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mimirtells's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 Stars (%73/100)
The History of Middle Earth is for hardcore Tolkien fans in my opinion. They are not necessary for the most part. However, if you've read everything from Tolkien multiple times (like me) you need to read this 12 book series. I could only find this one in Turkey since they are pretty rare. The other two books that I've found were extremely expensive so I decided not to buy them.
I'm glad I found this book because you learn more detailed information about Beleriand and its eventual destruction. Beleriand storyline was one of my favourite in The Silmarillion so this was fun to read.
The History of Middle Earth is for hardcore Tolkien fans in my opinion. They are not necessary for the most part. However, if you've read everything from Tolkien multiple times (like me) you need to read this 12 book series. I could only find this one in Turkey since they are pretty rare. The other two books that I've found were extremely expensive so I decided not to buy them.
I'm glad I found this book because you learn more detailed information about Beleriand and its eventual destruction. Beleriand storyline was one of my favourite in The Silmarillion so this was fun to read.
laraelwing's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
regitzexenia's review against another edition
4.0
Full review on my blog: Bookish Love Affair.
Truly a book for the nerds. Those who are interested in following the often quite convoluted creation of two of the more important tales in Tolkien's legendarium. The tales of Túrin son of Húrin and Tinúviel (more commonly known as the story of Lúthien and Beren) exist in many forms and in many diffeeent books, some of which I have yet to read. Christopher Tolkien does a quite good job of explaining the progress of the poems, or lays, in this book and how they develop into the later prose forms known from The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. (The poem about Húrin's children in this book should not be confused with the book by the same title, as I understand it they're different stories, but as I haven't read the latter one yet I can't be sure). It is a heavy book to get through, but I for one found the earlier versions presented in this book quite interesting.
Truly a book for the nerds. Those who are interested in following the often quite convoluted creation of two of the more important tales in Tolkien's legendarium. The tales of Túrin son of Húrin and Tinúviel (more commonly known as the story of Lúthien and Beren) exist in many forms and in many diffeeent books, some of which I have yet to read. Christopher Tolkien does a quite good job of explaining the progress of the poems, or lays, in this book and how they develop into the later prose forms known from The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. (The poem about Húrin's children in this book should not be confused with the book by the same title, as I understand it they're different stories, but as I haven't read the latter one yet I can't be sure). It is a heavy book to get through, but I for one found the earlier versions presented in this book quite interesting.
jessa_yes's review against another edition
challenging
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? It's complicated
3.75
smokowate's review against another edition
3.0
Mostly the children of Hurin an Beren and Luthien once more.. so I skipped most of the book, it was written earlier than the complete works on those 2 stories.
vulturetime's review
3.75
Not entirely sure as to how to rate this. Once again, I don't think any of the History of Middle Earth series is for anyone who isn't very invested into the world of Middle Earth as well as how that world came to be developed. The primary stories in this volume are the Children of Hurin and the Lay of Leithian, which exist in multiple other books. As a result, though it was refreshing to see them in a new format and with new details, the stories do get repetitive. So while I enjoyed the book, I won't deny that I also got bored, and reading this digitally was a bit of a chore, as the index and commentary is especially useful when you can quickly flip into the pages instead of having to bookmark the pages to go back and forth. Might bump up to a 3.75, but I'm not certain.
kbuchanan's review
3.0
An illuminating look at some of the early versions of the major players in the history of Middle Earth. The alliterative, Old English-style verse that makes up 'The Lay of the Children of Hurin' is technically virtuosic and I found to be a pleasure to read. Its formality is certainly not for everyone, but it warmed this English major's hearth. The sing-song style of 'The Lay of Luthien' is somewhat more jarring to get behind, but the subject matter is such that it remains engaging and laced with passages of great beauty. Christopher Tolkien's extensive editorial notes are in turns helpful and somewhat frustrating, but certainly demonstrate the scholarly rigor with which he approaches his father's works. The labor of gathering together and producing a cohesive whole out of the many scattered drafts and manuscripts left by Tolkien is clearly a gargantuan task, and I'm certainly glad he took the time.
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1693204.html
This is the third volume of the History of Middle Earth; it contains two unfinished poems tackling the two key narratives of the Silmarillion. The first, a version of the tale of Turin told in alliterative blank verse, did not really appeal to me, and while I can see why Tolkien, with his background, wanted to give it a try, it's not very surprising that the effort did not come off. The Lay of Leithian, however, is a different matter - telling the story of Beren and Luthien in rhyming couplets of iambic tetrameter, it has a tremendous energy that Tolkien never quite managed in the prose versions of the story, despite its strong personal significance for him. Also I had forgotten, or had never realised, just how kickass a heroine Luthien actually is. The couplets are occasionally a little unpolished, but Christopher Tolkien reproduces a mock source-critical analysis by none other than C.S. Lewis suggesting that the least good bits are obvious interpolations by later scribes. J.R.R. Tolkien then revised the poem in line with Lewis' suggestions, but typically started expanding it from the middle again and never got around to finishing it.
Years later, it was part of the disorganised bundle of papers submitted to Unwin as material for a potential sequel to The Hobbit. Unwin's reader, who clearly had not been given much background, found the poem indigestible and urged instead an expansion of the prose summary of the rest of The Silmarillion. Tolkien wasn't up for this at that point, and wrote The Lord of the Rings instead. And thus was history made.
This is the third volume of the History of Middle Earth; it contains two unfinished poems tackling the two key narratives of the Silmarillion. The first, a version of the tale of Turin told in alliterative blank verse, did not really appeal to me, and while I can see why Tolkien, with his background, wanted to give it a try, it's not very surprising that the effort did not come off. The Lay of Leithian, however, is a different matter - telling the story of Beren and Luthien in rhyming couplets of iambic tetrameter, it has a tremendous energy that Tolkien never quite managed in the prose versions of the story, despite its strong personal significance for him. Also I had forgotten, or had never realised, just how kickass a heroine Luthien actually is. The couplets are occasionally a little unpolished, but Christopher Tolkien reproduces a mock source-critical analysis by none other than C.S. Lewis suggesting that the least good bits are obvious interpolations by later scribes. J.R.R. Tolkien then revised the poem in line with Lewis' suggestions, but typically started expanding it from the middle again and never got around to finishing it.
Years later, it was part of the disorganised bundle of papers submitted to Unwin as material for a potential sequel to The Hobbit. Unwin's reader, who clearly had not been given much background, found the poem indigestible and urged instead an expansion of the prose summary of the rest of The Silmarillion. Tolkien wasn't up for this at that point, and wrote The Lord of the Rings instead. And thus was history made.
gameofmo's review against another edition
4.0
This one took a bit longer to digest simply because of the nature of the material. It is worth the read for the Lay of Leithien alone, but the Lay of the Children of Húrin and additional poems were enjoyable as well. The appendix containing C.S. Lewis’ comments on earlier versions of the Lay of Leithian made for a fun intercession.