The Silmarillion

Amazon.com

The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkien's tragic, operatic history of the First Age of Middle-Earth, essential background material for serious readers of the classic Lord of the Rings saga. Tolkien's work sets the standard for fantasy, and this audio version of the "Bible of Middle-Earth" does The Silmarillion justice. Martin Shaw's reading is grave and resonant, conveying all the powerful events and emotions that shaped elven and human history long before Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf and all the rest embarked on their quests. Beginning with the Music of the Ainur, The Silmarillion tells a tale of the Elder Days, when Elves and Men became estranged by the Dark Lord Morgoth's lust for the Silmarils, pure and powerful magic jewels. Even the love between a human warrior and the daughter of the Elven king cannot defeat Morgoth, but the War of Wrath finally brings down the Dark Lord. Peace reigns until the evil Sauron recovers the Rings of Power and sets the stage for the events told in the Lord of the Rings. This is epic fantasy at its finest, thrillingly read and gloriously unabridged. (Running time: 14 hours, 6 CDs)

Book Description

"Majestic!...readers of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS...will find THE SILMARILLION a cosmology to call their own...medieval romances, fierce fairy tales and fiercer wars that ring with heraldic fury...it overwhelms the reader."
TIME
Those interested in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth should not be without this grand volume that tells the tragic tale of the struggle for control of the Silmarils, a struggle that would determine the history of the world long before the War of the Ring.

Customer Reviews:

A lot more entertaining than reading yourself.......2007-10-09

The biggest complaint I hear about the silmarillian is that it is dry and hard to read. I agree that it is like reading a historic or scriptural text, but the stories of Beren and Luthien, and Hurin, and Erendil are wonderful. Knowing the history enriches your experience of the Lord of the Rings. I ordered the book on tape because I have eye problems which make reading difficult, but I have also found it a lot easier to 'get through' the dry parts this way.

If you are looking for a gripping novel this is NOT the book for you. However, it is a wonderful wealth of information for anyone interested in delving into the world and history of middle earth. It will explain a lot about Lord of the Rings.

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

The most interesting part of The Silmarillion to the standard reader
will be the end, with notes and detail on the parts of Tolkien's world
that are people are more familiar with, and more interested in.

The majority of the book is again of an older style, and will be
found to be very, very dry by many. Lots of detail about early Elvish
history, that sort of thing.

The Forgetten Glossary.......2007-08-25

It isn't a novel, it's the comprehensive dictionary of Middle Earthian backstory, formatted like an old Viking Saga. Not a light or interesting read. Think of a farmer's almanac and the thousands of endnotes that go with any serious history volume. Now combine them -- you get this book of details involving Middle Earth.

If you want more along the lines of The Lord of The Rings Trilogy or The Hobbit, re-read the originals. If you are a Tolkien fanatic and want to know who Smeagol is related to fifteen generations later in Hobbiton, the elvish words for the names of the beloved swords carried by the first elves, and the names of like five hundred dwarves who died at Moria, this is the book for you.

Why one? My expectations were off -- I expected a novel, not a badly formated roleplaying sourcebook made of author's notes. When I tried to read this, I always fell asleep. Not even calculus or 18th century philosophy does that to me.

Yes, names were beautiful (Professor Tolkien had a degree in linguistics), and parts of it were like an alternative universe Bulfinch's Mythology, but as a novel, it fails.

So that's how it started!.......2007-08-23

The unveiling of the beginnings was very enlightening. After a while all of the names become difficult to distinguish and I found myself backtracking and/or going to the glossary - but how else could he have done it? Maybe that's why JRR labored over it for so long.

Silmarillion Spectacular.......2007-08-23

This audio book is spectacular. Uniquely J.R.R. Tolkien, the language is wonderful, the detail is captivating, the myth is magnificent! As expcted, it is a voyage into the nature of God, good and evil and the frailty of mankind.

Morgoth's Ring: The Later Silmarillion, Part One (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 10)

Average customer rating:

Not for the casual reader
More in depth Silmarillion writings, and more depth than you could ever imagine
this really shows a lot of important stuff
Groundbreaking stuff....
Late developments in the story of the Silmarillion. . .

Morgoth's Ring: The Later Silmarillion, Part One (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 10)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0395680921

Book Description

In Morgoth's Ring, the tenth volume of The History of Middle-earth and the first of two companion volumes, Christopher Tolkien describes and documents the legends of the Elder Days, as they were evolved and transformed by his father in the years before he completed The Lord of the Rings. The text of the Annals of Aman, the "Blessed Land" in the far West, is given in full. And in writings never before published, we can see the nature of the problems that J.R.R. Tolkien explored in his later years as new and radical ideas, portending upheaval in the heart of the mythology. At this time Tokien sought to redefine the old legends, and wrote of the nature and destiny of Elves, the idea of Elvish rebirth, the origins of the Orcs, and the Fall of Men. His meditation of mortality and immortality as represented in the lives of Men and Elves led to another major writing at this time, the "Debate of Finrod and Andreth," which is reproduced here in full. "Above all," Christopher Tolkien writes in his foreward, "the power and significance of Melkor-Morgoth...was enlarged to become the ground and source of the corruption of Arda." This book indeed is all about Morgoth. Incomparably greater than the power of Sauron, concentrated in the One Ring, Morgoth's power (Tolkien wrote) was dispersed into the very matter of Arda: "The whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring."

Customer Reviews:

Not for the casual reader.......2007-06-22

This book is for serious Tolkien scholars, not the casual Lord of The Rings fan. Christopher Tolkien's analysis can be mind numbing, so if you're not looking for that kind of depth, stick to The Silmarillion.

More in depth Silmarillion writings, and more depth than you could ever imagine.......2006-03-14

Part 1 starts out with another version of the Ainulindale. Tolkien would always be revising his stories and the reason for it could be many things. In the Ainulindale he rewrote it to make radical changes to the cosmology. It is very easy to see why most of his writings were never finished, every little change he made would throw off the entire Middle-Earth world from what it was before.

Part 2 has the Annals of Aman. Since changes were always being made, Tolkien always made new annals of his earliest stories. The problem here is that he go from making brief descriptions to giving full writings. Every time he rewrote something, it would get longer.

The biggest chunk of the book is part 3 which goes over a later version of the Silmarillion and that piece of work really started coming together at this point. It clearly had no chance of ever getting finished, but it is fun to see how many changes were made every time it was rewritten.

Part 4 is one of the writings that Tolkien seems to have written solely to help explain Middle-Earth to himself. It is a fascinating conversation between an male elf and a woman talking about where their souls go after they die. It also talks about the dark origins of man which are only briefly mentioned in all other works by Tolkien.

Part 5 is called 'Myths Transformed' and gives a good idea about how crazy Tolkien became with his work and why the Silmarillion was never finished. One of the many things he had a problem with was the trees of Valinor, and how they came to be. He thought if a fruit of the tree became the Sun, how would a whole tree not burn the land around it? It is amazing that something like this could halt him for so long. I think any Tolkien fan would be able overlook something small like the trees of Valinor if the Silmarillion could have just been completed.

Overall another book packed full of great Middle-Earth information.

this really shows a lot of important stuff .......2006-01-21

The Silmarillion was great! and this book is the first half in different versions and also the changes Tolkien had to make over the years My favorite was the Annals of Aman and the debate of Finrod and andreth they both explain things unkonwn to the reader of the silmarillion. Christopher tolkien made very good and imformative commentaries. This book includes many unpublished material! That dead guy's a genius!

Groundbreaking stuff...........2004-03-30

This is the good stuff...my favorite volume of the whole series. The centerpiece, in my mind, is the debate of Finrod and Andreth, which through alternate existing versions and Christopher Tolkien's editorials, we can piece together the REAL origins of the Edain in Tolkien's universe. I don't want to give it away, but it will absolutely shock even those who are extremely familiar with the Silmarillion and Lost Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth. The other groundbreaking info is JRR's decision to go back and re-write a lot of what would become the Silmarillion...he was considering such plot elements as placing the sun and moon before the Two Trees, which would radically alter the entire universe as we know it.

I was hoping to find as much of interest in the companion Volume 11 but was disappointed...this, #12 (Peoples of Middle Earth), #9 (End of the Third Age) and #5 (Lost Road and Other Writings) should be the next steps for the Tolkien diehard who wants to go even further than the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth have taken them.

Late developments in the story of the Silmarillion. . ........2001-11-08

. . .plus cultural information!

This book, the first of two in the "History of Middle-Earth" series dealing with later textual developments in "The Silmarillion" provides a great deal of information on how Tolkien's philosophical and theological development influenced the later aspects of this work. (As the reader should remember, Tolkien worked on these legends for more than 50 years.)

However, one of my greatest delights in "Morgoth's Ring" was a lengthy essay detailing aspects of Elven culture, including information on courting, betrothal, marriage, and child-rearing. Also included is a discussion of the judgement of the Valar concerning the remarriage of Finwe of the Noldor.

Throughout, the volume demonstrates that Tolkien wished to truly create a complete culture, not merely a history.

Book Description

In volumes ten and eleven of The History of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien recounts from the original texts the evolution of his father's work on The Silmarillion, the legendary history of the Elder Days or First Age, from the completion of the Lord of the Rings in 1949 until J.R.R. Tolkien's death. In volume ten, Morgoth's Ring, the narrative was taken only as far as the natural dividing point in the work, when Morgoth destroyed the Trees of Light and fled from Valinor bearing the stolen Silmarils. In The War of the Jewels, the story returns to Middle-earth and the ruinous conflict of the High Elves and the Men who were their allies with the power of the Dark Lord. With the publication in this book of all of J.R.R. Tolkien's later narrative writing concerned with the last centuries of the First Age, the long history of The Silmarillion, from its beginnings in The Book of Lost Tales, is completed; the enigmatic state of the work at his death can now be understood. A chief element in The War of the Jewels is a major story of Middle-earth, now published for the first time - a continuation of the great "saga" of Turin Turambar and his sister Nienor, the children of Hurin the Steadfast. This is the tale of the disaster that overtook the forest people of Brethil when Hurin came among them after his release from long years of captivity in Angband, the fortress of Morgoth. The uncompleted text of the Grey Annals, the primary record of the War of the Jewels, is given in full; the geography of Beleriand is studied in detail, with redrawings of the final state of the map; and a long essay on the names and relations of all the peoples of Middle-earth shows more clearly than any writing yet published the close connection between the language and history in Tolkien's world. The text also provides new information, including some knowledge of the divine powers, the Valar.

Customer Reviews:

Valuable tome of new lore.......2006-08-16

Volume XI of the History of Middle-Earth contains JRR Tolkien's writings of the First Age after the Lord of the Rings was published. Most texts date from the 1950s, but some were written as late as 1970, in the last years of his life. This volume contains the history of Beleriand.

Unlike most other volumes of the History of Middle-Earth, much of Volume XI is *all-NEW* material that is published nowhere else. It also includes some of the actual texts that Christopher Tolkien used to construct the "published" Silmarillion.

Not everyone who has read the Silmarillion will enjoy this scholarly work, but if you are a "Tolkien scholar," or if you read the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales and still hunger for more stories and information about the First Age, this book is wonderful. If you don't care for the commentaries, there are still the stories themselves.

"The Wanderings of Húrin" can be considered the greatest gem of Volume XI, continuing the tragic tale of the Children of Húrin in the tradition of the Narn i Chîn Húrin, and further developing Húrin's character. It is a completely new narrative, describing in almost novelistic prose the story of Húrin after he was released from Angband: his travel to Hithlum, and the disastrous fallout of his visit to Brethil. This is a nearly complete story, similar to the narratives in Unfinished Tales.

"Quendi and Eldar" is a long linguistic work, a completed text focusing on the names for the Elves and their Clans, and the other Speaking Peoples, and many other words, in different Elvish languages. Besides the linguistic material, it also discusses the various Elven clans, as well as telepathy, sign language, the Great March, some information about the Avari and the Petty-Dwarves, and other subjects. Included is Pengolodh's description of the Valar's unique language, plus a detailed account of the Elves' awakening at Cuiviénen. This section will be essential to any student of the Elvish languages, but is quite valuable for non-linguists as well.

"The Grey Annals" and "The Tale of Years" are separate (incomplete) texts from the Quenta Silmarillion, containing different accounts of the history of Beleriand and the stories of the Noldor and Edain. More importantly, the Annals and Tale of Years together give the dates when the events of Beleriand's history happened.
The Tale of Years also tells for the first time the *real* story of the Nauglamír and the Ruin of Doriath. Silmarillion readers will be surprised!

"Of Maeglin" traces the development of that chapter in the Silmarillion, and includes several notes and additional writings that shed much new light on the story and character of Maeglin. This material was mostly written in 1970-1.

"The Later Quenta Silmarillion" is mostly a rough draft in the vein of earlier History of Middle-Earth volumes, but there is also new information about the Edain and Dwarves, including extensive family trees of the Three Houses of the Elf-Friends.

"Ælfwine and Dírhavel" is the prologue to the Narn i Chîn Húrin, which is not in the Unfinished Tales.

"Ents and Eagles" contains some notes on chapter 2 of The Silmarillion.

so tolkien wanted to create a whole new mythilogical world, not the best, just one that he liked.......2006-03-14

Well, he came pretty damn close to doing this. But even though not complete, still my favorite type of mythology.

This book goes more into the silmarillion and some writings like what hurin did when he was released from hell.(though that story didn't interest me that much.)

Since I don't have the books in front of me, I can't remember if "The shibolleth of feanor" is in here, but I think that it is.

THIS I would have to say is my favorite short writing from tolkien. You see he was constantly writing things like the debate of finrod and amreth?, and the shibboleth to try to explain the world better for HIMSELF. So he would use these as references when he would rewrite or completely redo his silmarillion writings.

The shibboleth of feanor is so interesting in so may ways, and since I don't want to give any of this away, I do have to tell you a wittle bit about it. I love this because it shows how much strife that a little thing like this would cause. Let's just sy that feanor certainly had many problems, but this is one of his biggest. I don't want to tell you what the problem is, because you have to read it for yourselves.

So pretty much only for silmarillion diehards, but still mother freaking awesome for those of us who are.

A resource for true students of Tolkien.......2005-05-30

The variety of material available in 'The War of the Jewels' is what makes this volume of the History of Middle-earth series one of the best.

Two things stand out. First is the extensive writings on Hurin after his release from Angband. In an extension and more fully recounted version of his tale, Hurin's character and the consequences of his release are more fully explored, giving greater depth to the account given in 'The Silmarillion'.

The other is the essay 'Quendi and Eldar'. This is a treasure-trove not only for the Tolkien linguist but anyone interested in the history of the Elves. Through an examination of the different words used by the Elves to refer to themselves and their different divisions, the look at their history as they themselves saw it is priceless. Other parts of the essay and accompanying material fill out references found in 'Unfinished Tales', etc.

'The War of the Jewels' has many stories worth reading on their own that are great examples of the depth and the layers of the legendarium.

The War of the Jewels.......2002-09-10

This book had a very well played out story line and it explained alot about the other books

Christopher Tolkien unveils the truth about The Silmarillion.......2000-12-14

The War of the Jewels is one of the most misunderstood and underrated volumes in the History of Middle-earth series. Although it is primarily a scholarly work which explains precisely how Christopher Tolkien brought together the various sources to produce the published Silmarillion, this book also opens up new vistas into First Age Middle-earth that readers never imagined could exist.

Casual readers will enjoy "The Wanderings of Hurin", which Christopher has editorialized to some extent. The story of what Hurin REALLY did after he left Morgoth's domain is an eye-opening experience, and it explains why the sons of Earendil and Elwing were the last heirs of the heroic chieftains of the Edain. But "The Wanderings of Hurin" also gives us the only detailed view of the Folk of Haleth, the mysterious woodmen who figured so prominently in "Narn i Chin Hurin", the tale of Turin Turambar.

Another fantastic gem lies between the covers of this book, however. Accompanying the very scholarly essay "Quendi and Eldar" is a short Elvish nursery tale which provides the only account of how the Elves awoke at Cuivienen, and who the eldest Elves actually were. Their names will surprise everyone. "Quendi and Eldar" itself is filled with a great deal of historical and cultural information although it is primarily a linguistic work. It may represent the last significant contribution Tolkien made to his mythology, even though he later changed his mind on a few details.

Average customer rating:

Tolkien's true life work, ultimately unfinished though it is

Tolkien is the Man!

Silmarillion

His masterwork

Of the Beginning of Days

The Silmarillion
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Tolkien, J.R.R. | ( T ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Hardcover | Tolkien, J.R.R. | ( T ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Children of Húrin

The Hobbit

Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth

The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)

The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition)

ASIN: 0618391118

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

Tolkien's true life work, ultimately unfinished though it is.......2007-10-05

In the Tolkien canon, THE SILMARILLION is the most highly contested of all his works. Constructed as a prehistoric history of the Universe, the book has the cultural significance of the Bible in Tolkien's universe. It is Tolkien's primary work, but it's also his most troublesome, in more ways than one. One thing you need to know. In Tolkien scholarship, there are two primary ways to refer to the "Silmarillion". One is the Silmarillion, the legendarium proper, and then the 1977 SILMARILLION, which may or may not be what Tolkien envisioned.

THE SILMARILLION, the book Tolkien spent all of his adult life writing, was, sadly, incomplete when Tolkien died at the age of eighty one in 1973. Naturally, this begs the question why did it take him decades to write the book, and it still be unfinished after all that time? Well, to understand that, you need to understand two things: the scope of the project, and how Tolkien worked.

The scope of the book was a complete imaginary history, a totally self-contained mythology, all written and developed for his home country, England (my home country as well). Imagine the Greek and Roman mythologies, all those myths and gods, developed by one man. Imagine Homer completely inventing all the gods for his stories. Imagine how hard that would be to come up with your own mythological traditions as such. No wonder Tolkien had such a hard time completing the work.

Now, the scope (which is extremely ambitious for any artist) was compounded by how Tolkien worked. First, he was a philologist first and foremost, and so before the stories he invented languages. All of these languages (which would have taken a life-time to develop on their own) had their own history, and are so interlocked with the mythology that you cannot remove them. He developed the main body of legends around these languages. Many features of the central body of legends changed relatively little over the years, but he wrote different versions of them at different times and in different styles. Some of the legends were set in poetry, those in annalistic histories, others in condensed summaries, and others in the more traditional (at least, for modern readers) novel format. A lot of these writings are also unfinished, due to Tolkien's perfectionist tendencies. Christopher Tolkien said that for most of his father's writing there existed a stable tradition from which Tolkien worked from, but there was no such thing as a stable text for the primary legends.

All this is tied to how Tolkien worked. C. S. Lewis famously stated that you did not influence Tolkien, you may as well as try to influence a bandersnatch. Tolkien would either take no notice of your criticism, or else he would start all over from the beginning. And so he did. A lot. Tolkien would reach a certain portion of the draft, be unsatisfied, and began the whole thing over again, while never reaching the end. Or Tolkien would have two copies of the same manuscript, one to be the fair copy and one to be working copy. Well, Tolkien would make conflicting revisions on both copies at separate times. How do you decide his final intent? Good question. These tendencies presented major problems from Christopher Tolkien when he prepared the 1977 SILMARILLION.

Another problem with Tolkien's work also is that toward the end of his life, he began contemplating changing major features of the mythology that stretched back to the earliest versions. A lot of these changes had to do with cosmology, with the sun and moon, and changing Arda (the earth) from a flat-world to a round world. In the original mythology, and the 1977 version, Arda begins as a flat world but is made into a round world. Tolkien contemplated other major changes that would have totally changed much of the more distinguishable features of the mythology, stable features present from the very beginning. Consult "Myths Transformed" in MORGOTH'S RING, Vol. 10 of THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH for more information.

Then we have the problem of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Tolkien was tantalizing close to some sort of final version of the work in the late 1930s (indeed, the 1937 version of the "Quenta Silmarillion" is the only complete version he ever made of the primary work and which is heavily used in the 1977 SILMARILLION). Then, due to publisher demand, Tolkien began working on his masterpiece for the next fourteen years, leaving the "Silmarillion" legendarium completely untouched for over a decade. When Tolkien picked up the Silmarillion again, he now had to account for LOTR and somehow incorporate that major work into the mythology. Tolkien did a lot of work on the legendarium after the completion of LOTR, but this work was plagued with uncertainty and contemplation of radical rewriting.

And in the last years of his life, Tolkien also began moving away from strict narrative and began working extensively on theological matters, essays on Elvish culture and lingustics, and other matters not tied to the actual narrative of the main storyline.

So when Tolkien died in 1973, he left his son Christopher in quite the predicament. Decades of writng, much if it unfinished, with a staggering palimpsest of manuscripts from which to draw from would be daunting to anyone. As literary executor, he had to come up with a publishable version of the work (as clearly that was his father's wishes, and Christopher was the man for the job, being most acquainted with the work). So, in four years, with the assistance of Guy Gavriel Kay, he cobbled together a self-contained narrative, largely compatible with the Hobbit cycle. Due to Tolkien's tendency to not finish drafts, some of the narrative in the last portion of the work had not been touched by Tolkien in literally decades (The Fall of Gondolin never got a complete version other than the 1916 Lost Tales story). Thingol and Melian presented thorny problems, especially the Girdle of Melian (her magical protection around Doriath). Christopher and Kay constructed the chapter dealing with the ruin of Doriath from scratch, with no corresponding writing in Tolkien's own work.

Yet another major issue was, due to getting a version of the book published as soon as possible, Christopher rushed through much of material, and did not have access to all of his father's manuscripts, some of which had been sold off. While he always used post LOTR material as often as possible, Christopher was as many times incorrect as not when guessing his father's intentions for the work. In the ensuing twelve volumes of THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH, where he had years to get to know the manuscripts, Christopher examines more closely his father's works, and there is much in those twelve volumes that were Tolkien's final intention for the work, but did not make it into the published version. Christopher has stated, given time, he may have produced a much different version than the one published. But he is now retired and will not revise the book (much of which would have to be wholesale).

That's quite a bit of history, and ultimately all that history may bog potential readers down in their journey into THE SILMARILLION. For all of its imperfections, its unfinished nature, the endless debates on how much the 1977 version is what Tolkien really intended, the book is powerful mythology. The reading is dry, and the names are jawcracking trying to pronounce. While it's hard to keep track of the multitude of characters and all the permutations and migrations of the three main Elven tribes, there are unforgettable images in the book, and beautiful passages of despair and hope.

While the work is not the most accessible for modern readers, for those who persist you can see why Tolkien really did regard this as his life work, or, as Tom Shippey says, "the work of his heart". And what a mighty work it is, despite its unfinished nature.

Tolkien is the Man!.......2007-09-16

I really do believe that to truly appreciate the stories of The Hobbit as well as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, one must read The Simarillion. The breadth and scope of Tolkien's creativity truly begins to be seen within the Simarillion. I heard or read somewhere that Tolkien thought of his writings and such as a creation within creation, that he was most glorifying God when he was being as creative as possible, in effect creating a world just as God had.

Well, I think the fact that any man could have such breadth of vision and conceptualization as is evident in the Simarillion, that fact in and of itself, brings glory to God. And I think the fact that Tolkien painted the unfolding history of his world in the colors of not only love, trust and triumph (as well as many other 'virtues'), but greed, selfishness, pride, and many more aspects of a fallen nature is reflective of the Bible in many respects, for Tolkien does not seem to be trying to tell us a story as we want to hear it, but rather just acting as a purveyor of events that were.

At times I found myself dragging through sections, through certain stories. And at other points I found myself reading pages breathlessly, impatient to know and experience what was to come next. But, overall, I found that my pace reading this book was akin to the pace I take reading through a non-fiction book - Tolkien's writing is so rich, and his style so strong that I couldn't just consume it as I do other non-fiction works.

So do I recommend it? Absolutely - but don't expect a Robert Jordan, Stephen Lawhead, Anne McCaffrey or the like. Tolkien's books have been proven by time, not by the bestsellers list. This is different - this is what most fantasy writers of the present are striving to approach.

Silmarillion.......2007-09-16

This is a great book, I have read it a long time ago and decided to do so again, so I bought this hardcover version, which is very nice. If only all the "real" history books were so interesting...

His masterwork.......2007-09-16

It took me most of my life to really appreciate Tolkien's work (I'm slow I guess). And I have really come love and cherish LOTR. I know of nothing that comes even close to it in so many ways... except for the Silmarillion.

The scope and vision of the Silmarillion is so gigantic that if it had not ended before the events described in LOTR, but had included them in a form similar to the rest of the book, as (Middle-)Earth-shaking as they were, they probably would have been covered in a few pages... a chapter at most. Events of the scope and magnitude of LOTR occur over and over in the Silmarillion. It does not cover them all with the detail of LOTR, but the stories are profound and rich and moving. The Silmarillion must have been largely complete in Tolkien's mind when he wrote LOTR because the events of the Silmarillion during ages and centuries before LOTR profoundly (and consistently) influence not only the character and values of most of the characters, but almost every word and action they take. It is as though LOTR was a single delicious fruit and the Silmarillion was the fruit-laden tree which bore it.

Taking on the Silmarillion is a commitment. But for those who found LOTR worthwhile, I think they will find the Silmarillion at least equally worthwhile.

I agree with others who warn readers against starting with the Silmarillion even though it comes first chronologically.

It probably is best to start with the Hobbit, even though it was written with different voice and aimed at a different audience than the other works. Context-wise, it probably is the best place to start.

It is probably best to read LOTR next and the Silmarillion last... but having read the Silmarillion, you'll probably want to go back and read LOTR again, equipped with the enriched perspective you will have...

Of the Beginning of Days.......2007-09-11

The Silmarillion is the spellbinding compilation of JRR Tolkien's tales of the Elder Days of Middle Earth, the History of the Elves, and the Shapping of Arda. Edited by Christopher Tolkien, the Silmarillion includes such wonderful tales as The Children of Hurin, the heart wrenching story of Beren and Luthien, and the Fall of Gondolin. For fans of any of Tolien's other writings, such as The Hobbit, or The Lord of The Rings, the Silmarillion is a must read. In it's pages we find the ancient tales of the Elves, telling of the shipping of the World, the origins of the Elves, Men, and Dwarves, and many tales from the ancient struggle between the Elves and Morgoth.

RD Williams, author of 'The Lost Gate'

Average customer rating:

Requires repeated reading
Buy me!

The Silmarillion
J. R. R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0007136609

Customer Reviews:

Requires repeated reading .......2006-09-24

This collection of lose knit tales of the history of Middle Earth and those that live there. We learn many things as what different names of beings and places mean. This helps add a dimension to the stories that take place there.

I would say that it would help to read Lord of the Rings first because it is more comfortable when getting to know the area and characters. Then we can see where they came form; relationships are better understood.

Much of The Silmarillion can be taken in small bits and then sit back and contemplate how it could have been.

One does not just cut through any cultural history book for light reading and just shelving it. This is a cultural history book and will require rereading.

When people talk about the war I think back to which one they are talking about. Or are they just referring to one of the many orc skirmishes.

You do not have to be a Tolkien fan to find interest in this collection.

Buy me!.......2005-11-14

Enchanting tales of old including the five battles of Beleriand (best battles of all in my opinion) and the story of the Valar and the coming of men elves and dwarves, truly a magnificent piece by Tolkien, Bravo!

Average customer rating:

The Silmarillion
J. R. R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0048231533

Tolkien Fantasy Tales Box Set (The Tolkien Reader/The Silmarillion/Unfinished Tales/Sir Gawain and the Green Knight)

Average customer rating:

The many facets of Tolkien's genius. Don't miss it!!!
More than Middle-Earth

Tolkien Fantasy Tales Box Set (The Tolkien Reader/The Silmarillion/Unfinished Tales/Sir Gawain and the Green Knight)
J.R.R. Tolkien
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Science Fiction & Fantasy | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0345466462
Release Date: 2003-07-29

Customer Reviews:

The many facets of Tolkien's genius. Don't miss it!!!.......2004-06-05

This box set is the next logical step for those Tolkien readers looking to see where there is beyond THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT. I'll deal with the four works individually.

THE TOLKIEN READER: This book contain's Tolkien's shorter fiction and works, including a play and Leaf by Niggle. There are four works in total:

1. The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son: a play dealing with two men after the Battle of Maldon. Interesting, and shows more of the scholarly side of Tolkien.
2. TREE AND LEAF: This is a book consisting of two things: his essay on faerie tales, and Leaf By Niggle. Tolkien's essay is now considered one of the main centerpieces of literature defending and validating fantasy and faerie tale (as if THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT weren't enough). Leaf By Niggle is a very deep work, and basically it deals with his despair of mortality and not being able to finish his mythology, his great work. However, in the end Tolkien shows his glorious hope.
3. FARMER GILES OF HAM: a mock medieval story. Everything that THE LORD OF THE RINGS represents, this story pokes fun at and parodies. Very funny story, and shows Tolkien's sense of humour. This was written originally for his children (as much of his stuff was).
4. THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL: This is a very misleading title. It is a collection of poetry, and only the first two poems have anything to do with Bombadil. The rest of the poetry deals with Middle-earth, or set therein. It is a nice selection of his verse.

Overall, a well put together anthology. However, it would have been better had it included SMITH OF WOOTTON MAJOR. That, along with the two works constituting TREE AND LEAF, is the closest thing to autobiography he ever wrote, and all three are vitally important in any serious study of Tolkien.

THE SILMARILLION: The heart of Tolkien's mythology, providing the vast, mythic backdrop that made THE LORD OF THE RINGS so satisfying. As important to Tolkien as LOTR, THE SILMARILION is long, epic history of the Satanic Morgoth, the far more deadly lord of Sauron, and his dealings with the three tribes of Elves (The Noldor, the Teleri, and the Vanyar.). Difficult and dry, but immensely rewarding for those who love mythology. There are four short works, plus THE SILMARILLION proper. These are:

1. The AINULINDALE: Tolkien's beautiful creation myth. Details how Iluvator (God) brought the world into being through song, with the vast angelic hosts (the Valar) adding their special touches to Arda, or Creation. Tolkien gives us an account of the fall, showing how Morgoth created strife and war musically, and introduces the main Valar. A wonderful creation myth.
2. VALAQUENTA: A who's who of the major gods.
3. QUENTA SILMARILLION: The major account of the Elves' fall from grace, and how Feanor, crafting three jewels called the Silmarils, leads his tribe to war after Morgoth steals them. Complex, beautiful, and amazing, this is hard-core mythology that, while difficult for the modern reader, will prove wonderfully fulfilling for those persevere.
4. The AKALLABETH: The downfall of Numenor, Tolkien's version of Atlantis. Woefully short, the events of the Second Age would have made a wonderful successor to LOTR. Deals with Sauron's enslavement of men's hearts and how men became corrupt with the lust for immortality. Much more focused on men instead of elves.
5. THE RINGS OF POWER: The account of the Lord of the Rings.

Overall, a very highly comperessed text, with thousands of years compressed relative short chatpers. As you can see, the half a million words that Tolkien tells LOTR in is compressed to a very short text. How Tolkien taken the same conventions with THE SILMARILION as he did with LOTR, we would have an extremely long book. Arcane, written in a very elevated style, this takes a special kind of reader to make it through Tolkien's tough, deeply tragic, and incredibly beautiful vision of Middle-earth's history. The book stands as a definitive history of Middle-earth, covering all the ages and its creation. Highly recommended for the Tolkien student.

UNFINISHED TALES: Exactly what it says it is. A compendium of unfinished narratives, further detailing the three ages of Middle-earth. Especially illuminating are "Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin" (which would have been in the 1977 SILMARILION had it been completed, "Aldarion and Erendis," a story very unique in Tolkien's work because it is an actual story from the Second Age, wonderful revelations from the Third age, including much information about the Palantiri, the ever elusive other three wizards, new information about Theodred, Theoden's son, and revelations about the hunt for the ring. One of the most interesting sections is 'The Quest for Erebor," which another version is now included in THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT. This is the last scene we get of Gandalf and the hobbits. Told after the coronation of Aragorn in Minas Tirith, Gandalf discusses arranging for Bilbo to join with Thorin, and gives an hitherto unknown account of how the events of THE HOBBIT really came to be. Highly interesting.

Very interesting reading, but in the end UNFINISHED TALES is more lost lore than anything. Read only after you've read the big three (LOTR, HOBBIT, and SILMARILION).

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT: Three medieval poems. Great for the student and acadmic, but may not be real appealing to a mass audience. Due to Tolkien's remarkable linquistic skills, these are very accurate modern translations of the ancient texts. Sir Gawain is an Arthurian tale. Also includes the two shorter poems, "Pearl" and "Sir Orfeo".

In the end, a wonderful introduction to Tolkien's other works. Shows the more academic, scholary side of Tolkien. The most important work included here for the LOTR fan is THE SILMARILION. The rest are for the fans looking to go beyond Middle-earth.

More than Middle-Earth.......2003-09-26

J.R.R. Tolkien was the literary giant whose "Lord of the Rings" trilogy turned fantasy books from slightly odd literary blips into a full-blown genre. Not quite as well-known are his smaller fantasy tales, translations and the backdrop of Middle-Earth itself. Now his lesser-known (but still wonderful) books are released in a boxed set.

"The Tolkien Reader" is a mishmash of material both by and about Tolkien, including an essay by noted fantasy writer Peter Beagle, a short play, a story/reflection on writing and mortality, the hilarious comic fantasy "Farmer Giles of Ham," and a series of poems -- ranging from gloomy to cute to sad -- focusing on Tom Bombadil and Middle-Earth.

"The Silmarillion" is a the type of book that many authors have tried to emulate, but still stands unrivalled: The Bible of Middle-Earth. This is the history of the Elves and Middle-Earth, from Eru (God) creating the world and the races on it, through wars and disasters, until the events of "Lord of the Rings" itself, when the Elves finally leave Middle-Earth forever.

"Unfinished Tales" fills in a few of the mystery gaps in "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit." Want to know more about Gandalf, Bilbo, Galadriel, and other people in Middle-Earth? This collection of writings, organized by Tolkien's son, offers more insights into the world of Middle-Earth.

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" steps out of Tolkien's imagination, and into classic Arthurian fantasy. It's the story of Sir Gawain, and how after being challenged by a mysterious Green Knight, must forfeit his own head. Added on to it are Tolkien's translations of the beautiful poem "Pearl," and "Sir Orfeo," a tale rooted in the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Tolkien's full writing range is put on display in these books. He wrote comic fantasy about inept farmers and easily-intimidated dragons, and he also wrote sweeping fictional histories that spanned thousands of years. He wrote cute poems about dancing elf kids, melancholy poetry, and upbeat songs about the Man in the Moon. He wrote elaborate backstories for Middle-Earth, but also translated the classic Arthurian tale of Sir Gawain. In these stories, he proved that he could write (and translate) just about any style of fantasy imaginable, without it seeming stale or strained.

From charming to mind-bogglingly complicated, the "Tolkien Fantasy Tales" are a great way to introduce yourself to the full range of Tolkien's genius. Think you've seen it all with "Lord of the Rings"? You ain't seen nothing yet...

Average customer rating:

Silly Sillymarillion!

The First Age Was Never So Fun!

The Sillymarillion: An Unauthorized Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's Classic The Silmarillion
D.R. Lloyd
Manufacturer: Cold Spring Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Parodies | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Bored of the Rings: A Parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

The Soddit: Or, Let's Cash in Again

Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody

The Children of Húrin

The Da Vinci Cod : A Fishy Parody

ASIN: 1593600259

Book Description

Blasphemy! Heresy! Not since Bored of the Rings has there been such a blatant desecration of the sacred works of J.R.R. Tolkien! True fans of Middle-earth, rise up against this upstart and his distorted retelling ofThe Silmarillion, Tolkien's history of the world before The Lord of the Rings. No self-respecting Dark Lord would ever enter a rapping competition, nor would beautiful elf-maidens ever behave like this! The greatest tragic love story in fantasy history was not made possible through the efforts of a ferret, nor were the great battles of Beleriand covered by TV news crews! Don Lloyd's The Sillymarillion dares to be the first and only, and therefore we can claim without contradiction, the funniest, the most outrageous, parody of the wildly famous old professor's fiction in the last generation. The action begins in the land of Valium, an idyllic paradise, but now the tranquility has been shattered by the theft of the magical Siliputi by the Dark Lord Mostgoth. The King of the Neuter has vowed revenge and his people have rebelled against the gods themselves. Fleeing to the continent of Myrtle-earth in pursuit of their enemy, the Neuter become embroiled in a war that will last for hundreds of years, bringing great triumphs and tragedies as the free peoples of the world fight for their very existence. The reader will encounter polka-dotted elves, cross-dressing gods, and rodents possessed by malevolent spirits, but these will all somehow seem strangely familiar... A WORD ABOUT TOLKIEN'S SILMARILLION: Compiled posthumously by his son after Tolkien's death, The Silmarillion (1977) is a collection of stories and 'legends' concerning the First Age of Middle-earth, preceding by thousands of years the action that takes place in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The book primarily concerns itself with the origins of elves, dwarves, men, and monsters, explores the nature of good and evil, temptation and greed, and the ever-present sense of loss that is the centerpiece of all Tolkien's fiction. The book is written in a quasi-King James biblical style - and therefore easily lends itself to modern notions of satire and parody!

Customer Reviews:

Silly Sillymarillion!.......2006-11-27

Well, unlike "Bored of the Rings," this book is newly written. It doesn't suffer from the dated terms and humor of the former and the author is very creative with the jokes and twisted words he uses to make this an intelligent at times but generally silly parody of the original work. Again, if you don't mind a little fun being poked at a literary classic, this book will give you a few smiles and maybe even some full on laughter.

I rate this work as first rate for the type of work it is (parody). Can't think of much that could have been done better with it.

The First Age Was Never So Fun!.......2004-10-16

DR Lloyd has followed in the footsteps of the Harvard Lampoon's "Bored of the Rings" with a delightful, if dense, retelling of the Silmarillion. This book is really only for die-hard Tolkien fans, but if you are up for it you will not be disappointed.
The best part of Lloyd's work is in "re-imagining" (as Tim Burton might say) the endless parade of elf and mortal names, god and goddesses, rivers, lakes and streams... on and on with great results. Enter, if you dare, the evil world of Mostgoth and his minions, the irks... Join Cootiegerm and Curad as they struggle to regain the prized creation of their father, the Siliputi... and laugh all the way.
This parody isn't as good as Bored of the Rings, but it stands by itself as a loving tribute of a Tolkien nerd to the Professor (who undoubtedly would not approve!).

Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World

Average customer rating:

An essential critical study of Tolkien
As brilliant and effulgent as its title suggests...
Splintered Light and Sundered Veil

Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World
Verlyn Flieger
Manufacturer: Kent State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0873387449

Customer Reviews:

An essential critical study of Tolkien.......2003-12-21

The original 1983 edition, long hard to find, was one of the first books to discuss The Silmarillion in detail, and one of the most insightful: it showed Tolkien applying to his mythology Owen Barfield's principles of the deep relationship between language and the nature of reality, and using fragmented light as a metaphorical depiction of fragmented language. The revised edition is not a quick touch-up, but a massively extended rewrite that delves into much more detail and takes into account much that had not been published in 1983. Even the remainder of the old book has been re-written to improve clarity and flow. Along with Flieger's second Tolkien study, A Question of Time, which does for time and dreams what this one does for language and light, Splintered Light resumes its place as one of the half-dozen essential critical monographs on Tolkien. Her third study, Interrupted Music: Tolkien and the Making of a Mythology, is due from Kent State in the spring of 2005, and I'll await it eagerly.

As brilliant and effulgent as its title suggests..........2003-03-31

This book will change your perspective not only on The Lord of the Rings, but on life in general. I know it has done mine. The idea of language developing from mythology, and not the other way round as has been the common conception, was a new one to me when I read this book. Though I had always held the belief that God, myth, and language are interconnected ("In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God") I had never fully grasped the impact and full meaning of that until I read this book.Owen Barfield's theories, whilst interesting, were always just slightly abstruse for me: Verlyn Flieger has done me - and the rest of the literary world - a great service in setting forth and clarifying such excellent reasoning.

Though it is highly technical in some parts - most specifically in the chapters on the etymology, significance and meaning of names - it is as riveting as a first-rate mystery. I found myself unable to put it down. As all good books do, it definitely warrants a second, third, fourth, and fifth reading, and will not get old with repeated study. Hobbyist philologists (like me) and anyone interested in language, myth, religion, philosophy, or The Lord of the Rings (which adroitly combines all four) must read this book. It will change your life and your outlook on the world and our relation to it and its Maker.

Splintered Light and Sundered Veil.......1998-03-27

J.R.R. Tolkien claimed that he transcribed, not created, the tales of Middle Earth. He also said that Middle Earth is not pure fantasy in time or space, but depicts our earth and its inhabitants in some remote time. When I was sixteen and had read Tolkien for the first time, I didn't know this. I only knew that I wanted middle earth - its air, its mountains and magic - to be real. I tried once, with my best friend, to pretend we were running from Black Riders as we headed out on an errand one day. I only tried this once, because the pretense failed completely. Many years later I read Owen Barfield's Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry. Then I read his Poetic Diction: A Study in Meaning. Soon after, I reread Tolkien, and read The Letters of Tolkien. It was then that I entered middle earth. It was real, and has been ever since. I suspected that Barfield had something to do with my entrance into middle earth. Now I find that another has made a similar connection: Verlyn Flieger. She argues for and documents the connection as she sees it in Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World. Therein she confirms that Tolkien knew what he was up to writing the middle earth history - in particular the accounts gathered in The Silmarillion - and knew it was not sheer fantasy. Flieger argues that these accounts were profoundly influenced by the work of Owen Barfield - in particular his Poetic Diction. Her linguistic claim, that the languages of middle earth develop just as Barfield says our languages did and do, is an ingenious hypothesis, and she demonstrates this. Arguably, on only literary/critical grounds. Conclusively, with biographical notes and her discussions of Tolkien's essays "On Fairy-Stories" and "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics." It is with those that she demonstrates convincingly the connection between Barfield and Tolkien. And that connection is nowhere more beautifully and surely captured than in a biographical note: "C.S. Lewis's comment that Tolkien `had been inside langugae' was thus no figure of speech, but the literal truth. He had been inside the word, had experienced its power and seen with its perception. Others who knew Tolkien came to much the same conclusion. Simonne d'Ardenne, one of Tolkien's Oxford students and herself a philologist, found antoher way to put it...Mlle. d'Ardenne recalled saying to him once, apropos his work: `You broke the veil, didn't you, and passed through?' and she adds that he `readily admitted' having done so." [p. 9] Logos - as living Word, in which one may get, may live and move and have one's being - connects Tolkien with Barfield as nothing else will. That, though, means one might need to read Barfield too. Flieger brings Tolkien's Silmarillion to life; she brings Tolkien to life; she points one to both Tolkien's and Barfield's philological and philosophical thought and work. Most of all, she gets one as near to being `inside language' - inside Logos - as one has reason to hope, at least by individual effort alone. In that regard, Splintered Light is worth far more than its price just for the above quoted passage alone. - Danny Smitherman (djsmitherman@msn.com)

Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings

Average customer rating:

Excellent Resource
Knits up the ravels
A Radiograph of LotR.
Splendid Tolkien Reference Work
a giant mass of undifferentiated trivia

Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings
Michael W. Perry
Manufacturer: Inkling Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

History | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Literature | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Military | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Mythology & Folklore | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction & Fantasy | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1587420198

Book Description

Here is the book that Tolkien fans have needed for half a century--a detailed, book-length chronology of J. R. R. Tolkien's complex tale. Whether you are a serious Tolkien fan or simply someone who enjoys reading the story over and over again, this is the book for you. It's the first totally new reference for The Lord of the Rings since the 1970s.

Beginning over 1400 years before the major events in Tolkien's epic, it describes, year-by-year, the amazing and imaginative background history that Tolkien created for his masterpiece. Then for the main narrative, it becomes a day-by-day reference, describing what each character does on that day and all the places where those events are described in Tolkien's writings. You can find out, for instance, what Merry and Pippin are doing as Sam perpares rabbit stew on the morning of March 7.

Probe deeper into Tolkien. See why someone as serious as Gandalf was interested in fun-loving Hobbits. Discover an exciting new plot, based on Tolkien's notes, that begins when Aragorn captures Gollum. Follow along as the Black Riders and Gandalf race for the Shire. Decide for yourself whether Sauron and the Ring have any ties to Hitler and Stalin. Explore what Tolkien believed about nature and technology.

A few facts illustrate how helpful this chronology is. Most of narrative is a deliberately confusing sea of next days and third days that leave readers as confused as the tale's main characters.The middle 60 percent of The Lord of the Rings gives the current date only once. In the narrative as a whole, the date is given only 23 times, or once for every 43 pages, and most of those come when the plot is moving slowly. That's why those who want to dig deeper and understand better what Tolkien was saying will find this book a must-have.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Resource.......2006-12-10

Perry has done a wonderful job in untangling the very intricate tale woven by J.R.R. Tolkien. Of particular help are the copious margin notes which reference exactly where Perry is drawing the information contained within that section of his book. The commentary made by the author is a welcomed pause for reflection on the events that are taking place and keep the book from being a mere listing of dates and events. I teach a course on J.R.R. Tolkien and have found Untangling Tolkien a valuable resource, since it covers the entire history of Middle-earth: what comes before The Hobbit and what takes place after The Lord of The Rings. Bravo Mr. Perry, I look forward to reading your other books.

Knits up the ravels.......2004-10-31

An amazing accomplishment by a dedicated Tolkien fan.

That is how I'd sum up the book Untanging Tolkien. Michael Perry has first unraveled all Tolkien's "dates" -- which can be extrapolated from phases of the moon -- and then knit them together again in a cohesive outline, presented in much greater detail than Tolkien's own timeline (found buried in Appendix A of LOTR). By incorporating information from other Tolkien writings, the author of Untangling Tolkien collates additional facts about all the characters and the circumstances surrounding the War of the Ring, folding them all into this detailed chronology. He includes material that sheds light on possible parallels between Tolkien's work and events that were contemporary, and he provides original commentary that suggests some additional motivations for Tolkien's characters. Sidebars offer references to every source for the information presented and for each conclusion the author has drawn.

I found the format, with quick-reference bulleted lists and clearly delineated sections and subheadings, well-organized and easy to use.

NOTE: I read the third printing that was published in May 2004. Apparently the author has corrected many of the errors that David Bratman objected to (below). You won't find a better overview or a more throrough treatment of time and dates in LOTR than Perry provides in this book.

A Radiograph of LotR........2003-12-27

This book is layed out as a chronological record of the events covered by Tolkein's masterpiece with prefaces that explain the calender system created by Tolkein and its conversion to our more mundane (and possibly inferior) system. The type is clear, and margin citations clear and present for every entry. It's primary utility, at which it succeeds admirably, is as a kind of radiograph of Tolkein's work that reveals its astonishing complexity more clearly and allows one to admire, and more importantly, explore the book itself more quickly, easily, and deeply.

The book also contains copious notes inline with the chronology. These vary from informative to tangential, but at worst do not detract from the book's primary function. Mr. Perry is perhaps foremost as Lewis scholar, and so C.S. Lewis, a close acquaintance and friend of Tolkein, makes a number of appearances. Also making appearances in the notes are William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill.

All in all, a unique book which will save anyone who wants to do an in depth study of LotR a lot of time.

Splendid Tolkien Reference Work.......2003-12-21

Superb, exhaustive chronology of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga. Perry does a superior job in untangling a number of thorny chronological issues in Tolkien's narrative, and he employs some fine literary detective work in reconstructing what events are happening across Middle Earth on any given date. Especially admirable is his reconstruction of how much moonlight there was during each day of Frodo and Sam's journey into Mordor.

In addition to chronology, Perry supplies a lot of background information about Tolkien's themes and sources, as well as biographical tidbits about Tolkien. For example, there are fascinating discussions of Tolkien's views of technology, freedom, and totalitarianism. Perry also discusses Tolkien's stance toward the misuse of Germanic myths by the Nazis.

This is a great resource for Tolkien-lovers everywhere.

a giant mass of undifferentiated trivia.......2003-12-21

A year-by-year, later day-by-day, chronicle of the war against Sauron from the founding of the Shire to the glorious conclusion seems at the outset like a good idea. Perry calls LOTR's Appendix B, the Tale of Years, "far from complete" but it covers the whole period: what he means is that it's not detailed enough for him. Appendix B won't tell you which day Sam cooked coney for Frodo; Perry will.

But alas, the book does not stop there. The entries are written as bullet lists like a PowerPoint presentation, and many add pointless little flowcharts such as two-generation family trees. They reduce Tolkien's magnificently complex subcreation into a giant mass of undifferentiated trivia. And each yearly or daily entry comes with its commentary, whether directly relevant, side points, broader considerations, or dogmatic essays in applicability. The unrelieved banality and inappropriateness of these must be read to be believed; as also the author's clumsy, grammatically inept style, and his smug superiority to the characters. (He frequently criticizes the good guys' "blunders," all of them more complex than he implies.)

There's actually some good chronological analysis and speculation hiding in here. But how can someone who knows his Tolkien that well say that the wizards were Valar, or that Rohan gave Isengard to Saruman (it wasn't theirs to give, and Saruman was made its warden, not a freeholder), that Boromir and Faramir had a sibling rivalry (Tolkien specifically says not), or suggest that Galadriel should have sent daily eagles to check up on the Fellowship?

These are not isolated examples: the bloopers and misconceived ideas go on and on. The whole book is like that: it has the soul of a PowerPoint presentation. I can't recommend it on any terms.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books