Reviews

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

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ki_2831's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

either tolkien was on crack writing this book or i needed to be on it to read it. half this book was unintelligible and the rest would’ve be alot more coherent if i understood the first half. the songs also hit different bc they ain’t sung by tom bombadil 😔

bradland's review against another edition

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The Simarillion is a different kettle of fish compared to JRR Tolkien's more famous Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. The storytelling is more old fashioned and not something that interests me for long periods of reading, so sadly I didn't make much progress through this novel. Maybe I will make another attempt in the future.

italorebelo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

5.0

shattermelon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Bible if it were actually interesting.

daumari's review against another edition

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5.0

Third time reading, first time since high school. As my dad once told me, The Silmarillion is like the Bible- really, a collection of stories bound together with some contradicting each other, and starting off fairly dull with the Creation myths but if you go further you'll find exciting tales of daring, etc. In general, this is not an easy pleasure read unless you like reading in-world religious texts/epics but it is very worth your while for Arda worldbuilding.

Ainulindalë is the Creation mythos.

Valaquenta lists the Valar and Valie and introduces the Maiar. Also outlines the Enemies, Melchor-turned-Morgoth, and his maiar agent Sauron.

The bulk of The Silmarillion is the Quenta Silmarillion, which tells of the elves in the First Age, centering on Fëanor's creation of the Silmarils and his quest to destroy Morgoth/regain the Silmarils after he steals them away. There are a great many tragedies from this, but they're all an epic.

Akallabêth is about the fall of Numenor, where men grew jealous of their immortal friends and Sauron saw the opportunity to corrupt the line of kings.

Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is essentially a prelude to and summary of the events of the [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566425108l/33._SX50_.jpg|3462456] We learn more about who created the 3 elven rings and where they went, and Sauron's intent with the One ring to rule them all. A great section if you want to review without rereading the whole trilogy!

ranee_samaniego's review against another edition

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3.0

3 / 5 Stars

The Silmarillion is akin to a history book of Middle Earth. While it does provide very insightful and interesting backstories to the events and characters of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it is not the most captivating at times and there are so many characters it was desperately challenging to keep track of them all.