Rating: 
Summary: Extremely good--you don't need to be a Tolkienhead to enjoy!
Review: Any fan of sci-fi, whether they like the Tolkien wannabe Terry Brooks, the masterful Robert Jordan or even those hideous Star Wars novels, should read this book. Despite what everyone says, this book isn't really that hard to read (I read it in eighth or ninth grade, with little trouble), and the scope is incredible--all of the events of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit are condensed into the last two pages of The Silmarillion. If you are a Dungeons and Dragons fan, you should also buy this book--in the back is a small elven dictionary that can help you create authenic elven names like Elianar (Starfire) or Celeb-Sul (Silverwind). No matter what books you like to read, you should read this one as well. Tolkien is the Beatles of sci-fi, and The Silmarillion is his Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band.
Rating:
Summary: Only one...
Review: Middle Earth is nearly real as our own world. Never before has such a tale been created, perhaps never shall another such as this appear. The elements are those we know: mortal and immortal, power and weakness, love, hate, revenge, loneliness, celebration, healing, life, death, despair, hope, exile, homecoming. Light and dark. Tolkien's world has touched me so deeply not because it is, or ever was, new. It touched me because it is so old, because its elements are those taken from life and are as old as time itself. If the Silmarillion reads like a history book, that's because that's what it is. And it's history nearly as rich and beautiful as our own.
Rating:
Summary: A book that shares the rich history of beginning Mid-Earth
Review: This is a beautifully written book. It is the best and most descriptive tale of a New World I have ever read. Anyone who likes fantasy in the least bit should read this book. It is absolutely perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Don't give up early!
Review: As other people have said, the start is very hard to understand (the first 30-70 pages) and also boring. But if you manage to read them, you will be rewarded with the rest of the book. When you finish reading "The Sillmarillion" and you liked it you could try the first bit again but that time you will probably enjoy it: I did! Also if you don't like lots of names or "son of's"(like Turin son of Hurin) you may find this book a bit boring. This my favorite book ever except for "TLOTR" but only by a bit! If "The Sillmarillion" was narated like "TLOTR", even if it was 20,000 pages long I would probably still read it but enjoy it even more by far than "The Lord Of The Rings":but then more people would have read it then anyway. "The Hobbit" is my next favorite book. I would be pleased if anyone would send me an e-mail but I may not answer for a while because I do not go on the internet much. I don't care if you give me any comments on this:good or bad.
Rating:
Summary: The Creation of the Elves
Review: I think that this book isn't that complicated to read, it's just that there are many names and events mentioned. The basis of all the LoTR saga is thes book, it explains the events and the names that guide the plot in the LoTR saga. If you are an elf lover, you'll simply love these book, Fëanor, Maeglin, Fingolfin, Finrod, Thingol, Dior, The Seven Sons of Fëanor, Turgon... all those elves who shaped the future of middle earth...
Rating: 
Summary: Hard, but more than worth it
Review: I will grant that this book is hard to read, like a Bible. But no creation of a world is easy, less when it really starts at the beginning of everything. The story grows with each page, the characters live and die fully sometimes in just one paragraph, and when the gods take away their gaze from the world, life go on by itself. Of course is not the best book ever written because now there are better, but it was for a lot of time. If you consider yourself a fantasy reader, then read it.
Rating:
Summary: The beauty and the majesty of Middle-Earth
Review: Having read the Lord of the Rings several times and the Silmarillion before I eagered awaited the amazon delivery of Martin Shaw's reading of the Silmarillion on CD. What I got was a beautifully unabridged recital of the whole of the creation and unfolding of the Elves and of Men. The pronounciation of the names of the Valar and the Elves alone brings the audio to life. Lord of the Rings was recently voted the best piece of fiction of all time in the UK; read The Hobbit next if you want something lighter and read The Silmarillion if you want to delve deeper; read them both and Tolkien will captivate you forever...
Rating: 
Summary: Immensely difficult to read
Review: Am I the only one who doesn't think this book is the best one ever written? It's not the stories, anyone interested enough in the world of Tolkien will want to know what actually happened in the first and second era, but the style of writing is impossible! I have managed, purely out of my enormous interest in Middle Earth and its inhabitants, to wrestle myself through this book once; the second time I tried I couldn't even reach page 10.
This book is clearly a collection of notes which Tolkien made about his world's history, which have never been rewritten in a pleasantly readable style, and which have never been checked to keep things consistent, as there are many given facts that differ from given facts in other parts of the book.
In short: only read this book if you are really, really interested in the history of Middle Earth, otherwise it's impossible to get through.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Rings stands without this volume.
Review: These stories were written as the history of Middle Earth, and are fascinating in LotR precisely because they are never told completely, like the books described by Borges that never existed. Be content with LotR-- a 20th century masterpiece! Let these tales remain mysterious creatures of the woods, rather than jarred specimens in a biology room... by not reading them.
Rating:
Summary: The creation of Middle Earth; a melodic song.
Review: I began the read and found myself bogged down with the weight of all the different names and how they related to each other. I put the book down. Later, I began again and took notes, chapter by chapter. The creation reads like a 'song', full of joy and sorrow, jealousy and vengence. Since reading the LOTR first, this style of prose was somewhat hard to get used to. Although I re-read LOTR, I have never re-read The Silmarillion. But it did give me more of an understanding of the complete history of Middle Earth (origin of Balrogs, Sauron...).
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