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Summary: Heresy alert! Fanatical Tolkien fans, beware this review.
Review: For lo, and many in the camp of the fanatical followers of the writings of Tolkien were sore wroth, for the reviewer did have the temerity to say bad things about some of those writings, indicating that the style was ponderous and pretentious, with neither humor nor spark of life to be found in any character anywhere in the book, nor in any jot of the writing beside. Yet did the reviewer compound his heresy, conceding only that there was some minor interest for the true fan in seeing the development of the ideas that went into the formulating of the world that Tolkien eventually created, and that those who, upon reading "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", do find that the best part of the entire experience is in reading the elvish poetry recited by sundry characters in those books, will undoubtedly be greatly enamored of the present work. Yet did he maintain that the vast majority of those who love those books enjoy them largely for the writing style in which they are told, and will therefore find little or nothing of value in the present work. Further, he did propose the blasphemy that the editor of this volume, one Christopher Tolkien, son of the master, did no favors to his father's legacy by publishing sloppy, immature first drafts of his father's writings for the obvious purpose of cashing in on the name of "Tolkien", and did further wonder when the volume of shopping lists, notes to remind himself of engagements, comments on the papers of his students, and other sundry scribblings of J.R.R. Tolkien can be expected to be published. And, greatest of the heresies that the reviewer was guilty of, he did suggest that perhaps there was a REASON that these tales were never published, and perhaps it would have been better if some lost tales had never been found.
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Summary: I LOVED THIS BOOK EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN'T READ IT YET.
Review: HAHAHAHAHA TRICKED YOU ALL I DIDN'T EVEN READ THIS BOOK (ALTHOUGH I DO PLAN TO READ IT SOMEDAY) I RATED IT 10 'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS GOOD OR NOT.
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Summary: Magical
Review: Have you ever wanted to see the evolution of an entire mythology? These books let you see what the Silmarrillion was before it became the Silmarillion. The stories here are much more poethic than in finnnished work, full of descriptive detail and wonderful imagery. The pace is more sedate, more calm and flowing. It has a different shape. Its just so enchanting to see the fragments that were to survive, the little details that lie at the center of it all. Its also mind-boggling to see that some of the vital turning points of the later story are completely absent. Where the Silmarillion is presented as a story on its own, the book of Lost Tales has a framework: the stories where suposedly told to a traveled while he stayed at a house filled with enchanted children, who had strayed too far into dream. I kept looking forward to those little moments at the Cottage of Lost Play, the cosy story-telling by the fireside and all the exentric characters that have sadly gone missing later. But I swear, some of them I recognise from LotR! The book also presents exelent commentaries by Christopher Tolkien, who shows us exactly how these stories relaete to each other and to later stories. I cant imagine how much work must have gone into these books. Its an enriching experience if you like the academic aproach. Included here are many poems by Tolkien, wich i really love. They show such talent, such love of words. Beautiful. Be warned that these are not a complete story, like the Silmarillion. Passages are skipped, there are many inconsistencies and it breaks of before the end. However, I heartily recomend it in addition to the Silmarrillion. You might be best of waiting with this book if you have not read the later work. So, if you loved the Silmarillion, than this is your chance to witness magic in creation. Go right ahead, and have fun!
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Summary: A glimpse of magic
Review: Have you ever wondered how Tolkien wrote his wonderful stories? Then these are the books for you. Here we get to see the first steps of the creative process, the first ideas that began a world. Here are given the first drafts of the stories that were to become the Silmarillion, and even though the later stories are very different, the core of them is already there, along with many details that were to make it all the way through the process. Its fun to sitt there and recognise all the precious details.
The differences are just as great, and you will miss many of the central characters of the Silmarillion. On the other hand, you will meet many new ones.
The stories here have more details, more beautifull descriptions than the later book does, but the pace is different.
To tell you the truth, its almost worth buying the book just for the exelent commentaries and insights by Cristopher Tolkien, who shares his view of his fathers vision. Its hilarious to her him tell about hos difficult it was to figure out what went where, since these stories where scattered through many notebooks, and in some cases almost unreadable.
A word of advise, read The Silmarillion first. If you have, than this will give you a much deeper insight into the mind of a genius.
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Summary: There is a Reason JRR Tolkien didn't publish these tales
Review: I am the biggest tolkien fan there is.....Stick to the books he continued to work on throughout his life; The LOTR the Hobbit, The Silmarillion and even Unfinished Tales.... Once you stray into the bounds of Christopher Tolkien's Ego you will find yourself wondering what you are doing. These notes scribbles and random thoughts of the master are unreadable...I mean all of them from volume 1 to volume 12. How many times can you re read the tale of the children of Hurin? In a row? WHO CARES!!
Do yourself a BIG FAVOR.....Re read the Hobbit and the LOTR instead. NOT WORTH YOUR EFFORT
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Summary: A great book for the curiosity of Tolkien fans
Review: I first found myself in the world of Tolkien about two years ago, and the I find that the more of it I read the more I want to know. The sheer complexity behind the Silmarillion astounds me because its like entering into an epic, complicated, life-like history as complicated as our own. This book gives a little of how that history evolved into what it finally became, and suggests some of the possiblities for it that Tolkien had, along with other books in this series. After reading the Silmarillion I was left with a great curiosity and wanted to find out more; discovering this book helped, and reading it give me most of my answers, though it did leave far more questions. All said though, it is worth the read for any fan of Tolkien
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Summary: An insite on the early Silmarillion
Review: In Christopher Tolkien's first volume in The History of Middle Earth series he brings to light his father's original conception of what became known as the Silmarillion. This volume deals with the central theme in Tolkien's early works where an Englishman named Elfwine (or Eriol in Elvish) is told the history of the Elves after finding the "straight road" to Tol Eressea. This book deals mostly with Elvish history before the coming of men, and the later histories can be found in another great book, The Book of Lost Tales 2. I would recommend this book, along with all twelve of the other volumes, to anyone who enjoyed Tolkien's works but found them to be too short and would like more information. Also, for those interested in making a career out of writing this series is a very good example of the hardship required to write a classic work of fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Only For A Very Narrow Audience
Review: In the process of writing "The Lord of the Rings" and, to a lesser extent, "The Hobbit" J.R.R. Tolkien made voluminous notes on the "history" of Middle Earth, so that he could be internally consistent in his references to that history. After his death, his son, Christopher Tolkien, collected those mountains of notes, shuffled them, pasted them together, added some filler and connectors, and began producing books. "The Silmarillion" is the most famous of these books, but not the last. "The Book of Lost Tales 1 (The History of Middle-Earth - Volume 1)" is the first in a series of twelve books covering the fictional history of a fictional world. What I cannot decide is whether Christopher Tolkien is to be thanked for making all of this material amply available, or if he has just decided to make a career of endless analyzing and elaborating and annotating and collecting of his father's notes. For those who consider themselves Tolkien students, this volume, plus its eleven sequels and "The Silmarillion", are valued treasures. For those of us who just love Tolkien the Elder's completed works, the uncompleted works are of little interest. If you have some interest in the history of Middle-Earth, but do not want to read twelve volumes, read "The Silmarillion" where some of Tolkien the Elder's genius shines through at times.
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Summary: For Tolkein fans...wonderful!
Review: It takes great strength of mind to be able to stick through this book, but if you're a true Tolkien fan, you'll love every minute of it. The Book of Lost Tales Part I tells the story of Eriol, a great mariner who finds his way to the lost island of Tol Eressëa, The Lonely Isle, where dwell a lost tribe of Elves. He finds himself in the company of Lindo and Vairë, who grant him shelter. He becomes a part of their lives, eagerly drinking in the stories they have to tell him of the origin of the world, and the ancient times, of Valinor, the origin of evil, the great works and deeds of the gods, and the creation of the world as it exists now. For readers of the Silmarillion, many of the stories are familiar. They are told, however, in greater detail than that which is set down in the Silmarillion, and contain several interesting literary differences. (Nearly all of which are expounded on by Christopher Tolkien, who is, of course, the son of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.) Some are as small as name changes, some are opposing details about the events surrounding a character. (Such as Dwarves were originally an evil race by nature, and Beren was an ELF!) Christopher Tolkien pored through the scribbles and snatches that his father composed in his lifetime, and somehow managed to put it all together in this published form. He even offers commentary on each tale once it is finished. I often found that these commentaries are of little interest; I enjoyed the tales themselves more. Still, there are unique facts to be gleaned, such as such-and-such a page containing differences between this tale and that that Tolkien wrote, and a few interesting facts about his father. The book contains the very beginning of Middle-Earth, as told to Eriol by Lindo. The Music of the Ainur, he learns of, and the coming of the gods down to Valinor. He learns of the dark deeds of Melko, the coming of the Elves, the darkening of Valinor, the creation of the sun and moon, the flight of the Noldili. The book ends with a tale told by an Elf named Gilfanon about the travail of the Noldili, who fled Valinor after the theft of Melko. Following the end of tales is an index on names, the etymologies, the development of names, etc. Reading this book really gives you a feeling for how much work and effort went into the creation of the books we all enjoy, The Lord of the Rings. But little do we realize that there was a good three thousand years of history prior to that story - and Tolkien wrote it all. If you have an enthusiasm for the works of Tolkien, the tales prior to the Rings trilogy, and the history of Middle-Earth, than you should read this book if you can. I'd recommend reading the Silmarillion first, even if you have already read it once; Christopher Tolkien compares the two many, many times. Also be forewarned that this book can be a little dry and long-winded. But for true Tolkien aficionados, it's worth every minute.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: It was daring, adventurus, sad, joyful and victorius at the same time. I've never read a book quite like it.
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