This is one of the best stories ever written--EVER! It's profoundly beautiful epic fantasy. I have never been so sucked into the world of a book the way I have been with the Silmarillion. I nearly cried the first time I finished it because I was no longer in Middle Earth (I was 13 or 14, if that makes it better)!Tolkien is one of the few authors who I never question while reading. You know how in some books you stop and think things like why the author explained something strangely, why a certain character seems so out of place in the story, or why a piece of dialogue is painful and unnecessary? That doesn't happen with Tolkien! He tells stories so perfectly, so succinctly that you just accept it without question.Yes, you will have to flip back to the index of names many times, especially at the beginning, but tough through it because it's worth it! ( )

i was disappointed in the silmarillion. i only read the lord of the rings trilogy this year, and was so amazed at how enthralling it all was. i just flew through them, absolutely great books. but the silmarillion i found to be so dull, with the exception of a chapter or two. mostly a chore to read. ( )

The Silmarillion was never really a completed work, being completed and published posthumously. So, unfortunately it does not shine in its own right. However, it is a wonderful companion to The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings saga. It portrays the foundation and very creation of that well-known land, and gives a glimpse of the world of Middle-Earth prior to and during the creation and existence of the One Ring in the power of Sauron. It's a fascinating read, and one I think any lover of that magical world should look into. ( )

I really enjoyed reading "The Silmarillion," though I'll admit it was one of those books I didn't make it all the way through the first time I tried reading it (I think it was a reading level thing). Now that I've actually finished it, I think it is a very interesting in-depth description of Tolkien's world, and it gives the Lord of the Rings trilogy more depth through background knowledge. Read it! ( )

The book is an account of the First Age which precedes the action in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. ( )

This is difficult to rate ... It has taken me more than 30 years to finally read it from start to end!

I had to bribe myself in the end - I was determined to read it and this month so I made myself start off with one chapter each day and could read something else for the rest of my reading time. Then this weekend I got into it enough to finish it in two sittings and three days ahead of schedule. I am not sure that diarised reading slots is where I want to go but it was the solution for this particular book!

I didn't really enjoy it but there is no questioning the mastery that Tolkien has over his creation. This is the essential pre LOTR history that sets the scene for that great tale. ( )

When faced with reading this back in the '70s a freind of my mothers complained that, instead of the New American translation, she was stuck with the King James.

I started this book twice and was unable to finish until the internet provided me with timelines and search functions. It's a terrific read if you really, really need to know what "the west" is and why everyone keeps going there and what the heck happened to Gandalf between colors. ( )

J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic The Silmarillion (published posthumously and edited by his son Christopher) tells not one story but many, and is divided into several sections.

AINULINDALË narrates the creation of the world by Ilúvatar with the assistance of his servants the Valar, using the metaphor of music in much the same manner as Hebrew Scripture employs language. Also picturing the rebellion and fall of the Vala Melkor, this section contains some of the most beautiful and philosophical writing in the whole work.

The VALAQUENTA details the characteristics, powers and dominions of the various Valar; it adds nothing in terms of plot to the volume but enriches one's understanding of these angelic/god-like beings.

QUENTA SILMARILLION is both the longest section and the heart of the book. It focuses on the race of the Elves and the terrible doom laid upon them by the agency of those three powerful jewels, the Silmarils. Most of interest to me were the longer, more focused chapters involving individual characters and their often-tragic fates, e.g. everything involving Fëanor and the forging of the Silmarils, the tale of Beren and Luthién, and of Húrin and his son Túrin Turambar.

With AKALLABÊTH, Tolkien turns his attention from the Elves to Men, specifically the noble Edain or Dúnedain and the destruction of their beloved island, Númenor.

OF THE RINGS OF POWER AND THE THIRD AGE deals mostly with the events surrounding Tolkien’s best-known works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but tells them from a very different perspective than either of the other books.

Though I number Tolkien among my favorite authors, I approached this book with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, not having read any of his work since the release of the Peter Jackson films, and knowing that it had provoked extremely mixed reactions among Rings fans. However, the good reports were so overwhelming in their positivity that they won me over, and my estimation of my own abilities was high enough that I thought myself sufficiently prepared for anything Tolkien could dish out. Well, I finished it, but I can’t say it was easy going, and I can see why it has aroused the disappointment and frustration of so many people over the years.

Is it a stunning achievement? Yes. Is it a work of art? Perhaps. Is it a compelling piece of fiction? Well, it depends on whom you ask. I cannot think of anything like it among modern novels; indeed, the closest parallels that came to mind while reading were Old Testament histories and ancient mythologies. It is simply teeming with long, dogged exposition along the lines of who-bore-who and who-slew-who, and it all gets very old after a while. As I see it, the book has three primary strengths. First, the writing itself is beautiful, which is unsurprising for a linguist deeply concerned with the sound and meaning of words. Even when I was struggling through the lists of names, I found that if I read them aloud they simply tripped off my tongue. Secondly, there are some profound insights to be found within these pages; take almost all of Ainulindalë as an example: the description of Melkor’s cacophony blending with the great melody of Ilúvatar to create a richer if more sorrowful tune makes for one of the best descriptions of the world’s state that I have ever read. Last, and most obviously, there is the awe-inspiring world building. No one has ever—and I mean ever—created a fantasyland as rich and complex as Middle-Earth/Beleriand.

Obviously this book is not for everyone. To whom, then, would I recommend it? In keeping with this review's theme of threes (inspired subconsciously, perhaps, by the Silmarils), I perceive The Silmarillion’s intended audience as falling somewhere between the following groups: fans of The Lord of the Rings who would like some background, mythology buffs, and fantasy writers. I fall into at least two of the three categories, and in the end I am glad that I read it, but I will probably wait another ten or fifteen years before I try it again. In the meantime, it would make a fabulous oratorio. Are you listening, Howard Shore? ( )

An absolute must for LotR fans.

That this story emerged from one man's brilliant imagination will be forever staggering to me. The mixture of detail and scope is spellbinding from the first until the last page. In my opinion greater even that LOTR, The Silmarillion is amongst my favorite books ever. It says everything about everything that truly matters; and all in a world that has never existed. Genius. ( )

Christopher Tolkien, the son of J. R. R., published this novel four years after his father’s death, and himself provided the 50-page index. The prefatory note begins, ‘Since the number of names in the book is very large, this index provides, in addition to page-references, a short statement concerning each person and place’ -- thus constituting a combined glossary and index (which is printed before the Appendix and maps).

Not for the faint of heart! I had to read portions of it for a class on Tolkien, but I decided to read the whole thing. Now, I really love The Lord of the Rings and consider it one of my all-time favorites; but I found The Silmarillion pretty rough going. The main difficulty is that it's not a continuous story; rather, each chapter is its own individual episode. There are a lot of characters to keep straight. Some common plotlines run throughout the work, though, so there is a loose unity between each chapter. If you were ever curious about some of the backstory to LOTR, The Silmarillion helps a lot, describing things like the origin of Sauron, the creation of Elves, Men, & Dwarves, and how & when exactly the Rings of Power were forged. I do think The Silmarillion was very well-written, and interesting too, once I got into it. If you really are that curious about the "history" Tolkien created for LOTR, read it. Otherwise, pass.

Many a lover of Tolkien doesn't care for the Simarillion. I however love this book. Now granted it wasn't until the third read that I was really able to "sail" through it, but it was well worth the initial effort. ( )

One of my favourites. It has a broader, more epic scope than LotR and in my opinion, you need to read it to appreciate LotR fully. ( )

In flowing, beautiful language, The Silmarillion tells the origin and early tales of J.R.R. Tolkein’s middle-earth. Written as “Elven” songs, The Silmarillion is dense at times. Yet as the tale of the creation of Arda and the children of Ilúvatar (both Elves and men) unfolded, I was in awe of not just Tolkein’s incredible control over language but with his unbounded imagination in creating a new world with new gods, fantastic creatures, and a familiar story of good versus evil.

I’ve been told that The Silmarillion is not for the faint of heart. I’ve been told that The Silmarillion is only for die-hard fans of The Lord of the Rings. I’ve been told that The Silmarillion is impossible to understand and get through.

I don’t think so.

I have never read The Hobbit. I have never read The Lord of the Rings (although I started once). I watched the movies and was entertained. And then, as my husband and I read The Silmarillion together over the past six months, reading about 20 pages a week, I personally have come to love the style, the stories, and the world Tolkein has masterfully created.

The Silmarillion is written as epic stories (supposedly sung by Elves from generation to generation). Tolkein has written in a writing style somewhat reminiscent (although more beautiful) of the King James Version of the Bible, which makes for challenging reading sometimes. Also, in the spirit of Greek mythology, there are lots of god-like immortals, which became rather confusing. Dozens of names sound alike; if I tried to sort them out, I started to get confused.

But The Silmarillion is far more beautifully written than any other “old-fashioned” writing, and I found the legends of the middle-earth Elves to be fascinating. Because I was reading The Silmarillion so slowly, I “let go” and decided I didn’t care if I sorted out each name as I came to it; I just enjoyed the language and the story. This approach worked quite well for me. I enjoyed it, and while I might not be able to tell you how each story related to each other, I don’t think it really matters.

The bottom line is, while I’ve only stumbled through The Silmarillion once, over the course of six months, I did enjoy it. And I now look forward to reading The Hobbit and the trilogy.

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It is amazing to create a world for your own...isn't it?well it is not ever about the reality....the only age and people you can compare it to is the people before the ruling of the Salimon the prophet...the other kinds of men...such as Jajuj and Majuj! ***but it took down the elves form the place they were in my mind...:D well...it is not so easy to be from eldar...:) ( )

excellence ( )

Brilliant. This book is the true testament to Tolkien's far-reaching imagination. If you think the Lord of the Rings was an epic book, think again - the ring saga is just a five page story at the end of this historical mythology woven by Tolkien. It is somewhat tough to read because of the plethora of character names, places, but also the huge amounts of time that pass in this book. Read about the creation of the Tolkien world, it's gods, the birth of elves, men and dwarves and the major events that have swept them over the lands of Middle Earth and beyond. Poetic beauty and vengeful evil are both found in abundance. Absolutely Magnificent with a capital M! ( )

I was unable to read this. That's the problem with fantasy worlds. The trilogy was quite enough. ( )

A difficult book to get into but it is worth while. It gives an excellent background to Lord of the Rings and where some of the evil creatures (eg Shelob, balrogs etc) come from. Unusually the goodies don't always win and that's its bets feature. It's a dark tale of people being betrayed. Well worth reading. ( )

I won't dwell on the story, but for anyone interested in the first two ages of Middle Earth, this is the book of origins and history. Ted Nasmith deserves every bit as much credit and appreciation as a Tolkien illustrator as Lee and Howe. ( )

I tried to read this three times in High School, when I was really into LotR, and never made it through the whole thing. The style is just too dry and archaic and it just didn't make for a compelling read. ( )

A big step down from Lord of the Rings - reminds of saga rather than epic. ( )

I know a fair number of people who find the King James Bible-ish writing in Tolkien's masterpiece to be impenetrable. And even if you get past that, you pretty much have to have a map and several family trees close at hand. If you can handle all that, though, this is myth on as epic a scale as you're likely to find. ( )

All of Tolkien's influences are obvious throughout this book in both the development of the characters and in the writing style.

As has been said, this is truly only a treat for hardcore Tolkien fans and people who really want to know the history hinted at in the Lord of the Rings books. For everyone else, it's a pile of words constructed in similar fashion to the Bible and just about as appealing to read for pleasure.

As one of the hardcore Tolkien fans, I've adored this book from the minute I first read it six years ago. Lord of the Rings really comes alive after having read this book because now all of the references are clear and there's that much more appreciation for it. Easily my favorite tale is that of Beren and Lúthien (the spine of my book is broken at the start of that chapter and nowhere else!), which will be familiar to those who read the whole story of Aragorn and Arwen in the appendices accompanying Return of the King.

It's a really wonderful addition to the series for those who can't get enough Lord of the Rings; however, for those expecting a similar tale, they're barking up the wrong tree. ( )