Rating: 
Summary: Herein lies the conclusion of the matter. . .
Review: In this volume, Christopher Tolkien brings his quarter-century labor of love to a close -- and what an ending it is. All of these books (The History of Middle-Earth series) have provided Tolkien fans with tantalizing bits of information, glimpses into new characters and new perspectives, and bits and pieces of other story-lines. This book continues that trend -- and provides us with the opening (and only) pages of "The New Shadow", Tolkien's begun but abandoned sequel to "The Lord of the Rings".Thank you, Professor (Christopher) Tolkien for making these books, stories, essays, and notes available. And thank YOU, Professor (JRR) Tolkien for sharing with the world, your world of Middle-Earth. May your soul, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff for the hardcore fan...
Review: This one, 10 (Morgorth's Ring), 9 (End of the Third Age), and 5 (The Lost Road and Other Writings) are the most worthwile entries of the 12 volume series. Don't buy it for "The New Shadow", however, as it is only 20ish pages and Eldarion or Aragorn don't even come into the story...closest tie to LOTR is the brother of Bergil, son of Beregond. However, there's lots here for you Numenorian fans...full account of the Heirs of Elendil, additional background on the tale of Aragorn and Arwen, how the humans under the oppression of Sauron viewed the Numenorian ships in the 2nd age. Then you get the history of Lembas bread, some more info on the feud between the houses of Feanor and Fingolfin and why, and even some dwarf and Rohan info. The lone entry for Hobbits deals with their family trees in full, excrutiating detail, even more than the Appendicies in the LOTR. This is probably my second favorite entry overall (next to Morgorth's Ring), as it has the largest amount of interesting material in the whole series.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff for the hardcore fan...
Review: This one, 10 (Morgorth's Ring), 9 (End of the Third Age), and 5 (The Lost Road and Other Writings) are the most worthwile entries of the 12 volume series. Don't buy it for "The New Shadow", however, as it is only 20ish pages and Eldarion or Aragorn don't even come into the story...closest tie to LOTR is the brother of Bergil, son of Beregond. However, there's lots here for you Numenorian fans...full account of the Heirs of Elendil, additional background on the tale of Aragorn and Arwen, how the humans under the oppression of Sauron viewed the Numenorian ships in the 2nd age. Then you get the history of Lembas bread, some more info on the feud between the houses of Feanor and Fingolfin and why, and even some dwarf and Rohan info. The lone entry for Hobbits deals with their family trees in full, excrutiating detail, even more than the Appendicies in the LOTR. This is probably my second favorite entry overall (next to Morgorth's Ring), as it has the largest amount of interesting material in the whole series.
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