Reviews

The Lays of Beleriand by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien

lenci's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

bkeving_74's review against another edition

4.0

This was the most challenging book for me so far in the history books. Particularly the alliterative poem was hard to read. I enjoyed the Lay of Leithian as the rhyming couplets seemed to flow through my mind easier than the alliterative poem.

dorynickel's review against another edition

2.0

I have never ever ever enjoyed long form poetry, and in general haven't liked Tolkien's poetry, so this one was a mental exercise for me. That being said, I have to say I still enjoyed it. This was the first book where some of the stories are starting to get stale after reading so many versions of them, but honestly that's saying something because there are so many versions in the previous books. And the unique format still makes them worth reading. I actually really enjoyed the alliterative verse that I thought would be annoying, and I was surprised that the poetry throughout didn't feel forced. Overall, not bad.

sararene's review against another edition

2.0

As with all of the History of Middle Earth series, this is difficult to rate as it was not and will never be entirely what Tolkien would have presented were he able to publish it.

I admit, after now having read the story of the Children of Hurin at least three times now, this was my least favorite telling. I did not like the poetry form of it and it dragged on for me.

In contrast, I really enjoyed reading the tale of Beren and Luthien yet again, this time in verse. I think, as simple as this sounds, it was the rhyming couplets that made it so much more enjoyable and easy to read. It is because of my enjoyment of this second tale that I gave this volume the extra star.

ksull95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

The Lays of Beleriand (The History of Middle Earth, #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien, and edited by his son Christopher Tolkien, traces the literary evolution of two of Tolkien's most well-known myths, The Lay of the Children of Hurin and The Lay of Leithian.  Both tales are presented in verse, The Children of Hurin in alliterative verse, and The Lay of Leithian in rhyming couplets.  It's fascinating to follow Tolkien's changing ideas of the plot and layout of these two tales and it adds a lot to the reader's understanding of his overall legendarium.

cat_queen005's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

nonabgo's review against another edition

5.0

These are the stories of the children of Hurin and of Beren and Luthien, in verse form. It's interesting to see how the stories evolved towards the final-ish version in The Silmarillion. This third volume was an even greater challenge due to the fact that it's all in alliterative verse, so it might not appeal to Tolkien's regular audience. But the lays are beautifully written, the language is rich and each verse is a treasure in itself.

crystalmbookshelf83's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

verbadanga66's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

grygrnewerg's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0