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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. This is really a duplication of The Silmarillion, with commentary by Christopher Tolkien. A must for anyone obsessed with the history of Middle-Earth. (  ) Karlstar | May 3, 2009 |  The first in the Histories of Middle Earth series by JRR Tolkien edited by his son Christopher Tokien. This is a collection of Tolkien's early drafts of stories that make up The Silmarillion. It follows Eriol (a wandering mariner) as he is told stories of the Valar, Valinor and the coming of the Eldar (Elves) and Man. The tales cover the very early mythology behind Middle Earth with extra information not in The Silmarillion to expand on the knowledge found there. Each tale contains notes and a commentary by Christopher as well as notes as to the notebook it was found in, how it was written and extra parts added or subtracted. It also contains exra poems by JRR Tolkien connected to the main tale, lore and alternative drafts for the readers consideration and explains the finer points and how it all links together. It is also interesting to see how the names develop and change throughout the drafts as well as some of Tolkien's languages. This was a great start to the series and part two promises to have more interesting stories. I loved reading more about the gold and silver Trees in Valinor as well as the Silmarils and it was an excellent glimpse into Tolkien's writing style and thought processes. It's fantastic to see how Middle Earth began and I am very much looking forward to reading more in the series. (  ) Rhinoa | Jan 14, 2009 | Read this one for Afrasiab. I don't know if Tolkien deliberately borrowed an incident from the Shahnameh, but I'm willing to bet he would have read it, and I can think of much worse borrowings to make. The Silmarillion in its earliest form. This is the first half, without the charismatic megafauna, but very interesting reading nonetheless. (  ) ex_ottoyuhr | Dec 22, 2008 | It took me a long while to get through this book, as I had to divide my attention between this book and required texts for school. It does drag at times, but I suppose that is to be expected from a collection of incomplete stories interspersed with commentary. The thing I most enjoyed about this book was seeing the development of the stories as they appear here and later in the Silmarillion. It was also nice to get a glimpse of the Professor's thinking through the course of these emendations. ( ) Pistorius | Feb 18, 2008 | Precursor to "The Silmarillian" and heavily annotated by Christopher Tolkien. You might call this book a "behind the scenes" look at the making of The Silmarillion. The one major gripe I have with BLT (the book, not the burger) is that there are no breaks between the fictional story and the non-fictional annotation. I'm reading along, enjoying the tale, and before I know it, I find myself reading some bunch of words that somehow don't seem to fit in with the plot. Then I have to dig through pages of minuscule text to find where the annotation ends and the story continues. At least, that's the experience I had while reading my particular edition. (  ) charongra | Nov 12, 2007 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0395354390, Hardcover)The Book of Lost Tales was the first major work of imagination by J.R.R. Tolkien, begun in 1916-1917 when he was twenty-five years old and left incomplete several years later. It stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor, for the Lost Tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend and English association, they are set in the narrative frame of a great westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriel (or AElfwine) to Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle, where Elves dwelt; from them he learned their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. In the Tales are found the earliest accounts and original ideas of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs, and Orcs; of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of Nargothrond and Gondolin; of the geography and cosmography of the invented world. The Book of Lost Tales will be published in two volumes; this first part contains the Tales of Valinor; and the second will include Beren and Luthien, Turin and the Dragon, and the only full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves and the Fall of Gondolin. Each tale is followed by a commentary in the form of a short essay; together with the texts of associated poems; and each volume contains extensive information on names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages. Further books in this series are planned to extend the history of Middle-earth as it was refined and enlarged in later years, and will include the Long Lays of Beleriand, the Ambarkanta or Shape of the World, the Lhammas or Account of Tongues, annals, maps, and many other unpublished writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:23 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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