The Silmarillion

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant is an understatement
Review: I had the pleasure of reading this masterpiece soon after my first completion of The Lord of the Rings. When I first started I found the book to be rather boring and I stopped reading it. Three weeks later I picked it up with an open mind and read the book over the course of two weeks. I found this book to be amazing. Tolkien was a profoundly religious man, and The Silmarillion makes it evident. The Silmarillion is his life's work, and it is obvious that he was very passionate about his mythology and his creations. The opening pages are parallel to the book of Genesis, and the overall content is very similiar to that of the Bible. It's similarity to the Bible makes it difficult to understand at times. There are many characters in the book and many different family trees to remember. At times the reading is rather slow, but there are other times in which the content is so exciting that I never wanted it to end. The battles were epic to say the least, and I am very glad that I read this book. I recommend it to anyone who has read The Lord of the Rings and wants to find out about the legends that the characters sing about in their poems and songs. It is difficult sometimes, but in the end you will feel nothing short of satisfaction. That is a gurantee.

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening but not for the impatient reader
Review: It was fun to read but I also have the Guide to Middle Earth and the Atlas of Middle Earth which helped greatly in reading this. It can be hard to keep track of all the lineages of the Noldor and Edain. The illustrations were great.

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Summary: I finally understand some stuff in LOTR!
Review: I read the well-known Lord of the Rings trilogy before Sil, and I LOVED LOTR. I read Silmarillion for an independent reading project at school, and got a good grade. The best part? I LOVE this book! It's more like a history book than LOTR, but it's SO much better than any history book that your teacher hands you and tells you read Section One. After reading Sil, you wanna read it again... and again...

Then I began reading the trilogy again and not only will understand about Beren and Luthien-- you'll understand a LOT more, too. Like when Gildor Inglorion says he is of the House of Finrod, you'll COMPLETELY understand what House he's talking about, and WHO he's talking about. You'll begin to wonder about not only Bombadil, but also Goldberry (river-daughter? Ulmo's? But he dwelt alone...), and Glorfindel... need I say more? If you love Tolkien's works, you MUST get the Silmarillion!

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Summary: Original mythology
Review: The Silmarillion, other than being a fantsy, is a work of a genre not encountered anymore in today's literature. That genre is mythology. If you find ancient myths and legends of heroes interesting, you will find The Slimarillion to your liking, even if you are not familiar with Tolkien's other books. This is a good place to start, because it details the creation of the author's world.

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Summary: not for the faint of heart, but worth the effort
Review: The Silmarillion is an oft-derided work, compared to the particularly droning passages of the Bible where so-and-so begat so-and-so for generations ad nauseam.

It's true that this is a difficult text to get through. You'll want to keep a notepad in hand while you trace lineages of Elves and Men and keep the names of the gods and demi-gods (or Valar and Maiar, actually) straight.

But in a time when there is so much substandard fantasy writing around, it's incredibly rewarding to read this book and get a good look at a true master with a relentlessly thorough mind and a rich eye for detail as he builds a world out of his imagination. Tolkien showed other writers how to build living, breathing mythologies. The world he created and the stories he filled it with are still fresh and resonant and unexpectedly touching.

For fans of the Lord of the Rings, reading this book will fill in the gaps of all the obscure references packed into the series. Like I said, the book will be a challenging read, but when you turn the last page, you'll feel a bit sad that it's over and you'll want to read more.

Rating:
Summary: A great book as rare as a Silmaril
Review: As a huge Tolkien fan myself, I found this book to live up to its full praise as a work of art. The Silmarillion was not only beautifully written, but very informitive as well. It discusses everything from the creating of the Earth, the many evils and battles that led to the downfall of its people, to the Numenoreans, and all the way to the forging of the rings of power. This book answers all questions or confusions left after the Lord of the Rings series, and is a must read for all Tolkien lovers!

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Summary: The Silmarils of Tolkiens Mind!
Review: I didn't know Tolkien, or the trilogy LOTR, but the movie introduced me to this magnificent world.
The Silmarillion is the "Genesis" of the whole world Tolkien created and loved.
The introduction of Ilúvatar, and the creation of Arda, is very similar to the Bible story. "At the beginning there was God"- The Bible, "There was Eru, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar"-Silmarillion.
And the rebellion of Melkor, who is also called Morgoth, is similar to the rebellion of Lucifer. Melkor was the mightiest of the Ainúr and Lucifer was the mightiest of the Angels, and both wanted to rule Ea, and both wanted to be called Lords. Also is mentioned in the Bible that the world was empty in darkness, the same is mentioned about Ea in the Silmarillion.
Christopher Tolkien has explained his fathers theological, and philosophical view in a special edition.

From this point of view Tolkien develops his universe of Valars, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Olorins and men.

These are the best books ever written (except the Bible;)

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent Depth
Review: This is a difficult read - I'll admit that. It;s not the page turner of LOTR but the depth and complexity of the world of Tolkien is mind blowing. It is like a history book so don't expect lots of action, although there is some - Armies of Balrogs, Dragons, Orcs etc. under the command of Sauron and his boss Morgoth!! I wish Tolkien had lived long enough to fully expand all of the stories contained in this volume - It would take about 7 Peter Jackson movies to do it justice...

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Summary: *Pant pant* I can't believe I read the whole thing...
Review: The Silmarillion is for die-hard Tolkien fans, there's no doubt about it. It reads much like a Bible for Middle-Earth, but can help create an in-depth understanding of the background of Middle-Earth. Though there's few names you'd recognize from the Rings trilogy itself, (Elrond and Galadriel are probably the ones you would readily recognize) you can understand a lot more of the trilogy itself if you read this.

You can get a better grasp on many of the poems and expressions used, such as in the first book, the Fellowship, Elrond says something to the effect of "Though you sit among Turin or Beren, you would be honored among them." or some of the poetry regarding Beren and Luthien.

It's actually tough reading, and at times boring, but overall it's kind of fun.

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Summary: The Glorious Prequel to Tolkien's "Middle Earth" fantasies
Review: In writing "The Silmarillion", J. R. R. Tolkien set out to create a mythological prehistory for the War of the Ring chronicled in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, devoting much of his adult life towards this ambitious work. Left unpublished at the time of his death, it was subsequently edited and published by his son Christopher in the mid 1970's, and remains an essential part of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth sagas. Here is the origin of "Middle Earth" and the various tales chronicling the major events of the First Age, starting with the origins of the elves, dwarves and humanity. At the heart of these tales are the wars and battles fought for the possession of the Silmarils, fantastic jewels made by elves and subsequently seized by Morgoth, the original Dark Lord of Middle Earth. These tales are splendid introductions to Elrond and Galadriel and Sauron, Morgoth's chief lieutenant, who are major protagonists in the epic War of the Ring. And there are spellbinding accounts on the rise and fall of the human kingdom Numenor and the tragic love affair between the human Beren and the elf Luthien. All of this is told in Tolkien's graceful, lyrical prose. I concur with others who recommend reading "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" prior to "The Silmarillion", yet those entranced by Tolkien's Middle Earth will find "The Silmarillion" well worth waiting for.