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A review by _bookmoth
The Shaping of Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien
3.0
I have always wondered for whom The History of Middle-Earth is meant. If you are searching for new material on the myths of Middle-Earth, this is not for you. The History of Middle-Earth is an accumulation of all of J.R.R. Tolkien's notes and ideas in their infant form. It sometimes feels as going through the same thing over and over and over again, and, in fact, it actually is that.
In The Shaping of Middle-Earth you read three different versions of The Silmarillion (and some parts even four to five times, not including the non-translated Anglo-Saxon pieces). So, you read many times how the sons of Fëanor fought their battles, how Turin committed suicide, how Beren got the Silmaril, and how Morgoth triumphs.
It was helpful to read this mainly as an ebook. There are many footnotes and there is additional commentary so you need to go back and forth a lot. The links within the text helped a lot to keep pace. I started reading the full text first and then the commentary, but it seems better to read the commentary after each section.
Interesting and valuable the series is (as we get a better idea on how the myths were formed and which alternative ideas Tolkien had), it still feels lacking. I think it would have been more helpful if Christopher Tolkien wrote an analysis on the development of scenes and characters, for example, how did the Battle of Unnumbered Tears change over time, how did the the character Maidros develop in all the different versions? It is too overwhelming and though there are many footnotes and there is a lot of commentary, you still feel a bit lost. A lack of translations on the Anglo-Saxon pieces was also drawback; you just skim through them, recognizing some pieces.
So, perhaps the The History of Middle-Earth is more like a primer, an encyclopedia on the myths to browse and search for specific information, to write analyses yourself.
In The Shaping of Middle-Earth you read three different versions of The Silmarillion (and some parts even four to five times, not including the non-translated Anglo-Saxon pieces). So, you read many times how the sons of Fëanor fought their battles, how Turin committed suicide, how Beren got the Silmaril, and how Morgoth triumphs.
It was helpful to read this mainly as an ebook. There are many footnotes and there is additional commentary so you need to go back and forth a lot. The links within the text helped a lot to keep pace. I started reading the full text first and then the commentary, but it seems better to read the commentary after each section.
Interesting and valuable the series is (as we get a better idea on how the myths were formed and which alternative ideas Tolkien had), it still feels lacking. I think it would have been more helpful if Christopher Tolkien wrote an analysis on the development of scenes and characters, for example, how did the Battle of Unnumbered Tears change over time, how did the the character Maidros develop in all the different versions? It is too overwhelming and though there are many footnotes and there is a lot of commentary, you still feel a bit lost. A lack of translations on the Anglo-Saxon pieces was also drawback; you just skim through them, recognizing some pieces.
So, perhaps the The History of Middle-Earth is more like a primer, an encyclopedia on the myths to browse and search for specific information, to write analyses yourself.