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willjacks's review against another edition
3.0
I loved this book, don’t get me wrong.
Stories I really enjoyed the most were from the first and second ages. Turin Turambar, Aldarion and Erendis, and basically any of the Numenor stuff the Silmarillion was severely lacking.
The problems came with the stories from the third age. They were largely boring, stuff that didn’t end up in the beloved appendices of LOTR. That’s my problem with the third age, it all just feels like gratuitous supplemental stories to LOTR/Hobbit. It’s a lot to ask from an author, all these details from different ages and to create multiple brilliantly crafted stories. However, this book and the Silmarillion make me think that the third age must have been boring before the quest of Erebor, which must be untrue.
I took a star off for the third age stories, and a star off for some of the stories being jarringly incomplete. I know it’s called unfinished tales, I get it, but the Galadriel and Celeborn section wasn’t worth putting in this book in my eyes.
Otherwise, well worth reading if you loved the Silmarillion like I did. I love the first age!!
Stories I really enjoyed the most were from the first and second ages. Turin Turambar, Aldarion and Erendis, and basically any of the Numenor stuff the Silmarillion was severely lacking.
The problems came with the stories from the third age. They were largely boring, stuff that didn’t end up in the beloved appendices of LOTR. That’s my problem with the third age, it all just feels like gratuitous supplemental stories to LOTR/Hobbit. It’s a lot to ask from an author, all these details from different ages and to create multiple brilliantly crafted stories. However, this book and the Silmarillion make me think that the third age must have been boring before the quest of Erebor, which must be untrue.
I took a star off for the third age stories, and a star off for some of the stories being jarringly incomplete. I know it’s called unfinished tales, I get it, but the Galadriel and Celeborn section wasn’t worth putting in this book in my eyes.
Otherwise, well worth reading if you loved the Silmarillion like I did. I love the first age!!
phoenix2's review against another edition
3.0
The Unfinished Tales give more material to known stories, like the hobbit, while narrating new ish ones, like Turin's. Some of the stories are not smoothly narrated, given that they are fragments, but others are more cohesive and interesting. But, still, it's a nice addition to the beloved story.
clairegrace95's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
stevetrobot's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
ayamawa's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rescuethebugbear's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
saumith's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
english_lady03's review against another edition
5.0
The Unfinished Tales is an essential addition to any Tolkien fan's library. I wish I had read it sooner.
The best parts: The Tale of Aldarion and Erendis- a story of the early days of Numenor, recounting the life of a Prince who loved the sea more than he loved his wife, and the tragic consequences. This story features Gil-Galad writing to Aldarion's father, King Melendur, to warn him of the shadow rising in the East, a terrible danger he believed to be the return of Sauron.
This is the passage showing his response to it.
Unfinished Tales (p. 193). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.
**This is what we should have got in a certain Amazon series. Not the stupid story about fake Galadriel and fake Miriel. This is quality Tolkien.
Aldarion's daughter was Numenor's first reigning Queen, but it was not because of some belief in gender equality that he allowed her to reign, but because she was his only child. His marriage to a woman who was not of the line of Elros meant the Queen had a shorter lifespan and aged more quickly.
During his time, the tradition became established that all future heirs were required to marry only within the line of Elros.
The account of Eorl, an ancestor of the Rohirrim, and Cirion the early Steward of Gondor.
The Disaster at Gladden Fields.: makes me much more sympathetic to Isildur.
The tale of Galadriel and Celeborn shows most ROP fans have not read this book in its entirety. The part that talks about Galadriel being stubborn and hot headed is followed by this:
They never quote that part. Oddly enough.
There is also a series of notes on the origins of the Drúedain, the "wild men" mentioned in the LOTR, and a section on the Istari. In which Tolkien clearly says they came only in the Third Age. No Istari in the Second Age, Amazon.
Give this book a read now. Get yourself a copy, and understand some of Tolkien's intents and the process of his writing, and don't be put off by the incomplete nature of some of these stories.
The best parts: The Tale of Aldarion and Erendis- a story of the early days of Numenor, recounting the life of a Prince who loved the sea more than he loved his wife, and the tragic consequences. This story features Gil-Galad writing to Aldarion's father, King Melendur, to warn him of the shadow rising in the East, a terrible danger he believed to be the return of Sauron.
This is the passage showing his response to it.
"Meneldur let the parchment fall into his lap. Great clouds borne upon a wind out of the East brought darkness early, and the tall candles at his side seemed to dwindle in the gloom that filled his chamber.
‘May Eru call me before such a time comes!’ he cried aloud. Then to himself he said: ‘Alas! that his pride and my coolness have kept our minds apart so long. But sooner now than I had resolved it will be the course of wisdom to resign the Sceptre to him.
For these things are beyond my reach. ‘When the Valar gave to us the Land of Gift they did not make us their vice-gerents: we were given the Kingdom of Númenor, not of the world. They are the Lords. Here we were to put away hatred and war; for war was ended, and Morgoth thrust forth from Arda. So I deemed, and so was taught.
‘Yet if the world grows again dark, the Lords must know; and they have sent me no sign. Unless this be the sign. What then? Our fathers were rewarded for the aid they gave in the defeat of the Great Shadow. Shall their sons stand aloof, if evil finds a new head?
‘I am in too great doubt to rule. To prepare or to let be? To prepare for war, which is yet only guessed: train craftsmen and tillers in the midst of peace for bloodspilling and battle: put iron in the hands of greedy captains who will love only conquest, and count the slain as their glory? Will they say to Eru: At least your enemies were amongst them? Or to fold hands, while friends die unjustly: let men live in blind peace, until the ravisher is at the gate?
What then will they do: match naked hands against iron and die in vain, or flee leaving the cries of women behind them? Will they say to Eru: At least I spilled no blood? ‘When either way may lead to evil, of what worth is choice? Let the Valar rule under Eru! I will resign the Sceptre to Aldarion. Yet that also is a choice, for I know well which road he will take"
Unfinished Tales (p. 193). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.
**This is what we should have got in a certain Amazon series. Not the stupid story about fake Galadriel and fake Miriel. This is quality Tolkien.
Aldarion's daughter was Numenor's first reigning Queen, but it was not because of some belief in gender equality that he allowed her to reign, but because she was his only child. His marriage to a woman who was not of the line of Elros meant the Queen had a shorter lifespan and aged more quickly.
During his time, the tradition became established that all future heirs were required to marry only within the line of Elros.
The account of Eorl, an ancestor of the Rohirrim, and Cirion the early Steward of Gondor.
The Disaster at Gladden Fields.: makes me much more sympathetic to Isildur.
The tale of Galadriel and Celeborn shows most ROP fans have not read this book in its entirety. The part that talks about Galadriel being stubborn and hot headed is followed by this:
" Yet deeper still there dwelt in her the noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar, and a reverence for the Valar that she could not forget. From her earliest years she had a marvellous gift of insight into the minds of others, but judged them with mercy and understanding, and she withheld her goodwill from none save only Fëanor. In him she perceived a darkness that she hated and feared, though she did not perceive that the shadow of the same evil had fallen upon the minds of all the Noldor, and upon her own."
They never quote that part. Oddly enough.
There is also a series of notes on the origins of the Drúedain, the "wild men" mentioned in the LOTR, and a section on the Istari. In which Tolkien clearly says they came only in the Third Age. No Istari in the Second Age, Amazon.
Give this book a read now. Get yourself a copy, and understand some of Tolkien's intents and the process of his writing, and don't be put off by the incomplete nature of some of these stories.
lfsalden's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
If you rather disliked Turin Turambar in Silarillion, come read him in the Unfinished Tales. Much more three dimensional, and at least partly likeable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Incest