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    The Silmarillion
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    The Silmarillion
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    The Silmarillion
    Ebook558 pages9 hours

    The Silmarillion

    By J. R. R. Tolkien

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateFeb 3, 2011
    ISBN9780007322565
    Author

    J. R. R. Tolkien

    J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

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    Reviews for The Silmarillion

    4/5

    5,971 ratings134 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien is the story of how the creation of Tolkien's world came to be.It has been years since I have read this book, and it was such a delight to revisit Tolkien's world from the beginning of the First Age. It is exciting and sorrowful, and I loved spending time with all the characters and visiting the places they traveled. This is a great read for lovers of Tolkien's work.
    • 2/5
      It was good to get the background stories from the foundation of Middle Earth, but most of it read just like a history book... rather dry and slow reading. Not at all in the same style of The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings trilogy. With that said, there were areas where it was almost a narrative, but the attempt was rather poorly pulled off.
    • 1/5
      I was unable to read this. That's the problem with fantasy worlds. The trilogy was quite enough.
    • 4/5
      Very in-depth history of Middle Earth. A must read for any Tolkien fan. My only gripe is there is almost too much info thrown at you. It's hard to keep track of all the characters.
    • 3/5
      The creation of Middle-earth and its First Age is presented in both mythical and historical accounts that set the stage for The Lord of the Rings in the world’s Third Age. The Silmarillion is the posthumously published collection of J.R.R. Tolkien’s worldbuilding tales concerning the creation and history of Middle-earth focusing on the First Age but also delving into the relevant history leading to the War of the Ring.Middle-earth was created through song by the Ainur, though one of their number—Melkor—attempts to disrupt the tune three times but it overpowered by Eru (God). Eru then showed the Ainur a vision of the world and offered them the chance to enter it and rule, many took up the offer including Melkor. While many of the Ainur, the more powerful Valar and lesser Maiar, attempted to create a world for the Elves and Man, Melkor repeatedly destroyed their work and seduced some of the Maiar to his side, including Sauron. The book then shifts into the Tale of the Simarils, which were three jewels crafted by the Elf Feanor that glowed with the light of the Two Trees that were the only source of light before the Moon and Sun were created by the last remnants after their destruction by Melkor who then killed Feanor’s father and stole of the Simarils. Feanor long duped and corrupted by Melkor’s lies leads the Nordor Elves out of the West to Middle-earth to regain the jewels and do terrible things while Feanor and his sons make a dark oath to recover the jewels. Over the next 500 years, the various Elven groups in Middle-earth battle the now entitled Morgoth and his minions while later to be joined by Men. But the curse of Feanor devastates the Nordor and all that become related to them or allied to them or that touch the Simarils. Eventually a Elf-Man, Earendil arrives in The West to beg for help against Morgoth and the Valar with those Elves that hadn’t join the Nordor attack Morgoth and overpower him but the Simarils are lost in Space, the Sea, and the Earth until the End of the World. The book then gives an overview of the Second Age and the time of Numenor, their glory and fall by the lies of Sauron who’s defeat by the Last Alliance ends the Age and disperses his power for a time. And finally, the book ends with the overview of the creation of the rings of power and the Ring by Sauron then an overview of the lead up to and through the War of the Ring as seen in The Lord of the Rings.While Tolkien did have some wonderful worldbuilding ideas, the mix of mythical and historical tales were hit-and-miss with a lot of dryness poured on. While there is a somewhat narrative framework to the book, there is no narrative flow. Though some of this can be attributed to the intermixture of tales that bent towards the mythical or the historical, they weren’t meshed together very well and that is probably because of the posthumous nature of the book as Tolkien’s son Christopher put the book together and added sections using his father’s notes to bridges things within a large framework but there was a randomness to things.Overall The Silmarillion should be seen a collection of mythical and historical tales within a large framework, but one that doesn’t mesh well and at times is disjointed. This is a book for hardcore Tolkien fans not general readers who would be stratified with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
    • 3/5
      Hard to get through - kind of like reading the bible from cover to cover. But since it was all about Tolkein's world, it was a labor of love.
    • 5/5
      While this is more a collection of stories and notes than a full novel, this just might be the definitive J. R. R. Tolkien work, as well as a very useful Tolkien reference. Found in this book we have the very creation of Middle-Earth by the gods and the stories of the gods themselves. The various kindreds of the Elves appear, as well as the first Men. The old stories of the wise and powerful (and vengeful) Noldor are told in their war against Morkoth, Sauron's mighty patron. It also has a brief summary of the background of the Hobbit and a summary of LoTR. The stories of the Silmarils, Beren and Luthien, the tale of the Numenoreans, all of these are must reads for any Tolkien fan, they are the bedrock on which his novels are based. Fantastic stuff.
    • 3/5
      What a slow read! I wanted to give it a 2 star, but found I couldn't. It wasn't as bad as reading The book of Numbers in the Bible, but close. I'll give the book credit for having an interesting creation story and it does contain a lot of insightful details that connect to the other books. I am glad I read it, but ....
    • 5/5
      20/1/2016
      it was so much better than i expected and i loved it so so much even though there were some parts that i found boring but that was probably because i wasn't in the mood for it or something like that. i liked the first half a bit better than the rest because i just loved finding out about how all the inhabitants of arda came to be, though i do wish there would've been more about the dwarves because i love them a lot.
      i actually expected it to be so complicated and hard to understand but for me it wasn't. i just think you need to be in a specific mindset and mood to be able to enjoy it, so i would absolutely say that it's better to read this after reading the lord of the rings, but yeah. it's a great book.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful tale that gives insight into some questions about the LOTR and how Middle Earth came to be. The tales appeared to start out slow and confusing but soon I found myself wanting to read more though tried to delay finishing for as long as I could. Very much well worth the read and leaves you wanting to go back over LOTR.
    • 3/5
      This is a hard read. I would not recommend this to anyone unless they are very hardcore Tolkien or fantasy reader. I had to read this with the LOTR wiki next to me, so I could keep track of who was who, what timeline I was reading, where events were happening, and so forth. However, with that said, Morgoth (Melkor) proved to be a much more dangerous opponent to the people's of Middle Earth than Sauron. It has a flair of Greek Mythology about it with the Ainur and their roles in the planet. It gives a great deal of backstory with the Valar and Maiar, so you know who Sauron actually is, what the wizards actually are, including the balrogs. It is a fun read, just for hardcore fans.
    • 5/5
      This book would basically be the bible of Middle Earth. It's not an easy read if you aren't obsessed with the source material. But if you are, it's well worth your time.
    • 3/5
      I will admit that this is a very hard book to read unless you are really into middle earth, Old English mythology, and have the brainpower for it - it is not light reading like the hobbit. I like it, but just saying.
    • 5/5
      Vast in scope, this is the most "Epic" of the Lord of the Ring's books. The first section, the Ainulindale, especially, can be difficult to get through. It is the creation myth, and thus is a little obscure. After the first section, it reads more like the Lord of the Rings. The most enjoyable part of reading this book was learning the significance of things mentioned in the Lord of the Rings series--The Ring of Barahir, the white tree of Gondor, while Galadriel is so revered, etc. I love that we get insight into the larger mythology that is hinted at in the Lord of the Rings. Also, the story of Feanor, and of Beren and Luthien are great stories in their own right. This book, however, is not for people who want characterization and insights into what characters are thinking and feeling every step of the way. As an epic, we are removed from the characters, and watching the world move and events happen that are beyond their control. Very good book.
    • 1/5
      I really, really wanted to "get" The Silmarillion.Unfortunately, reading this is akin to pushing a boulder up a hill - very hard work.After being on my reading shelf for 17 years (no lie), I finally took the plunge and sat down to read the Silmarillion.It takes some concentration - that is for sure and you might want to take notes to keep track of who is who and when.This book is the Middle-Earth version of the Bible, with arcane religion, myth and pre-history all mixed together. It is NOT light reading.Love Tolkien's world, but I really wish that this book wasn't so damn high-valuting and was more approachable.
    • 3/5
      I really wanted to love this. This should totally be in my wheelhouse, but I just could not get into it. It read more like an encyclopedia than a creation myth. Maybe I will try it again some time down the road.
    • 3/5
      I found the Silmarillion quite good, but by its nature, it is diffuse. The genteel school of fantasy has many fans, and while I prefer the more gritty school now-a-days, due to my having encountered Malory and the Njal Saga before I read LotR, I was always aware that the divide existed. So as an historian, while I applauded JRRT for having placed a good set of underpinnings, it wasn't a mad rush of joy. It should be read by all fantasists, in order to help their own back-story business, but.....
    • 3/5
      I almost gave this a four star but I had to really concentrate while listening to this book, otherwise I would start thinking of other things and miss great swaths of the book. However it has to be a high three star because while it's all tell and no show, the language is wonderful. Perhaps Martin Shaw reading this book aloud for me did the trick but I really enjoyed the sound of the reading - all those elven words sound so lyrical. It was probably a good thing I read The Origins of Tolkien's Middle Earth for Dummies book before reading this, because I feel I was able to take much more out of the stories due to knowing the overall plot-lines of each story. However, the Dummies book does have quote a few spoilers. I enjoyed the fact that this was like a bible for the Lord of the Rings series. And if you know your history, you can pull quite a bit of references out that may have inspired some stories. A lot was obviously taken from Christianity, but there's some Greek history there and Saxon, etc. Probably only for those big fans of Tolkien, but I enjoyed it more than anticipated.
    • 5/5
      I received this for Christmas the year it was published, and like so many, struggled to finish it. I did manage to fight my way through it a couple of times, but it didn't really stick with me. Recently, other Tolkien fans encouraged me to re-read it. They stated that it is often easier the second time, and recommended reading each section or chapter twice. I took their advice, and really enjoyed it.Another bit of wisdom was that this is Elvish history, written by Elves, not particularly interested in non-Elves except when they interacted with Elves, and not really understanding them even then. This insight added a whole new layer to the fascinating text.The only drawback was that the maps had long since been removed, hung on my bedroom wall and vanished many moves ago. This made following some of the action a bit difficult, but not impossible.Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      The Simarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien is a prequel to the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In it, Dr. Tolkien has created an anthology of stories depicting the creation of the world, its shaping, the creation of elves and men, and the role of spirit beings called Valar and Mayar in the long struggle between God, call Eru, the One, or Iluvatar. and the chief created being Melkor. Melkor chose to go against Eru and recruited followers to hinder and hamper Eru's design. In response, Eru create Elves and Men to counter Melkor's plans. The book revolves around this struggle; first between the Valar and Melkor, then with Melkor and the Elves, and then with Men. Many sad tales are told, but surprising triumphs and twists bedeck these stories. In the Simarillion you will learn of the origins of Sauron as a lieutenant of Melkor, as well as the wanderings and trials of the various families of Elves and Men. You will also learn of the origin of Dwarves, and how their antipathy towards elves began. I recommend this for any fan of the Lord of the Rings who cannot get enough of Tolkien's world and hungers for more. If you had no trouble reading through the appendices to the Return of the King, you should have no problem with the Simarillion.
    • 4/5
      I'm a mythopoeia junkie, which makes this my crack. I loved it. Funny enough, I could never get into the trilogy or the Hobbit, which is what Tolkien is famous for, but his nonfiction and books like this, which read more like the deep, rich history of a distant world, are all right up my alley, and The Simarilion was no exception.
    • 4/5
      This isn't a proper finished word, but thanks to Christopher Tolkien feels like one. It starts out very biblical and very dry, but still with its own interesting aspects. Once we get into the events of the First Age of the Sun, it becomes dramatic and intense. Fingolfin has to be my favorite elf, Noldoran or otherwise. I also love the name of the region (mostly, but not entirely, sunk under the ocean by the end of the age), and I'd love to have my own use of the name Beleriand. I also feel drawn to Nienna, though she doesn't factor into events all that much.
    • 4/5
      Very cool to see the creation story of middle-earth.
    • 5/5
      Though slightly less well-known than the other Middle-Earth books, The Silmarillion tells the history of the creation of Middle-Earth, great deeds of valor, and the fall of Elves and Men. Unlike The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion is not a traditional story. All of it is linked, yes, but in a sense of an overarching history; there is a reason that even people who enjoy The Lord of the Rings often find The Silmarillion intimidatingly dense.

      That said, it is well worth reading. Tolkien here blends so many disparate themes and ideas into a seamless epic. The beginning tells how Middle-Earth was created, in the style of a traditional creation myth. One of the Ainur, Melkor, rebels against the creation song and thus brings discord and chaos into the world. Every culture has their creation myths, of course, and the tale of Melkor striving against Iluvatar has distinct shades of Christian theology and the rebellion of Lucifer against God.

      Next are tales of the Valar - including stories, such as the creation of the Sun and the Moon, which are reminiscent of Greek and Roman myths.

      The tale of the creation of the Silmarils by Feanor is finally given, and we learn of the downfall of the Elves, sworn by oath to recover the Silmarils, and sealing their own doom.

      Chapter XIV "Beleriand and its Realms" is where the pacing slows and, honestly, drags a bit. The land and its masters are listed in sometimes excruciating detail, as well as an almost depressingly thorough detailing of the natural geography.

      However, past that comes the true heart of the book, and where Tolkien most displays his brilliance. "Of Beren and Luthien" tells the story of a Man and Elf, star-crossed lovers who brave the darkest parts of Morgoth's realms to win the Silmaril - less important to them than being together. Their tale is an adventure in the style of Arthurian legend, and a love story greater than Romeo and Juliet.

      Both "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin" and "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad" take on the style of a Viking saga. The great battles are told, including Fingolfin ablaze with fury, challenging Morgoth at his very gate in combat, and the heroic last stand of the brothers Hurin and Huor. Here are told great deeds of valor and treachery, the heroic lays of a true epic.

      "Of Turin Turambar" is more than reminiscent of a Greek tragedy: it is one. Son of Hurin, Turin bears his father's curse, and Fate dogs his every action. Hurin and his house are damned, and for all Turin's great deeds, he is the son of Ill-Fate.

      Finally, we reach the fall of Morgoth, which is no less satisfying and intense than the fall of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings.

      What makes The Silmarillion work is that though elements of Christianity, Viking sagas, Greek tragedies, and Roman myths are intertwined, there is a cohesive story being told that stretches through the ages. Yes, it can be confusing keeping track of names and who is the son of whom, but the individual stories are all part of a much larger whole. While some fantasy novels feel like their worlds exist only for that story, or for this character, Tolkien envisaged the entire history of his world. The characters are each part of their own story, though they might intersect. Legolas and Gimli's argument over the divide between elves and dwarves traces back to the stories told of the First and Second Ages. Treebeard's search for the Entwives is a part of his story, though it might intersect with Merry and Pippin's. Aragorn can sing of Beren and Luthien because it's part of that world's history and culture. The astounding detail that Tolkien dedicated to Middle-Earth and its history is what makes it real and lasting. Tolkien's genius was not just that he knew how to write a good story, or even a grand epic, but that he envisioned a world so complete, so lovingly detailed, that fans of his are still reading about it and dwelling in Middle-Earth in the pages of his books years after they were written.
    • 3/5
      As a great fan of Tolkien I thought it was about time I gave this a go, sadly it was not for me. A middle earth 'old testament'. Though interesting for the lore of Tolkien's world I found it a chore to read, good but trying.
    • 5/5
      If I owned a real bookstore (you know, with real books), I would have a shelf entitled, "Mind Blowing". And on that shelf, this book would reside. I would cull this title from the Tolkien herd and place it in its own special area, because it is most deserving.

      The magnificence of Tolkien is really on display here. In fact, any thoughts I had of becoming a writer were dashed aside quickly once I started this explanation of Middle Earth. It's one thing to write books which entrap the reader (Lord of the Rings), but it's another to actually spend years creating the world in which your fictional characters live. I just can't do that. Thankfully, Tolkien could and did.

      The Silmarillion explains the creation of the world and the beginning of the First Age, peopled by the ancestors of Frodo's compatriots. Because Tolkien believed in his world, so does the reader. It's truly magnificent, the type of book you just want to take your time in reading, feeling a true accomplishment upon the completion of each chapter.

      Book Season = Winter (to be read on clear nights only)

    • 3/5
      Struggled through this in my "Fellowship" class in college. Definitely have to be a die-hard Tokienite to enjoy reading it.
    • 3/5
      I may be the only Tolkien fan who didn't "get" the Silmarillion. A little too long in some parts, a bit confusing in others. It is interesting to read because it gives you decent background on the world of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings but not a stand alone novel. If you are new to Tolkien, start with the Hobbit, then Lord of the Rings and, if you love Tolkien's world, read the Silmarillion.
    • 5/5
      read The Silmarillion finally for the first time, and i liked it a lot. must have been some feat for Christopher Tolkien, assisted by Guy Gabriel Kay in the 1970s, to put it together, as there were multiple versions of each part in different styles, sometimes on single sheets of paper, written (and written over) over a timespan that began in the period of the First World War. just deciding what to use, how to reconcile various styles, and developing a clear timeline would be exceptionally difficult in dealing with so many bits of manuscript. and they did really well: can't really see the joins, the "Quenta Silmarillion" flows nicely, as though it was always of a piece, and the earlier and later chronicles considered as extant documents pertaining to the period do not seem out of place in the narrative.the story would be somewhat more difficult to adapt for movies because it is told as a chronicle rather than an epic. but on the other hand, the stories in it are so gripping they would really come alive on the screen. and there is some continuity with the Third Age, of course, because of the elves: this is the origin story for both Galadriel and Elrond, after all, and the source material for many of the stories referred to as legend in the Third Age. including specifically the love stories between elves and men (notably Luthien and Beren in Elrond's line) and the tragic sagas of the children of Feonor, the line of Heor and Rian, and the children of Hurin, and each of those stories would themselves a movie make. so it would be possible to construct a throughline that would draw these stories together into a third trilogy, taking the narrative backwards into the events of the First Age. possibly told from Galadriel and/or Elrond's PoV - or from Sauron or Saruman's, but that's unlikely{g}.also, the story of the Silmarillion stones is both powerful in itself and connected to most of these stories. and it's parallel both to the later history of the Rings and of the Arkenstone, so as a theme it runs right through the history of Middle Earth. though the Silmaril stones are good, not meant for evil, they are corrupted from outside by their bloody history, in which they serve as a corrupting influence for elves, dwarves, and men. and basically this leads to the destruction of the First Age, which was meant to be idyllic.the very beginning is a slog: because the Ainur are static characters. too bad they're at the start, but then, where else would they be, so persevere. here's why: the Ainur seem to want to offer free will at the beginning, but the results are problematic and they eventually find they prefer blind obedience (not that they ever get it, from anyone, but that seems to surprise them too). yet they do come several times with armies to beat back Melkor, the original Big Evil, even though they don't seem to take responsibility for having let him run rampart as far back as the original creation of the world, when he was clearly already a disruptive and destructive force aimed squarely at tearing down their original creation. also interesting that the Ainur are not gods: they must marshal armies of their own, eliciting alliances with their own created races in order to effect change. they have many human flaws and failures to see both the big picture in advance and the potential consequences of what they make. so the matter of mortality, for instance, meant to be a gift, becomes a matter of envy that divides the races and creates enclaves in which only isolation allows any culture to survive.beyond that, i kinda love the whole idea of creating a world by joint contribution to a piece of music, which then acts to translate itself, through themes and counterpoint, into a living and complex world: transforming nothing into everything as it sings. also i found the division of the Elves over time into various types, marred, enriched, and otherwise changed by the choices various factions make, quite fascinating. and the book is full of glorious cinematic images of ships and habitats long gone, strong and indelible characters, and haunting stories.appended: maps of the First Age world (very different from the Third Age), some very useful genealogical charts of elves and men, a chart of the complicated sundering of the elves, and an annotated index. altogether the whole book is a lovely thing we only have because Christopher Tolkien took on the daunting task of putting it together for publication in a way his father never could. perhaps mostly because he could not stand to let it go: his own original act of making a world out of a stave of music.
    • 5/5
      This is what Tolkien wanted to publish originally. When told "no" by his publisher, he proceed to write a marvelous trilogy in order to create a demand for this earlier work!