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Summary: The Silmarillion
Review: I really enjoyed Tolkien's "Silmarillion." It is true that it is hard to get through the beginning, but once you are past all the names of who is who and what they are important for; you reach the actual story, and it is wonderful. It's beautifully written and has an engulfing plot.It is a great book. I don't know that I would say it is better than the Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings, but they are all on an equal plane of excellency.
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Summary: There is no doubt, this is a masterpiece.
Review: Like many readers, I found The Silmarillion difficult to understand at first, but after three failed attempts of reading the novel, I finally finished it, and I loved it. The only reason I can think of that this book is not as good as The Lord of the Rings is that there is so little dialogue, but that is easily overlooked when one sees the beauty Tolkien uses to tell each story.
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Summary: An epic comparable to the Iliad
Review: There is no question that the Silmarillion is the best of Tolkien's works. It, as was mentioned in a previous review, is the quintessential Tolkien work. This was his lifelong dream; these were his real stories. For those of you who do not like the Silmarillion, that is understandable. It is not of the same style as the LoTR and the Hobbit. It was never meant to be; it is not a story of a "fellowship" but rather a story of the history of the world. This book deserves to be read by every Tolkien fan. I commend Christopher Tolkien for assembling and publishing his father's works.
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Summary: Silmarillion
Review: This book is one of the most amazing I've ever read. It tells tons of epic stories in a grandiose old styled way that kept me hooked for hours. The Silmarillion is much much vast and expansive than LotR and leaves you much more satisfied. also, once you've read the silmarillion, you can reread LotR and understand all the obscure references that before were meaningless. this book is amazing
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Summary: Breathtaking, emotive and nostalgic. Not for easy reading.
Review: This was the FIRST Tolkien book I bought. At first I found difficult to remember all the different names (even to the same people: Elves, First-born, Eldar, Eldalie, etc...) but soon I reached a point I felt like a smash deep in my soul and my mind. I couldn't stop. I finished. I started again (now understanding everything) and was even better! This is a book full of deeply moving stories told in an epic language, like the Homeric Poems, so overwhelming that my imagination kept running for weeks! When I bought Lord of the Rings I was very dissapointed with the childish tone of the First Book. I didn't care about the hobbits. Happily "The Return of the King" shows a more epic tone, like The Silmarillion, making at last The Lord of the Rings enjoyable for me. If you like simpler, lighter stories you won't enjoy this book. For the rest, it could be still hard at times, but the whole experience IS rewarding, and with the time it grows endlessly.
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Summary: Absolutely outstanding!
Review: I love it! I love it! I love, love, love it! Ted Nasmith's pictures are simply great and really capture the mood of the scenes described in Tolkien's "Silmarillion". These pictures are now decorating my walls and I hardly ever had anything nicer to watch at.
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Summary: Deep dissapointment
Review: I will be as terse as possible in the hopes of helping as many others as I can: unless you are looking for the cure for insomnia, avoid this audio book collection at all costs.
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Summary: A wonderful book, but not for everyone.
Review: For the obsessed Tolkien fan (like myself), this book is a revelation. In epic language occasionally reminiscent of the King James Bible, it describes all those events of the First Age which are alluded to in _The Lord of the Rings_. I particularly enjoyed the full story of Beren and Luthien. For all the book's strengths, some readers will be put off by the epic style (which only appears intermittently in LOTR). It reads more like mythology than a novel at times. It is not "cute," like _The Hobbit_. It's not for everyone, but if you love the grander aspects of Middle-earth, I think you'll enjoy it. By the way, (according to Carpenter's biography), this group of stories was always Tolkien's central artistic project. _The Hobbit_ and _LOTR_ were both accidental offshoots. They were not published during Tolkien's lifetime because he was a perfectionist and never felt they were quite ready for publication.
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Summary: Answers many questions
Review: This book is a great help for those wanting to understand Tolkien's Middle Earth. For someone who has never even looked at Tolkien, I wouldn't recommend starting with this one. Check out the Hobbit instead. For those already steeped in Middle Earth, this book gives you great info about the First Age and what went on. It gives stories about characters only mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, plus a great mythological account of where all the elves, men and dwarves came from. It is a great guide to use to tie the story of Middle Earth together.
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Summary: Useful only as a reference text
Review: The cover promises this book to be an epic fairytale...but it is really more of a reference book. Buy it to better understand the characters, myths and plots of the Lord of the Rings novels, but don't buy it for entertainment. The appendices added by Tolkien's son do provide interesing little nuggets, such as how to pronounce and translate elfen names. However, there is no dialogue, no action, and the plot never really develops, because the story is chopped into little tiny pieces that are related in an encyclopedia-like tone. I only got three-quarters of the way through before boredom got the best of me. Worst of all, the whole book is so preachy, it makes you feel guilty for being human. In fact, the work is so un-story-like and unfinished, I got the feeling Tolkien never really intended for this work to be published -- it appears to have been a place for him to organize and document his thoughts for his other fabulous work. For those who have already read the exciting, thought-provoking and romantic Lord of the Rings series, this book will likely disappoint -- unless you are using it for research.
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