The tales of The Silmarillion were the underlying inspiration and source of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing; he worked on the book throughout his life but never brought it to a final form. Long preceding in its origins The Lord of the Rings, it is the story of the First Age of Tolkien's world, the ancient drama to which characters in The Lord of the RIngs look back and in which some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part.
The title Silmarillion is shortened from Quenta Silma... (show more)
The tales of The Silmarillion were the underlying inspiration and source of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing; he worked on the book throughout his life but never brought it to a final form. Long preceding in its origins The Lord of the Rings, it is the story of the First Age of Tolkien's world, the ancient drama to which characters in The Lord of the RIngs look back and in which some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part.
The title Silmarillion is shortened from Quenta Silmarillion, "The History of the Silmarils," the three great jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves, in which he imprisoned the light of the Two Trees that illumined Valinor, the land of the gods. When Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, destroyed the Trees, that light lived on only in the Silmarils; Morgoth seized them and set them in his crown, guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his people against the gods, their exile in Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all the heroisim of Elves and Men, against the great Enemy.
The book includes several other, shorter works beside The Silmarillion proper. Preceding it are "Ainulindale," the myth of Creation, and "Valaquenta," in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is set forth. After The Silmarillion is "Akallabeth," the story of the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age; completing the volume is "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," in which the events of The Lord of the Rings are treated in the manner of The Silmarillion.
This new edition of The Silmarillion contains the revised and corrected
"second edition" text and, by way of introduction, a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1951, which provides a brilliant exposition of his conception of the earlier Ages. It also contains almost fifty full-color illustrations by the artist Ted Nasmith, many of which appear for the first time. (show less)
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The Silmarillion is not for the casual reader; this is the history of the world of Middle Earth. If you can't get enough of The Hobbit and The Lord... (show more)
The Silmarillion is not for the casual reader; this is the history of the world of Middle Earth. If you can't get enough of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, then read The Silmarillion. Otherwise, you're probably going to get bogged down in the first hundred pages. This history starts before the creation of the world and goes up to the events in the Lord of the Rings (briefly in the end), primarily focusing on the earlier ages when the elves were in their full might and Melkor was still on the loose. This will fill the reader in on much of the lore referenced in the Lord of the Rings regarding Sauron's rise to power, the rise and fall of the Numenoreans, the fall of Gondolin, the lands beyond the sea, and the wonderful story of Beren and Luthien Tinuviel. There are some really good stories from throughout the history of middle earth in here, so don't let the genealogies and other drier parts of the book scare you off. Once you get into it, you won't be able to put it down. (show less)
I admit up front and unashamedly that I have never finished this book and never will. I believe this to be the most fascinatingly dull book ever k... (show more)
I admit up front and unashamedly that I have never finished this book and never will. I believe this to be the most fascinatingly dull book ever kept in print for such a long time. I cannot fathom anyone willingly subjecting themselves to the entire thing. I enjoyed the Hobbit and Fellowship of the RIng, but find everything else of Tolkien's a tedious chore, with Silmarillion being the worst: a historical chronicle of a world that never existed. Slogging through this is 100,000 times more mind-numbing than studying the history of the actual and much more fascinating world in which we live. (show less)
For someone like me, who went through a somewhat fanatical Lord of the Rings reading phase, The Silmarillion is a great way to follow the triology up. The book drags on at parts, but it is very interesting to learn about the origins of some of the characters and put some of the names that are referenced in the trilogy into context. The primary deficiency, when compared to the trilogy, is that you don't really get the sort of over-arching storylines and themes that are present in the trilogy... (show more)
For someone like me, who went through a somewhat fanatical Lord of the Rings reading phase, The Silmarillion is a great way to follow the triology up. The book drags on at parts, but it is very interesting to learn about the origins of some of the characters and put some of the names that are referenced in the trilogy into context. The primary deficiency, when compared to the trilogy, is that you don't really get the sort of over-arching storylines and themes that are present in the trilogy. Instead, what you get is a sort of timeline of Middle Earth within a collection of short stories that are all tied together within the Tolkien mythology. This book is an interesting read, but it will probably be rather boring to anyone with no more than a passing interest in the Lord of the Rings. However, if you found yourself yearning for more details about Middle Earth, then this book is definitely for you. (show less)
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This work began with J.R.R. Tolkien but was completed after his death by his son - and it shows. Though it is a set of great stories that precedes both the Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings (in order to enrich the sense of hitory of the Middle Earth world), the telling of these stories lack the focus and flair achieved by J.R.R. Tolkien that surely would have been there had he completed this work himself before his death. The actual content itself is second to none, and if it were not for the ef... (show more)
This work began with J.R.R. Tolkien but was completed after his death by his son - and it shows. Though it is a set of great stories that precedes both the Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings (in order to enrich the sense of hitory of the Middle Earth world), the telling of these stories lack the focus and flair achieved by J.R.R. Tolkien that surely would have been there had he completed this work himself before his death. The actual content itself is second to none, and if it were not for the effort of his son, we would not have had access to this at all, so thanks to him. (show less)
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Puto z, comecei a ler umas 3 vezes e não dei conta.
Direfentemente de "O Hobbit" e "O senhor dos Anéis: a trilogia" é deveras massante.
what I found hard at first was the archaic style of writing though I'm sure that was Tolkien's intent since it's telling the stories of the ancient times of Middle-earth. once I got into the rhythm, I flew through the book despite having a hard time keeping track of all the different names and pronunciations.
Eric L'Ecuyer 15 days agoyeah the rumour is true, dont get into the book light-heartedly. but if you can endure to the end you will most certainly find that this book was astonishingly beautifully writen, truly rewarding, and refreshing in a deep spiritual level.
Facebook-användare about 1 month agoMap of Middle Earth
Okay, I love LOTR and I love maps, especially maps of Middle Earth. In this publication, there's a big fold out map in the back cover (as I am sure you know), and it's VERY confusing. I know that Middle Earth underwent some major changes between this book and the traditional trilogy, but I can't orientate myself with this map.
Can any of you explain this to me?
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