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divine529's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This is a difficult book for me to review because it's a book that's near and dear to me in many ways, but it's also very difficult to review.
For those of you who are familiar with Tolkien's more famous works like "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" and who are yearning to know more about Middle Earth - how it came to be, it's history, the creation of all of it - this is for you.
This primarily walks us through the events of the First Age of Middle Earth with glimpses into events in the Second Age and Third Age (where the events of LotR and The Hobbit take place). It's rich, detailed and pulls you into a world that's familiar, yet full of many many layers that add to everything.
A few caveats before going in: (1) this book is best read at a slower pace. There's so much detail and rich storytelling that to rush through this would mean you'd miss a lot of things. This was a reread for me, and it nearly took me two years to finish (due to several factors). (2) If the edition you read doesn't have the letter from Tolkien to Waldman, please do everything you can to find a place to read it (you can find it online in various places). If your edition does have the letter, don't skip it. I know it's tempting, but trust me, it has a lot of important information in it.
All in all, this is a book I love and cherish and will continue to revisit many times.
A note on the TW/CWs: hese are tricky because the scope of the book is so vast there are a lot, and yet they're not super detailed while also being present (it's complicated), but some of the more prevalent ones are listed below.
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Gore, Violence, War, Death of parent, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Suicide, Death, Confinement, Genocide, Incest, and Murder
darkefyres's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Child death
kirkspockreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I only give this a 3.5 because of the writing style, but if you can get past that because you’re a Tolkien nerd it’s pretty good. Tons of petty family drama with some real Elf Drama Kweens!
Definitely read this slowly and make good use of the index and family trees because you will be absolutely lost without them. Too many similar sounding names!
Graphic: Incest and Rape
Moderate: Torture, Slavery, Murder, Medical trauma, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, and War
chickentenderness's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Death, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, War, Incest, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
erynlasbelin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Dementia, and Pregnancy