentRead
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
A great edition and effort
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024
I believe this is one of the first books released in the same style as the Christopher Tolkien ones post his death. Which of course, still features massive contributions from his life’s work. In the same vein as Christopher’s work, this sets out to give a... See more
I believe this is one of the first books released in the same style as the Christopher Tolkien ones post his death. Which of course, still features massive contributions from his life’s work.

In the same vein as Christopher’s work, this sets out to give a straight-forward linear storyline for the falling of Númenor. It also does a really good job taking the reader through the early history of Sauron. It does not seek to overwrite, or undo previous works. As with the other works taken from The Silmarillion and Appendices, it does read similarly to a textbook in places, but doing audio from Brian Sibley and Samuel West made it very digestible. Personally for me, hearing pieces from each that are featured elsewhere just really helps my understanding, as it can be really dense.

This has a beautiful wrapped artwork for the dust jacket (Alan Lee of course), a ribbon bookmark, beautiful interior artwork as well as some nice smaller chapter headers and footers. It has a great quality naked hardcover wrap too, a fantastic edition for a Tolkien collector.

One thing I’d love to highlight is how perfectly this cover matches the depiction shown in The Rings of Power show…I mean spot on. Obviously it comes from the text itself anyway, but when so much else gets changed…it’s just cool. The storyline really goes to show just how much they could do with the show itself. There’s so much going on in the appendices and this edition is the proof.
9 people found this helpful
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Ryan
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Essential addition to any Tolkien collection
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2023
If you’re a Tolkien fan/reader, this is nothing new, it’s a compilation of the history of Nùmenor from all across the Legendarium, even the notes from the LOTR apéndices. It’s a great reading companion/ reference, even a good place to start if you’re new to the Second Age... See more
If you’re a Tolkien fan/reader, this is nothing new, it’s a compilation of the history of Nùmenor from all across the Legendarium, even the notes from the LOTR apéndices. It’s a great reading companion/ reference, even a good place to start if you’re new to the Second Age of Middle Earth. It puts various snippets and stories found elsewhere into chronological order, with editorial comments to help fill out your understanding of the overall epic. I’m not new to Tolkien at all but I still found it a really fun read!
It’s a beautiful book with fantastic b&w and color illustrations. It’s heavy, almost gloss paper, definitely not newsprint or onion-skin “Bible-type” pages and even has a ribbon bookmark.
My only complaint is that the spine of the dust jacket is printed off-center, but I usually throw away dust jackets anyway. I’m really happy to add this to my Tolkien collection!
13 people found this helpful
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Blair
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
The fall of numenor
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2024
A good telling of the second age and how the men of human or rose and fell because of their hubris. Also the making of the ring of power and the other rings by Sauron and the elves. This sets the stage for the fellowship of the ring and the hobbit.
4 people found this helpful
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Jesse
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Great supplement for Tolkien nerds (like me)
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2023
A well-edited, succinct review of the history of Numenor and the actions of the Dunedain in the second age, although a bit dry as histories go, with few enthralling story pieces. Still, a good supplement for those of us nerdy enough to want to round out our understanding of... See more
A well-edited, succinct review of the history of Numenor and the actions of the Dunedain in the second age, although a bit dry as histories go, with few enthralling story pieces. Still, a good supplement for those of us nerdy enough to want to round out our understanding of Tolkien's timeline, though not as captivating as, say, Children of Hurin, or Fall of Gondolin.
2 people found this helpful
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thanson02
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Book came in great condition!
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2024
Purchased it for my LotR book collection. Came in great brand-new condition!
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Georg Schmidt
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
As good as expected
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2024
Goes into great detail describing true downfall of mighty Númenor. The rise and fall of many great kings. Plus the rise and yet not permanent fall of Sauron. Great book for Tolkien lovers
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Nathan R
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
A Refocusing That Accentuates the Drama and Tragedy of Numenor
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2023
As the list of Tolkien's still unpublished works relating to Middle-earth has been steadily reduced to the scantiest of scraps, it increasingly requires creativity and boldness to release a "new" book with J.R.R. Tolkien listed as its author. One option is to take a few... See more
As the list of Tolkien's still unpublished works relating to Middle-earth has been steadily reduced to the scantiest of scraps, it increasingly requires creativity and boldness to release a "new" book with J.R.R. Tolkien listed as its author. One option is to take a few lines of jotted down poetry and center an entire book around it, supplemented by other published-but-lesser-known material. The other option is to take already released material and present it in a more readable form, perhaps for the first time for those Tolkien fans only interested in his most completed narratives. The Fall of Númenor belongs to the second category.

All the above is to say that I was initially skeptical of the value of this release, outside the always welcome illustrations by Alan Lee. If the First Age has three "great tales," tales that Christopher Tolkien himself edited for standalone release, the tragedy of Númenor would surely qualify as the great tale of the Second Age. It is also a story quite central to Tolkien's mythopoeic thought, and one of personal significance to him that he returned to very often in varying modes. Unlike The Children of Hurin, for example, which needed editing and synthesizing in order to be fully appreciated as a narrative in its own right, it seemed to me that the story of Númenor as it existed could already be read in its most complete form in a small handful of works that Tolkien fans already owned. And unfortunately, it does not exist in a more extensive narrative form as the great tales of the First Age do.

I am very happy to have been mistaken. Editor Brian Sibley does indeed draw from readily available sources, but he takes bits and pieces from about the Second Age from so many places (from the text of The Lord of the Rings itself to Tolkien's Letters), it would be completely impractical for a reader to do the same. All these small snippets of information, arranged chronologically, have a curious cumulative effect as if you were reading a single narrative. Information about how the Númenoreans lived and acted drives home their similarities to elves, the heights to which they reached and the foibles that ultimately led to their downfall. Their fall reads as the climax of a great story, and the alliance between men and elves to overthrow Sauron a redemption rather than merely a prelude to The Lord of the Rings. Even Aldarion and Erendis, the longest single narrative of the Second Age and a unique and moving domestic drama within Tolkien's legendarium, feels as if it "fits" the overarching thrust of Númenor and the Second Age as a whole.

In total, this arrangement of texts will be an aid in recontextualizing the Second Age, and will be of great value to Tolkien fans.
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These toques are amazingly warm. The only downfall is the light on the highest is not as bright as I would like. I use it for when I am outside with the dogs at night. I'm sure walking down a street they could be okay so drivers don't get blinded. I would recommend this product.
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Christmas present
Reviewed in Canada on May 7, 2024
My son is obsessed with all these books. He is 29 and has been reading all these book for as long as he can remember. Thank you for adding to his addiction ❤️
My son is obsessed with all these books. He is 29 and has been reading all these book for as long as he can remember. Thank you for adding to his addiction ❤️
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Helton Matos
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Perfeito!
Reviewed in Brazil on February 15, 2024
Linda edição em inglês. Chegou em perfeito estado.
Linda edição em inglês. Chegou em perfeito estado.
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Alan Puc
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Excelente adición a la colección!
Reviewed in Mexico on January 21, 2024
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Desde cualquier ángulo se nota la calidad del libro y la presentación tan hermosa, si estás coleccionando todos, entonces sabrás que este tiene la misma calidad que el resto de la colección de Tolkien. Super recomendado!
Desde cualquier ángulo se nota la calidad del libro y la presentación tan hermosa, si estás coleccionando todos, entonces sabrás que este tiene la misma calidad que el resto de la colección de Tolkien. Super recomendado!
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Markus
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Snabb leverans och bra paketerat!
Reviewed in Sweden on May 26, 2024
Riktigt bra paketerat så lika böcker kom fram oskadade.
Riktigt bra paketerat så lika böcker kom fram oskadade.
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Mr. Warwick H. Holden
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Complete history of Numenor
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2024
Gathered together for the first time a complete history (as far as is known from Tolkien's writings) of the history of Numenor. Although the title suggests this is just about Numenor, it actually encompasses parts of the history of the Second Age of Middle Earth. So it...See more
Gathered together for the first time a complete history (as far as is known from Tolkien's writings) of the history of Numenor. Although the title suggests this is just about Numenor, it actually encompasses parts of the history of the Second Age of Middle Earth. So it includes in the timeline the inter-action of Numenor and the Dunedain with Middle Earth and Sauron. As well as the creation of the Rings of Power. A lot of the text will be known to readers of the "The Lord of the Rings" books (and the appendix), as well as "The Akalabeth" from The Silmarillion. Beautifully brought together by the author and with some stunning artwork by Alan Lee. Well worth the money and highly recommended.
Gathered together for the first time a complete history (as far as is known from Tolkien's writings) of the history of Numenor. Although the title suggests this is just about Numenor, it actually encompasses parts of the history of the Second Age of Middle Earth. So it includes in the timeline the inter-action of Numenor and the Dunedain with Middle Earth and Sauron. As well as the creation of the Rings of Power. A lot of the text will be known to readers of the "The Lord of the Rings" books (and the appendix), as well as "The Akalabeth" from The Silmarillion. Beautifully brought together by the author and with some stunning artwork by Alan Lee. Well worth the money and highly recommended.
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