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Summary: The Middle-Earth Bible
Review: If you love J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth saga of "The Hobbit" & "The Lord Of The Rings," then you absolutely MUST read "The Silmarillion." This book is the Middle-Earth bible, telling the stories of the First Age of Tolkien's mystical land, including the history of the Elves, long before Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf & company came along at the end of the Third Age. "The Silmarillion" tells of the creation of the world, followed by the story of the Silmarills, three magic jewels of power that are stolen by the evil lord Morgoth, who was Sauron's predecessor and master, and the attempts by the Elves (and certain Men) to retrieve them. This is then briefly followed by a plot synopsis for "The Lord Of The Rings," so "The Silmarillion" really does contain all of Middle-Earth's history in a single volume. Also, quite happily, three characters from "The Lord Of The Rings" play major roles here: the evil Sauron, and the high-esteemed Elves Elrond and Galadriel, and it's quite fascinating to read how they all got their starts. Written off & on during his lifetime, but left unedited into a final form at the time of his death, Tolkien's son Christopher bravely took up the task of editing his father's unpublished work into a finished book, and he did an excellent job. Admittedly, "The Silmarillion" is a very challenging read---no Hobbits anywhere, and LOTS of names of people & places scattered all over, many of them similar-sounding (Turin son of Hurin, Elros brother of Elrond, etc., etc.), which can cause confusion for the reader at first and was one of the reasons why Tolkien was reluctant to have the work published. Fortunately, the book comes with a glossary of all these names and who's who, how to pronounce them, as well as maps of the various lands. But more than that, the book is wonderfully written, containing many great stories of drama & adventure as only Tolkien could write them (a great highlight for me is the story of Beren and Luthien, a marvelous love story AND adventure rolled into one, but there are many other examples).Thoroughly engrossing from beginning to end, "The Silmarillion" is essential reading for any Tolkien fan who wants to know how all of Middle-Earth began, and what the backstory and history is to the saga of "The Hobbit" & "The Lord Of The Rings." A marvelous book, and highly recommended to the Tolkien enthusiast.
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Summary: An excellent book for the diehard Tolkien fan
Review: If you are a serious fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's other books and you want to learn more about the history of middle earth, then you will find this book fascinating. One word of warning however; It is not a story in the sense that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is. Yes, it does explain many of the myths and stories from the past hinted in LOTR, but it a series of stories rather, that all happen to be a part of the history of middle earth. It is also easy to get lost with all of the strange names and unfamiliar places, but it is rich in detail and well worth reading if you want to delve into the events that led up to those in LOTR.
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Summary: History of Middle Earth
Review: With the openings of the movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's expansive trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings," many have wondered what has caused the circumstances the now-famous Fellowship have found themselves in. Travelling backward in time, we begin indeed at the very start - and not merely of the Fellowship, but of the world itself. "The Silmarillion" journeys through the creation of the world, the time during which the lesser gods realized that a world was meaningless without inhabitants, and the creation of the firstborn, the elves. Moving forward with the beginnings of each of the most important species of Middle Earth and the circumstances they find themselves in, we soon learn that Sauron was not the ultimate evil that our beloved friends had ever seen - there is another.
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Summary: PURE genious
Review: The Silmarillion is not to be missed by fans of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It is truly an epic novel. It takes a bit of patience but it is WORTH it. I've read it twice already. Buy it, read it, treasure it.
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Summary: The Three Holy Silmarillions
Review: "There was Eru, the one, who in Arda is called Illuvatar and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offsprings of his thoughts, and they were with him befour aught else was made".One of the greatest Litterature starts like this, the beginning of everything and the Ainurs make a great Music and in this music Eru Illuvatar creates the world Middle-earth that we later know in the lord of the rings. The silmarillion retells the legends of Middle-earth, from the creation of the world, the making of elfs, humans and dwarfs to the destructive power of the greatest Ainur, Melkor. The silmarillions are three holy crystals that holds the remaining light of the two holy tree`s destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliante. The elfs wage war towards Melkor and go against the mighty Ainurs to hold the silmarillions for themselfs. A book of power, corruption, hope and fantasy and noone should be left without it. The Masterpiece of J.R.R Tolkien in a Beautifull Illustrated hardcover edition, if you are looking for a great book, then this is for your eyes only
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Summary: Great Read
Review: wow this really put the whole world of middle earth in perspective
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Summary: A fascinating story of adventure and history
Review: This book is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. It contains thousands of years of history, and amazingly detailed and enjoyable tales and sagas which all relate to one main plot. The sheer complexity of the work will demand respect from you, but to those who are not fantasy readers, or Tolkien devotees, it will read somwehat like a textbook. Overall, a magnificent saga of a whole seperate world, but only for hard core fans.
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Summary: no dont read this first
Review: david young in one of these reviews said that you should be reading this before you read lotr well that wouldnt be a good idea because this gives away the ending
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Summary: Tolkien goes Biblical
Review: The Silmarilion has never quite been up there with Lord of the Rings, in terms of popularity. Perhaps it is because Tolkien never actually finished this book himself - his son reworked and rewrote his fathers sketches - or it may have something to do with the lack of a clearcut adventure, with a single hero and a clear beginning and end. The Silmarillion starts of as Tolkiens version of the Old Testament, and ends up as an adventurous collection of tales from the history of Middle-Earth. All the appendices with family trees and elvish dictionaries are pretty geeky, but I must admit: I really loved all the stories and sagas about Feanor, Turin, Beren, Luthien and the other 'new' characters. It is just as mesmerizing as LOTR and, fortunately, not to be made into a motion picture anytime soon.
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Summary: Read me first
Review: If you are watching the films as they come out, or reading the trilogy, you are doing yourself a diservice not to read this first. The trilogy is really the end of the story where this is the beginning. If you like Tolkien, and you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't, you MUST get this and read it.
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