The Silmarillion

Rating:
Summary: A jewel of a book
Review: I first read this book in sixth grade. Then, all it did was confuse me. When I had re-read it enough to understand it, I feel in love with it. Tolkien writes so well, I would recommend this book to anyone. The imaginativeness in the book is well-worth the read itself. While I love this book, it is not for one who does not like skipping from story-to-story or the "olden" type of english. The only thing that I don't like about the book is the many names of some of the characters, when there's at least a hundred. (most likely more).

Rating:
Summary: Tolkien's greatest work
Review: This tale is by far the best I've ever read. I don't suggest it to any old person, just someone who is a really strong reader, who doesn't mind the way it's built. My favorite part is The Voyage of Earendeail and The War of Wrath, which tells of the breaking of Angband, the scattering of the dark forces, the banishing of Morgoth Bauglir, and the first defeat Sauron was to experience.

Rating:
Summary: a good background
Review: but terribly written, most pages require 2 or 3 re-reads...the book is terribly dry, but i think the background was very helpful before reading the hobbit and the lotr trilogy for the first time...still, i wouldnt suggest it, the book is just too difficult to understand.

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Summary: A book concerning the First Age of Middle-Earth.
Review: This book is concerned with the Lord of the Rings. It is an account of the Elder days or the first age of middle Earth, where the children of Iluvatar constructed Middle Earth. It is a great book and it was published four years after the death of the author , J.R.R. Tolkien.

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Summary: Marvelous Exploration of Middle Earth
Review: Anyone familiar with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is familiar with just how much work J.R.R. Tolkien put into the world he created, Middle Earth. Songs and poetry extolling ancient heroes, tales of the history of Middle Earth and the Ring...Middle Earth always seemed alive because of those details (even if, like me, you skipped over most of the songs and poetry). The time Tolkien spent building that massive backstory was a big factor in the success of The Lord of the Rings, because the tale held together as if it truly were history rather than fiction. The Silmarillion helps flesh out a lot of that backstory.

Somewhere between a Bible of Middle Earth and a history text, The Silmarillion is not a story in the sense of The Hobbit of The Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion is more like a collection of short stories telling about the history of Middle Earth leading up to the War of the Ring, from the creation of the world to the wars against Morgoth and the destruction of Numenor. The Silmarillion helps to flesh out the world Tolkien created and provides a great deal of additional depth to the stories told in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as well as helping the reader to more fully understand Tolkien's magnificent creation.

If you're looking for a ripping good read, you should look elsewhere: this is pure exposition, as another reviewer noted. But if you enjoyed The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and would like to understand more about Middle Earth, you'll enjoy The Silmarillion.

Rating:
Summary: the bible of middle earth
Review: if one should describe this epic book, he should say that he is reading the bible of middle earth. not only that the way in which tolkein describes each and every detail in the tales that are told in this book but he also gives it light and he guides youe imagination so you can actually seean image in your mind. this book involves gods,profits,heroes ( which didnt exactly ment to be heroes ), evil within, evil without and much more elements that are similar to our holy book. the book gives you a much better understanding of the relations between all folks of middle earth ( including magicians! ) and spreads out the history of the events that lead to the last war and the begining of the age of men.
i strongly recomend that every fantasy books lover should read this book and i feel that everyone who enjoyes beautifull language and litretuer shoul try and read it.

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Summary: Listen before you read!
Review: I tried several times to read The Silmarillion, but usually became bogged down with the names and lost in the various places. However, after listening to Martin Shaw's wonderful melodic voice, the story seemed to fall into place. Hearing the names aloud makes them all the more real, and for any lover of LOTR I highly recommend hearing this tale at some point (but especially for those who've tried to read it and found it wanting!).

It's also a great way to get a clearer picture of the fantastic history of Middle Earth .

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Summary: Mythology of Middle-Earth
Review: You really have to be in the right mood for The Silmarillion. I love it, but I realize it's not for everyone. This is the "big story" J.R.R. Tolkien worked on all his life, but never completed. His son, Christopher Tolkien, does an admirable job of assembling this collection of myths into a coherent whole. What is Middle-Earth? Where did it come from? Where did the Elves come from? What happened in the First Age? How did Númenor fall? There are so many questions answered in this book, as well as basic questions, like how the world was created (by music! awesome!), that are just fun to read. However, the early part of The Silmarillion is a tragedy.

Imagine, if you will, two glorious trees, one with silver leaves and one with gold, that shine with their own inner light and illuminate the city of the gods. An elf, Feanor, uses the skills he has learned from the Valar (gods) to enshrine some of the light of these two trees into three brilliant jewels called the Silmarils. The dark lord (Morgoth) steals the jewels and heads off to Middle-Earth. The rest of the book entails the wars and tragedies that result as the Elves try to recover the Silmarils by force. This is high mythology, with heavy, dark content. At the time I read it, The Silmarillion was unlike anything I had ever read. Quite frankly, I haven't found any other fantasy series nearly so captivating (I am a science fiction fan, by disposition). This is not just swords and sorcery fare; Tolkien has some serious moral points to make, and he makes them subtly while telling you a grand tale, akin to the Odyssey.

This is not a happy book. There is much sorrow in it and many tales of loss. But you cannot have loss without having gained something first, and Tolkien conjures up amazing images of faerie cities and uncountable riches. When those riches are lost, it is only through the moral weakness of those who possess them. You won't get much of that in Conan. The success of modern fantasy is owed in no small part to the success of "The Lord of the Rings," but before LOTR, in Tolkien's mind, there was The Silmarillion; and this is the real story he wanted to tell. Read and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Good luck
Review: I am a major fan of Tolkien, and I love the Lord of the Rings.

That said, if you can make it through this book, you deserve extra Hobbit points. It's basically the Bible of Middle Earth. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just a major struggle to get through. If you aren't a super-die-hard fan of Tolkien, stay away from The Silmarillion.

Rating:
Summary: Alright
Review: This book was alright, u really had to concentrate to understand it, it reads similar to the bible. Its worth it to check it out.