The Silmarillion is a quick glimpse into Tolkien's life's work, into his Creation. It tells of the making of Arda by Ilúvatar and the Ainur, of the coming of the Elves and Dwarves and Men to Middle-earth, but also of their corruption and the great battles that lead to the downfall of their civilization.
I read the Silmarillion for the first time 7 years ago, and I must admit my E... read more
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Amazon Review
Although The Silmarillion takes place in the same imaginary world as J.J.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and was originally published four years after the author's death and over two decades after the former book, it is set much earlier, in the First Age of the World. The tales and the book which reads as a T
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Amazon Review
Although The Silmarillion takes place in the same imaginary world as J.J.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and was originally published four years after the author's death and over two decades after the former book, it is set much earlier, in the First Age of the World. The tales and the book which reads as a fusion between a story collection and historical chronicle, are a matter of legend even to the characters of The Lord of the Rings:
In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is named Ilúvatar, made the Ainur of his thought; and they made a great Music before him
Tolkien wrote the heart of this material very early in his career, and continued to work on it throughout his life. It fell to his son, Christopher Tolkien, to edit it into book form, and such proved the unquenchable public appetite that he subsequently oversaw 12 volumes of The History of Middle-Earth. This edition features 20 highly evocative colour plates by Ted Nasmith, themselves worth the price of admission, while reinforcing the sense of a historical work are genealogical tables, an extensive index, appendix and colour map. Far removed from the genial style of The Hobbit, this is Tolkien at his most formal, his prose austere, poetically beautiful, his storytelling capturing the epic scale, high drama and melancholy wonder of myth. These stories of elves and heroes and old gods are quite literally the foundation of the entire modern fantasy-publishing revival, and are therefore essential reading. --Gary S. Dalkin
“The Silmarillion is a quick glimpse into Tolkien's life's work, into his Creation. It tells of the making of Arda by Ilúvatar and the Ainur, of the coming of the Elves and Dwarves and Men to Middle-earth, but also of their corruption and the great battles that lead to the downfall of their civilization.
I read the Silmarillion for the first time 7 years ago, and I must admit my English wasn't good enough then, so I really struggled with the language. I wasn't as familiar with Tolkien's world as I am now either, having only read the Lord of the Rings in French two years before, so it only seemed to me like a confusing succession of names. I didn't enjoyed it.
Now, after a second attempt, I'm proud to announce I changed my view. Even though of course the Silmarillion s” read more