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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It is apparent this books is influenced by many works of literature of the millenia including the Bible, Greek/Roman/Norse mythology,as well as components of Atlantis, Celtic mytholody and probably many others! It is an incredible piece of work that requires great concentration and one has to be already either fully immersed in the world of Tolkien or very interested in knowing more to fully appreciate the contents. To have the opportunity to once again immerse myself in Tolkiens' imagination (albeit this one also partly written by others) is a privilege -I may not come back to it, but so glad I was able to experience it (in both ways - reading book and listening to Andy Serkis :)
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am a gigantic Tolkien fan and have been for years, but reading The Silmarillion always seemed terrifying and so I put it off...and continued to put it off until 7 years later, where I finally decided to pick it up again. The Silmarillion is definitely not like any of his other works that take place in Middle-Earth; it is a history, not a story, and thus reads very differently. There were definitely moments where I didn't want to continue or wanted to climb into the book and scream at a stupid character, but it is still another of Tolkien's masterpieces. It provides really good context for the events of The Lord of the Rings, and it had some wonderful stories hidden within pages of descriptions of family trees and mountains. I was definitely partial to the final chapter "On the Rings of Power and the Third Age", mostly because it contained characters who I really like to read about. However, stories like that of the Fëanorians and of Beren and Luthien surprised me, and I ended up loving them (particularly that one; Luthien is amazing and they are so precious). Overall, I think it's worth reading if you are a major Lord of the Rings fan, and you might end up coming out of it with a few new favorite characters (I certainly did).
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
This book is my bible. I love each and every story in Tolkien's legendarium and will continue to love this book for many years to come.
3.25/5 stars
I'm honestly shocked to say that this was everything I wish LotR was. We got all the world building without the tediousness of Tolkien's repetitive writing.
I'm honestly shocked to say that this was everything I wish LotR was. We got all the world building without the tediousness of Tolkien's repetitive writing.
Wow, such a master world builder. It was such a rare treat to get to see the structure and concepts that Tolkien had created to get to LOTR. It is very clear to me that he had many more stories to tell in middle earth. It is such a shame that he passed away with these works incomplete. I would love to read these stories in his unique and beautiful voice in their final form. This work is an outline of the entire history of middle earth and could easily fill ten novels if it was completed. As such it often feels like an outline and a sweeping sequence of events with little emotional investment. I wish Tolkien had written more female characters but at least he seems to admire and love women, but he is a product of his time in this way. It was worth reading this to better understand Sauron, Elrond, Aragorn and middle earth in general, where the wizards came from, and the tensions between the races of middle earth. Pretty incredible that we get to read his concepts, even if they feel like a history. The exception being the chapters on Beren and Luthien, which were gorgeous and dynamic. I am
Thankful to the Tolkien family for sharing this with us. My rating is largely influenced by taking this for what it is, a gift, the outline of a world building genius, and a glimpse behind the curtain of a master of high fantasy. It at times felt like work to read, and is incomplete, and as such I can’t give it five stars, but I very much respect it.
Thankful to the Tolkien family for sharing this with us. My rating is largely influenced by taking this for what it is, a gift, the outline of a world building genius, and a glimpse behind the curtain of a master of high fantasy. It at times felt like work to read, and is incomplete, and as such I can’t give it five stars, but I very much respect it.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes