TOLKIEN

Rating:
Summary: Unreliable eye candy
Review: I felt this is a must have for any fan of the series of books that JRR Tolkien has wrote, its just purely amazing how much actual history is behind the series. I have owned the book for two months and still have not read all of it, the art is great to look at and yes it may seem off from what the characters look today but its still a feast for the eyes, if your a casual fan of the series this is not the book for you, you will get lost in all the history of the books. But if your a fan and wish to learn more about middle earth, this is a book for you as it will open your eyes to the first three ages of middle earth. Great to have and own.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book!
Review: I felt this is a must have for any fan of the series of books that JRR Tolkien has wrote, its just purely amazing how much actual history is behind the series. I have owned the book for two months and still have not read all of it, the art is great to look at and yes it may seem off from what the characters look today but its still a feast for the eyes, if your a casual fan of the series this is not the book for you, you will get lost in all the history of the books. But if your a fan and wish to learn more about middle earth, this is a book for you as it will open your eyes to the first three ages of middle earth. Great to have and own.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Middle Earth Encyclopedias I have seen!
Review: there are two eloquent reviews above so i need only add my concurence with a one star rating

even merry and pippin are mislabeled,obvious to any one who pays any attention at all-pityful,really,mr day.for shame!

Rating:
Summary: Unreliable eye candy
Review: While eye-filling and fairly comprehensive, David Day's work is not a reliable guide to the intricately detailed world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth novels. Day is entirely subjective, interposing his own interpretations and additions onto Tolkien's text. Tolkien's fans, who tend to have their own strongly-held opinions about such things, will most likely be annoyed, offended, or outraged. Fan fiction has its place, but not when it is marketed as a faithful representation of the original.

Rating:
Summary: Very good, BUT!
Review: With "The fellowship of the Ring" motion picture coming up, I became interested again in Tolkiens wholly self-invented mythology. Strolling through my local bookshop one day, my eye was caught by a beautiful painting of Smaug attacking Lake Town. This painting turned out to be the cover of a beautifully illustrated and quite complete encyclopedia of Tolkiens World.

For me, the buying of this book turned out to be the starting point of a massive inquiry in Tolkiens world which I have far from ended today. And even after all that supplementary reading The Illustrated Encyclopaedia remains today one of my favorite books.

However. Getting nowadays more at home in Tolkiens mythology I am beginning to see the wholes in the text. I'm not saying that the "Encyclopaedia" errs, but I do believe that if the author had taken his research even further it would have turned out to be an even better, if not brilliant book. I give two examples.

First, the books chapters are about history, geography, sociology, natural history and biografies. Why not add a chapter about important objects, discussing for example the Rings of Power and/or the various magical swords wielded by the great heroes of Middle Earth? Such a chapter, I am sure, would prove very interesting. But by letting this stuff out, people are left with an alltogether beautiful, but essentially incomplete encyclopaedia.

Second, when one takes into consideration the subjects that did make the book, it is all to obvious that some of the information that should have been there was simply left out. Considering the history of Arda, for example, I was astonished to find no reference at all regarding the Dagor Dagorath, the final battle of the Gods, when Morgoth the Dark Enemy returns and Arda will be laid to waste...

My final word on the subject : I love this book, but what if...

Rating:
Summary: Very good, BUT!
Review: With "The fellowship of the Ring" motion picture coming up, I became interested again in Tolkiens wholly self-invented mythology. Strolling through my local bookshop one day, my eye was caught by a beautiful painting of Smaug attacking Lake Town. This painting turned out to be the cover of a beautifully illustrated and quite complete encyclopedia of Tolkiens World.

For me, the buying of this book turned out to be the starting point of a massive inquiry in Tolkiens world which I have far from ended today. And even after all that supplementary reading The Illustrated Encyclopaedia remains today one of my favorite books.

However. Getting nowadays more at home in Tolkiens mythology I am beginning to see the wholes in the text. I'm not saying that the "Encyclopaedia" errs, but I do believe that if the author had taken his research even further it would have turned out to be an even better, if not brilliant book. I give two examples.

First, the books chapters are about history, geography, sociology, natural history and biografies. Why not add a chapter about important objects, discussing for example the Rings of Power and/or the various magical swords wielded by the great heroes of Middle Earth? Such a chapter, I am sure, would prove very interesting. But by letting this stuff out, people are left with an alltogether beautiful, but essentially incomplete encyclopaedia.

Second, when one takes into consideration the subjects that did make the book, it is all to obvious that some of the information that should have been there was simply left out. Considering the history of Arda, for example, I was astonished to find no reference at all regarding the Dagor Dagorath, the final battle of the Gods, when Morgoth the Dark Enemy returns and Arda will be laid to waste...

My final word on the subject : I love this book, but what if...