Rating: 
Summary: pretty good
Review: This book was a good size and takes about a week to read.It kept my attention more than the other Tolkien books,but makes the war sound a little too hopeless. He answers a few questions from the previous books and makes the fantasy world a bit more complete.i really enjoyed this one and recommend it to everyone. The part about the Valinor who are the next step from kings is interesting. One war was because the mortal men couldn't go to the deathless island of the elves or the valinor's island.So the men were pretty much on Saurons side the whole time and the Elves and dwarves on the other.The book is very creative and therearen't so many journeys
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Summary: A deeper look into Middle-earth, and not just for fans.
Review: "The Silmarillion" is a coda to author J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," and a fascinating one at that. The story describes Tolkien's world in ancient times, before there were hobbits, rings of power, or even elves. Think of it as the Genesis of Middle-earth, the creation of Tolkien's world. For those who have not yet read the Lord of the Rings, the names and places may be a bit puzzling. But the stories are engrossing as fantasy on their own. For Tolkien fans, The Silmarillion sets out to explain many of the tales and legends that were mentioned but not fully revealed in the Rings' trilogy. There's the story of the unchaining of Melkor; the coming of the high elves and men to Middle-earth; the courtship of Beren and Luthien, the fairest to ever walk in Middle-earth; and the fall of Gondolin. Perhaps most interesting is a chapter on the rings of power that describes Sauron's rise and his forging of the omnipotent One Ring. A fan of fantasy or curious about some of the legends of old that are mentioned in the main books? Then I say: "Read on!"
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Incredible
Review: The Silmarillion is the amazing work that J.R.R. Tolkien devoted his whole life to. The History of the First Age of Middle-Earth is very captivating, and it really goes deep into this fantasy world. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings did not have this kind of incredible awe about them like the Silmarillion does. From the beginning of Arda (the World) with the Song of Illuvitar to the final defeat of Morgoth at the end of the First Age, this book creates a complete history of a world we hardly know.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: This was actually written first, before the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. He couldn't get it published because they thought it too detailed. He later wrote The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, he never lived to see the Silmarillion published. The demand by the readers, though, for a history of Middle Earth is what brought this out of the drawer where it had been kept for so many years.
A definite read for those who love Middle Earth and the many who live there. :)
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Summary: A definitive mythology in modern english.
Review: Every culture from the ancient world through the middle ages seems to have produced one or two works of mythology that represent the pinnacle of that culture's creative character. The Finnish have the Kalevala, the Celts of Britain have the Mabinogion, the Greeks have their Olympian Gods and so forth. But the modern world doesn't seem to produce any truly definitive mythology. Or does it? It's just possible that Tolkien has produced in the Silmarillion, a work that will be to modern english what Beowulf was to Old English. A warning to newcomers - this book is NOT a novel, and if you approach it with the same expectations you have for a novel you will be disappointed. That would be a great tragedy since you will miss some of the best mythology ever written. The Silmarillion is more of a history text than a story. It begins when Illuvatar (the elven name for God) creates the world and proceeds through time to the birth of the elves and humans and recounts the history of the first age of Middle-Earth. The elves, being immortal, don't care about time so much as men do and therefore don't count the years so diligently. Nevertheless, they apparently DID think to keep track of the years during their great war. That time spans slightly less than 6 hundred years. We have no idea how much time passed before that. A brief summary - God sends 15 of his most powerful angels (The Valar) to take care of the world. One of them, Melkor, (a very obvious parallel to Satan) goes bad and is renamed Morgoth. The Valar make war on Morgoth and imprison him and everything seems well in the world. Sometime later, Elves appear. The Valar decide it would be a good idea to invite the elves to live with them on the western continent. A large portion of the elves decide to accept this invitation and depart from Middle-Earth to go live in the west with the Valar. Due to their proximity with the Valar, the high elves grow very powerful, skillful and wise. Their greatest smith, Feanor, creates three fabulous jewels, the silmarils, which have managed to capture the light emanating from 2 sacred trees that provide all the light in the west. Sometime later, Morgoth's sentence is served and he is released, in the hopes that he has been rehabilitated. Of course, if he were rehabilitated, it would be a very short, rather boring tale. He immediately destroys the two trees and then steals the silmarils and beats a hasty getaway back to middle-earth where a large army of things that go bump in the night have been secretly awaiting his return. Feanor's people in a fit of rage swear a terrible oath of vengeance and chase after Morgoth with swords in hand, killing anyone that may stand between them and their precious jewels - including other elves. The silmarillion is the story of this great war between the elves and Morgoth, and how through their pride, the high elves of Feanor's line committed themselves, as well as men, dwarves, and the elves who never left middle-earth, to a tragic fate without hope of victory. Over the course of this war, there are a great number of heroic deeds and quests, several of which could have been expanded into novels the size of the Lord of the Rings. The tale of Turin Turambar is a tragedy that dwarfs Hamlet. The story of Beren and Luthien is a romance that makes Pyramus and Thisbe look like a sit-com. The Voyage of Earendil compares favorably to the Odyssey (well OK, that one is a stretch...) But the Silmarillion is much more than a simple collection of fables in a common setting. In spite of the fact that it spans 4 generations of elves and probably a dozen generations of men, it is in fact one cohesive story. All of the events, even if they don't have any direct connection to the war for the jewels are somehow linked to the tragic oath that the high elves swore. And so the fates of all of the characters are somehow tied up in the fate of the jewels. There is only one other work I can think of off the top of my head that can really be compared to the Silmarillion in terms of it's scope and structure. Sir Thomas Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur similarly has an enormous cast of characters who span several generations, many of whom do great deeds worthy of their own stories, yet all are linked by a common storyline underlying everything. If you have ever read (and enjoyed) Le Morte D'Arthur, then chances are you will love the Silmarillion. Serious fans of the Lord of the Rings should also read the Silmarillion, as it will shed serious light on many aspects of the Lord of the Rings. In particular, the significance of certain important elves in the second and third ages (Galadriel, Elrond, Gil-Galad and Cirdan) will be made abundantly clear. The meaning behind the Grey Havens and this habitual sailing into the west that the elves do will be revealed. And the importance of Aragorn's lineage, and the origin of the dunedain will be given some context. Also, little details like Galadriel's Phial will have much more depth when you realize where it's illumination comes from. And also, the Lord of the Rings is just so much more FUN after reading the Silmarillion. All those snippets of poetry and references to the "good old days" that Aragorn and the elves keep referring to will have a context for you. You'll also understand why the Nazgul fear water and the name of Elbereth has power.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely a niche text.
Review: Unless you are already an avid "Lord of The Rings" (LoTR) fan this is one to avoid. I read "The Silmarillion" after completing LoTR, about which I was only mildly enthusiastic. It was a struggle not to abandon it and move on to something more engaging. "The Silmarillion" reads like an ancient historical text, but one can't help but be aware that the "history" being portrayed exists entirely within Tolkien's head. The lack of significance makes sloughing through the dense and often pretentious prose a chore with little reward.
LotR is an important piece of modern cultural mythology. It falls under the category of something one should read. It helps that it has an interesting story line and vivid characters. The same can no be said for "The Silmarillion." All but hardcore Tolkien aficionados can safely leave this one by the wayside.
Rating: 
Summary: Confusion
Review: It's hard to blame this mess on J.R.R. Tolkien, since he didn't exactly write it. I liken it to all the albums Jimi Hendrix put out after his death. Half finished pieces of garbage which the original master would never be satisfied with.
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Summary: Too bad really....
Review: I love the Lord Of the Rings and have read all four books multiple times, i have seen the movie, own several collectors editions, own the soundrack of the movie, 2 atlases of middle earth, and i have not grown tired of it yet. I picked up the Silmarillion hoping for another Lord Of The Rings, another epic novel. I was sorely disappointed. The Silmarillion is written by Tolkien, and edited by Tolkien. This is misleading J.R.R Tolkien "wrote" it in the sense that he had written it in bits and pieces, notes here and there. His son, Christopher Tolkien actually compiled it. It was like the appendix at the end of return of the king, thought very cool, nifty, informative, it lacked the story-telling ability of J.R.R Tolkien. It was a bunch of ideas, notes, albeit good ones. But that is all it is, it does not flow like the Lord Of The Rings does. If you are looking for a history of Middle Earth, something similar to the appendixes at the end of LOTR, you are in luck. If you seek another Lord Of The Rings, you will have no such luck.
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Summary: Definition of Tolkienesque & Defining Work of JRR Tolkien
Review: Ahhh...The Silmarillion. This book, which is the history of the Lord of the Ring's Middle-Earth is perhaps the deepest work of the imagination that I have ever read. Looking at the story by just scratching its surface one can see influences from the Bible, Homer's Iliad, Arthurian legends, and many more great books of the past. However, it is much more; if you are well versed in Tokien's other works, such as the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, you will only begin to appreciate the level of creativity, passion, and skill that Tolkien infused into this masterpiece. For instance, the ideas for the Silmarillion were begun in the first decades of the 20th Century before there was such an established genre as Fantasy. Tolkien created this branch of literature. Second, Tolkien created an entire language ("Elvish") to go with his world. Another is that if you first read the Hobbit and LOTR saga, then read the this work you see that those books would not have been so detailed, nor felt so real were it not for the "fleshed-out" history that the Silmarillion provides. Everything in the LOTR can be traced to events, places, or people that existed long ages ago during, before, and shortly after the time of the Silmarils. That this was Tolkien's life's work is evident in the details and care he put into it. Details like the geneology charts for many notable characters; details like the poems and songs both in Common Speech and in the language of Elves. We learn that Aragorn in LOTR is directly descended from the Kings of Numenor, the first of which was Elros the Half-elven, brother of the elf Elrond. Arwen, his bride-to-be and Elrond's daughter therefore is related to him, though hundreds of generations and thousands of years distant. For since their parents were each half-human and half-elven, the brothers Elros and Elrond were allowed to choose between living as mortal Men or immortal Elves. Elros chose humanity and founded the nation of Numenor many thousands of years prior to the time of the LOTR. The maritime civilization of Numenor grew mighty over 3000 years. So powerful in fact, during the second age an invasion fleet from Numenor to conquer Sauron and his minions scared Sauron's troops so much that they fled his side. Sauron then surrendered and was taken back to Numenor, but tragically he also became the principal architect in its downfall. Let us also not forget Tolkien's masterful writing skills. The turn of a phrase or the image of a battle can be so clear that I will read and reread the same passage many times until it truly sinks in. In closing, the Silmarillion is not a book you must necessarily read to enjoy the LOTR, but it makes the whole experience much richer and gives Tolkien's work a deeper meaning, one I'm glad the rest of the world could share.
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Summary: The "bible" of Lord of the Rings...
Review: The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkein's TRUE life work. He spent over 30 years working on it before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is an epic work, spanning over 7,000 Years of the Sun (divided into three Ages), plus several millenia (we don't know for sure how many) before that. It covers the entire history of Middle-Earth from the creation of the world all the way through Frodo Baggins and the destruction of the Ring. However, the majority of the book is concerned with the history of the First Age (LOTR takes place at the end of the Third Age). The First Age is the time of the glory years of the Elves in Middle-Earth, with a secondary role played by Men. The Elves are struggling to free Middle-Earth from the dark rule of the Great Enemy, Morgoth, and his servant Sauron. There is also a section near the end of the book concerning the great race of men known as the Numenoreans, their history, and their eventual fall. The Silmarillion is not a single full-length story. Instead, it is a collection of many smaller works into one volume (not unlike the Bible). As such, the narrative is a little difficult to follow, and there are gaps in time where nothing significant is going on in the world. However, LOTR makes many references to the material contained in this book. I read this after LOTR, and I was interested in learning more about Gondolin, Luthien, Beren, Morgoth, and many other people and places mentioned in LOTR. As I mentioned above, this book is mainly about Elves. If you liked the Elves in LOTR, then you will love this book. You learn the origins of the Elves, and why they are all sailing away from Middle-Earth to the West. You also learn more about Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien who figures prominently in LOTR. If you didn't like LOTR, or if you only liked it a little bit, then this book is probably not for you. On the other hand, if you fell in love with LOTR, and if you are intrigued by the backstory references, including the many elvish songs therein, or even if you are just a fan of truly great literature, then this book is not to be missed.
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