The Complete Tolkien Companion

Rating:
Summary: Dissappointing
Review: I have one word which sums up this entire book "dissappointment". Ok, maybe not entirely worthless but to any self-respecting Tolkien fan this companion would have to be the least helpful of those available. Not only did I find information hard to find (characters etc were listed by their most "common name" thus if you were looking for a particular name which was less used, its highly likely that you won't find it which can get very frustrating. Also I couldn't help feeling that the Tyler seems to get his/her wires crossed alot, mixing what is "fact" and what is "fiction" mixed around. Also the major dissappointment I found with this "complete" Tolkien companion, is that its not "complete". Lesser characters, places, events etc seem to have been "lost" or "omitted". At the expensive of this "lesser" characters etc Tyler seems to have spent the energy instead on elaborating more on the "major" characters which I personally found annoying as no doubt many people want to buy a companion to help them understand alittle bit more on "lesser" characters which they come across in books. You wouldn't buy half a dictionary so why settle for half a "companion". I also found it quite shifty of Tyler "hiding" his/her references and sources at the back of the book.
However on a high note I did find the front cover design, I must say the best looking of the companions on the market. If only the inside was as good as the outside.
I suggest if your serious about getting a companion, "The Complete Guide to Middle Earth" by Robert Foster is 1st Rate and easier on the hip pocket too!

Rating:
Summary: Dissappointing
Review: I have one word which sums up this entire book "dissappointment". Ok, maybe not entirely worthless but to any self-respecting Tolkien fan this companion would have to be the least helpful of those available. Not only did I find information hard to find (characters etc were listed by their most "common name" thus if you were looking for a particular name which was less used, its highly likely that you won't find it which can get very frustrating. Also I couldn't help feeling that the Tyler seems to get his/her wires crossed alot, mixing what is "fact" and what is "fiction" mixed around. Also the major dissappointment I found with this "complete" Tolkien companion, is that its not "complete". Lesser characters, places, events etc seem to have been "lost" or "omitted". At the expensive of this "lesser" characters etc Tyler seems to have spent the energy instead on elaborating more on the "major" characters which I personally found annoying as no doubt many people want to buy a companion to help them understand alittle bit more on "lesser" characters which they come across in books. You wouldn't buy half a dictionary so why settle for half a "companion". I also found it quite shifty of Tyler "hiding" his/her references and sources at the back of the book.
However on a high note I did find the front cover design, I must say the best looking of the companions on the market. If only the inside was as good as the outside.
I suggest if your serious about getting a companion, "The Complete Guide to Middle Earth" by Robert Foster is 1st Rate and easier on the hip pocket too!

Rating:
Summary: Only a back-up choice
Review: Third edition of an encyclopedia whose first two, pre- and post-Silmarillion, versions have been floating around for years. A reliable source but a very poor second choice to Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth (less detail, more omissions, few dates, hardly any page references), Tyler's tome now includes entries from Unfinished Tales, 24 years after that book was published. It ignores almost everything else since then, whether it fits into the (illusory) "final" legendarium or not. Tyler claims he's dropped his pretence that Middle-earth is real, but entries like that for Orcs, identifying them as the true origin of mythic goblins, show that he hasn't. This new edition is only worth having if a copy drops into your lap.

Rating:
Summary: Only a back-up choice
Review: Third edition of an encyclopedia whose first two, pre- and post-Silmarillion, versions have been floating around for years. A reliable source but a very poor second choice to Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth (less detail, more omissions, few dates, hardly any page references), Tyler's tome now includes entries from Unfinished Tales, 24 years after that book was published. It ignores almost everything else since then, whether it fits into the (illusory) "final" legendarium or not. Tyler claims he's dropped his pretence that Middle-earth is real, but entries like that for Orcs, identifying them as the true origin of mythic goblins, show that he hasn't. This new edition is only worth having if a copy drops into your lap.

Rating:
Summary: Weak "Companion"
Review: With a universe as complex and nuanced as Tolkien's Middle-Earth, a guide is invaluable. Unfortunately. J.E.A. Taylor's "Complete Tolkien Companion" is far from invaluable. With barely any details and seriously unbalanced data, Taylor's book is all right as a second or third choice, but a flop as a serious guide.

From A ("Accursed Years") to Z ("Zirak-Zigil"), this book covers people, places, battles, objects and events from all throughout Middle-Earth's history. Taylor includes information from Tolkien's famous "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings," as well as the Silmarillion, "Unfinished Tales," and some other books. (Unfortunately, he doesn't include all of the history books)

Is "The Complete Tolkien Companion" worthless as an encyclopedia? No, not at all -- it's useful for some quick glances, and Taylor has a pleasant if clumsy style. But as a serious source, it fails. It doesn't have enough informaton, and what it does have is unbalanced and weirdly conveyed.

One of the most annoying things is that while Tyler will tell some stuff about various characters, events, and items. But in most entries, he doesn't specify which books they appeared in, what pages, or much else. Where is "Khuzdul" revealed to be a secret language? He doesn't tell you. And his handling of the information is clumsy: readers are told that Arwen Evenstar shares the "Doom of Luthien." What does Luthien have to do with her descendent becoming a mortal? Taylor doesn't say.

What's more, Taylor demonstrates a weird tendency to act like the events of Tolkien's books are a 10,000-year-old history. He claims in his preciously-worded foreword that he's going to stop, but he doesn't -- a tendency that crosses the line from fervently geeky to unsettling. What is more, he has a tendency to interject his own opinions into the text: he spends a long time explaining how misunderstood Galadriel is, for example.

To casual fans, "The Complete Tolkien Companion" might have some worth. But for those seeking more information about Tolkien's Middle-Earth, this is an unworthy choice, in the shadow of Robert Foster's accomplished "Complete Guide to Middle-Earth."

Rating:
Summary: Weak "Companion"
Review: With a universe as complex and nuanced as Tolkien's Middle-Earth, a guide is invaluable. Unfortunately. J.E.A. Taylor's "Complete Tolkien Companion" is far from invaluable. With barely any details and seriously unbalanced data, Taylor's book is all right as a second or third choice, but a flop as a serious guide.

From A ("Accursed Years") to Z ("Zirak-Zigil"), this book covers people, places, battles, objects and events from all throughout Middle-Earth's history. Taylor includes information from Tolkien's famous "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings," as well as the Silmarillion, "Unfinished Tales," and some other books. (Unfortunately, he doesn't include all of the history books)

Is "The Complete Tolkien Companion" worthless as an encyclopedia? No, not at all -- it's useful for some quick glances, and Taylor has a pleasant if clumsy style. But as a serious source, it fails. It doesn't have enough informaton, and what it does have is unbalanced and weirdly conveyed.

One of the most annoying things is that while Tyler will tell some stuff about various characters, events, and items. But in most entries, he doesn't specify which books they appeared in, what pages, or much else. Where is "Khuzdul" revealed to be a secret language? He doesn't tell you. And his handling of the information is clumsy: readers are told that Arwen Evenstar shares the "Doom of Luthien." What does Luthien have to do with her descendent becoming a mortal? Taylor doesn't say.

What's more, Taylor demonstrates a weird tendency to act like the events of Tolkien's books are a 10,000-year-old history. He claims in his preciously-worded foreword that he's going to stop, but he doesn't -- a tendency that crosses the line from fervently geeky to unsettling. What is more, he has a tendency to interject his own opinions into the text: he spends a long time explaining how misunderstood Galadriel is, for example.

To casual fans, "The Complete Tolkien Companion" might have some worth. But for those seeking more information about Tolkien's Middle-Earth, this is an unworthy choice, in the shadow of Robert Foster's accomplished "Complete Guide to Middle-Earth."