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lydiaredwineauthor 's review for:
Beren and Lúthien
by J.R.R. Tolkien
4 stars
Although excellent, this book is not for those who are just now beginning to dive into Tolkien's work. I would suggest reading both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion before reading this. Especially The Silmarillion due to the fact that it is there we are first introduced to the protagonists listed in the title and their tale regarding all that that occurs in The Silmarillion itself.
The tale of Beren and Luthien tells the story of two people Luthien (an elf/fay/faerie depending on the version) and Beren (a man) and their love in the midst of obstacles such as Luthien's father not allowing them to wed until Beren can get the Silmaril (the super magical stone created by Feanor) from Morgoth and bring it to him. So...a death quest basically. Because Morgoth is the super evil god guy. But Luthien's father fails to take into account that maybe his daughter is freaking fantastic and will do anything to help Beren. But honestly, its the adventure of the story and the cleverness of Luthien and the spectacular villains that make the story for me. The romance is more meh.
This book is an excellent addition to the works of Tolkien and look into the mind of a great author and the development of the story. Although the poetry got a bit dense and boring for me, I found the first part of the story where it talks of the earliest version of the story very interesting though it doesn't reach a solid ending.
Not only is Luthien a badass female protagonist, her willingness and bravery to save her love Beren brings about a marvelous story featuring new and old characters from The Silmarillion. Her sidekick is the familiar and lovable giant dog Huan as they go up against a similarly giant cat named Tuvildo, The Lord of Cats who makes a very interesting villain I wish we had had more of in The Silmarillion. In the end, there is death and much blood and limb losing and it all centers around an elf on an impossible heist to get back her lover. Of course, there is much more to the story, but those were my highlights.
As for the romance, I felt it way to insta-love and based on the mere fact that Beren thought Luthien was a good dancer and she hadn't ever really had anyone who thought she was a good dancer before so she fell in love with him too. (???) So, not my favorite ship ever but their devotion to one another throughout the story really made the characters (especially Luthien) new favorites.
Again, an excellent addition to Tolkien's work but not one I would recommend to a first time Tolkien reader.
Although excellent, this book is not for those who are just now beginning to dive into Tolkien's work. I would suggest reading both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion before reading this. Especially The Silmarillion due to the fact that it is there we are first introduced to the protagonists listed in the title and their tale regarding all that that occurs in The Silmarillion itself.
The tale of Beren and Luthien tells the story of two people Luthien (an elf/fay/faerie depending on the version) and Beren (a man) and their love in the midst of obstacles such as Luthien's father not allowing them to wed until Beren can get the Silmaril (the super magical stone created by Feanor) from Morgoth and bring it to him. So...a death quest basically. Because Morgoth is the super evil god guy. But Luthien's father fails to take into account that maybe his daughter is freaking fantastic and will do anything to help Beren. But honestly, its the adventure of the story and the cleverness of Luthien and the spectacular villains that make the story for me. The romance is more meh.
This book is an excellent addition to the works of Tolkien and look into the mind of a great author and the development of the story. Although the poetry got a bit dense and boring for me, I found the first part of the story where it talks of the earliest version of the story very interesting though it doesn't reach a solid ending.
Not only is Luthien a badass female protagonist, her willingness and bravery to save her love Beren brings about a marvelous story featuring new and old characters from The Silmarillion. Her sidekick is the familiar and lovable giant dog Huan as they go up against a similarly giant cat named Tuvildo, The Lord of Cats who makes a very interesting villain I wish we had had more of in The Silmarillion. In the end, there is death and much blood and limb losing and it all centers around an elf on an impossible heist to get back her lover. Of course, there is much more to the story, but those were my highlights.
As for the romance, I felt it way to insta-love and based on the mere fact that Beren thought Luthien was a good dancer and she hadn't ever really had anyone who thought she was a good dancer before so she fell in love with him too. (???) So, not my favorite ship ever but their devotion to one another throughout the story really made the characters (especially Luthien) new favorites.
Again, an excellent addition to Tolkien's work but not one I would recommend to a first time Tolkien reader.