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    The Silmarillion
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    The Silmarillion
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    The Silmarillion
    Ebook560 pages10 hours

    The Silmarillion

    By J. R. R. Tolkien

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    A number-one New York Times bestseller when it was originally published, THE SILMARILLION is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before THE HOBBIT.

    Tolkien considered THE SILMARILLION his most important work, and, though it was published last and posthumously, this great collection of tales and legends clearly sets the stage for all his other writing. The story of the creation of the world and of the the First Age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in THE LORD OF THE RINGS look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The three Silmarils were jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, which was 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 kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great Enemy.

    This second edition features a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien describing his intentions for the book, which serves as a brilliant exposition of his conception of the earlier Ages of Middle-earth.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMariner Books
    Release dateFeb 15, 2012
    ISBN9780547951980
    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

    6,088 ratings119 reviews

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    • 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.....
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 3/5
      Struggled through this in my "Fellowship" class in college. Definitely have to be a die-hard Tokienite to enjoy reading it.
    • 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
      "The Silmarillion" is a very dense and very enlightening book. The book covers the first and second ages of the world in Tolkien's mythology, leading from creation all the way up to the time of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". So it covers a lot of ground and quite quickly. Quests that could fill a book in themselves are mentioned and ended in the space of a sentence. The pace is quickest in the first half of the book. The second half focuses on a number of key players in the battles between and against the forces of good and evil, and for that the pace slows down. It was fascinating to learn the origin or elves, dwarves, Men, orcs, Sauron, the white tree of Gondor, Galadriel, Elrond, Gandalf, etc, and how the larger story pieces together. The book answered all the questions that I had about the mythology after reading the stories of the third age. If you're a fan of Tolkien or his mythology, this book is a great read. Others might find the forced arcane style, the fast pace, and the need to keep cross-referencing genealogy charts, to be a bit off-putting.
    • 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!
    • 2/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      a must read if you're a Lord of the Rings lover.
    • 3/5
      This one was one of those classics that I felt obliged to read... one of these days. It gives the back story--the epic--back story of Middle Earth. One might call it a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. (With apologies to Professor Tolkien, whom, I read, considered The Silmarillion to be his magnum opus.) The book has interesting moments, but it failed to grab me and keep me turning pages.--J.
    • 2/5
      The complete history/mythology of the universe of Middle Earth is told in summary.2/4 (Indifferent).This is not a novel, it's an extension of the Lord of the Rings' appendices. Some of the outlines of stories are promising, some are less so, but none of them had actually been written yet.
    • 3/5
      I was a bit disappointed with the Silmarillion and I never finished reading it. I picked odd bits of interesting information, but much of it was frankly boring.
    • 5/5
      I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings back when I was 10 or 11, and then again in my early 20s, but I was always wary of this one. It was supposed to be dry, textbook-like. Boring, in other words. So I avoided it. But in 2012, when I decided to do a full Middle-earth re-read, I planned for The Silmarillion, and was both excited and apprehensive to try tackling it. The full re-read never happened, but I did read The Silmarillion, and wow. Now granted, my reading tastes have evolved considerably over the past dozen years, but why did I never read this before? Yes, it was a little slow in a couple of spots, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a work of staggering imagination and beauty.
    • 1/5
      I was unable to read this. That's the problem with fantasy worlds. The trilogy was quite enough.
    • 5/5
      Crown of Tolkien Cosmos

      Answers volumes of back stories
      and ties all threads with Mithril filigree.Best of all reveals Gandalf as Maya
    • 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 person found this helpful

    • 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.
    • 4/5
      I've had this book on my shelf for quite sometime. In a way I wished I had read it first before Hobbit and Lord of the Rings but this was good time too as I read it right after. It is published posthumorously by Tolkien's son and that begs the question of whether this really is Tolkien's writings or his son's with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay and the publisher. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it a lot. It is reportedly, Tolkien's world building exercises that led to the foundation for The Hobbit and LOTR. I read this as a chapter a day with other's on Litsy and that made it special. From wikipedia; The Silmarillion comprises five parts. The first part, Ainulindalë, tells of the creation of Eä, the "world that is". Valaquenta, the second part, gives a description of the Valar and Maiar, the supernatural powers in Eä. The next section, Quenta Silmarillion, which forms the bulk of the collection, chronicles the history of the events before and during the First Age, including the wars over the Silmarils that gave the book its title. The fourth part, Akallabêth, relates the history of the Downfall of Númenor and its people, which takes place in the Second Age. The final part, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, is a brief account of the circumstances which led to and were presented in The Lord of the Rings.The five parts were initially separate works, but it was the elder Tolkien's express wish that they be published together. Because J. R. R. Tolkien died before he finished revising the various legends, Christopher gathered material from his father's older writings to fill out the book. In a few cases, this meant that he had to devise completely new material in order to resolve gaps and inconsistencies in the narrative.Rating: 3.88
    • 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.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Tolkien’s masterpiece covers a vast history from before the Earth was formed through the events of Lord of the Rings, focusing on the Valar and the fall of Melkor, the history of the First-Born (Elves), and the rise and fall of the Numenorians. The novel often uses elevated language, and many parts appear as a series of separate myths or legends collected into one volume. The tales are epic in the true sense of the word, encompassing generations and following oaths and actions that have world changing repercussions. The tales are both sad and beautiful, and the complexity and denseness of the work has me immediately reading it a second time through.The first two sections (the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta) are heavily theological, following Ilúvatar’s creation of the Valar, the great song, and Earth. Afterwards, however, the tale focuses more closely on Elves, Dwarves and men. It includes the tales of the breaking of the world, of Beren and Lúthien, Gilgalad and Elrond, Círdan, Galadriel, Húrin, and most prominently, of Fëanor and Fingolfin and their sons. The first rise of Sauron and the creation of the rings of power is documented as well as Eärendil’s great journey bearing a Silmaril to the Western Shores. The writing is elegant and idea of Tolkien as the ‘father’ of fantasy rings true in the history and mythology of this novel.Currently I am studying The Silmarillion as a historical work, using the premise that Tolkien intentionally created it with historical biases and transmission errors. In many ways the collection of tales, the various styles, formats, and indeed notes stating that the next section is a summary of a longer song or tale, match this belief. It also provides further areas for a reader to consider, if the ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ may be in even more shades of gray than what a first reading suggests.It is also worth noting that a first reading will often leave one confused. There are a number of reading guides, references, and podcasts if a reader is interested. In my case, before moving on to those, I read the book three times through to make sure I could keep the line of Finwë, various one-handed characters, and the basic geography of Beleriand straight. If you do love this, some of the stories and periods are explored in greater depth in Unfinished Tales and The Children of Húrin.
    • 5/5
      Was soll man dazu schon sagen? Eines der ganz besonderen und außergewöhnlichen Bücher... mich hat es dabei mehr in den Bann gezogen als ich je gedacht hätte und hat gute Chancen, meinem bisherigen Tolkien-Liebling Herr der Ringe ganz gehörig den Rang abzuluaufen.
    • 5/5
      It's best to approach the Silmarillion like a holy book from a lost culture: part historical record, part Bible, part morality tale, and not at all cohesive or consistent. Of note is the first section, the Ainulindalë, which describes the creation of the world through musical themes. Tolkien has created a beautiful and entirely believable creation myth... which Howard Shore breathed life into with his wonderful musical scores.
    • 2/5
      Leider unlesbar. Ich habe 2 Mal versucht das Buch zu lesen und bin eingroßen Tolkien Fan aber es wird wohl leider nichts. Es gibt Gründe wiese er das Ding selbst nie veröffentlichen wollte.
    • 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.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Not for the faint of heart. Once you understand the rhythm and style you realize the magnitude of the work. The mythic genre exemplified here is phenomenal.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 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.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 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.

      1 person found this helpful