by J.R.R. Tolkien
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Product Description
A number-one New York Times bestseller when it was originally published, THE SILMARILLION is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before THE HOBBIT.
Tolkien considered THE SILMARILLION his most important work, and, though it was published last and posthumously, this great collection of tales and legends clearly sets the stage for all his other writing. The story of the creation of the world and of the the First Age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in THE LORD OF THE RINGS look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The three Silmarils were jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, which was guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. THE SILMARILLION is the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great Enemy.
This second edition features a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien describing his intentions for the book, which serves as a brilliant exposition of his conception of the earlier Ages of Middle-earth.
Amazon.com
The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkien's tragic, operatic history of the First Age of Middle-Earth, essential background material for serious readers of the classic Lord of the Rings saga. Tolkien's work sets the standard for fantasy, and this audio version of the "Bible of Middle-Earth" does The Silmarillion justice. Martin Shaw's reading is grave and resonant, conveying all the powerful events and emotions that shaped elven and human history long before Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf and all the rest embarked on their quests. Beginning with the Music of the Ainur, The Silmarillion tells a tale of the Elder Days, when Elves and Men became estranged by the Dark Lord Morgoth's lust for the Silmarils, pure and powerful magic jewels. Even the love between a human warrior and the daughter of the Elven king cannot defeat Morgoth, but the War of Wrath finally brings down the Dark Lord. Peace reigns until the evil Sauron recovers the Rings of Power and sets the stage for the events told in the Lord of the Rings. This is epic fantasy at its finest, thrillingly read and gloriously unabridged. (Running time: 14 hours, 6 CDs)
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Tolkien's Middle-Earth history, 2008-08-27
The Silmarillion is Tolkien's original background story for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. This book does not read like a typical novel though, and really is for the serious Tolkien fan. It's a mythology, and a wonderfully developed one at that. Here we have the history of Middle-Earth going back to the First Age. It's a tale of creation and long ago origins, the elves and dwarves, Morgoth the Dark Lord, the forging of the Nine rings and the creation of the One Ring that is the basis for the story, The Lord of the Rings.
I've enjoyed this book so much that I've read it 3 times and now plan on continuing with Morgoth's Ring, the first of 2 books considered to be the second Silmarillion. I'm very impressed with the amount of time and effort Tolkien went into creating such a fantasic world as Middle-Earth, not just the history, but the languages as well. Very impressive. 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
One of the best books I have ever read, 2008-08-02
I am a teenage girl who recently discovered Tolkien, and in the past year I have read The Lord of the Rings, Unfinished Tales, and finally The Silmarillion. I loved the first two, but reading the last left me completely blown away.
It's definitely not for everyone, though. There probably aren't that many people my age who would enjoy it, and the beginning was a little bit slow. But once I got past the creation stories and the first couple of chapters (which you shouldn't skip over, no matter how boring you might find them) I was completely sucked in.
I have to say that I enjoyed this book more than the Lord of the Rings. I still love LOTR, but there are some differences that make the Silmarillion better, in my opinion. The main one has to do with elves. After reading LOTR, I liked elves well enough, but I thought they were rather boring and disliked the way they all seemed so perfect and good.
Then I read the Silmarillion, and my whole perspective on the entire race changed completely. The book is chock full of brave elves, heroic elves, wise elves, rebellious elves, angry elves, flawed elves, suicidal elves, insane elves, greedy elves, elves who kill each other, the list goes on and on. What makes it even better is that plenty of them have more than one of these qualities. I admire some of them, and feel sorry for some, and others I just hate their guts. It makes for a very interesting book.
The other difference is that Lord of the Rings lacks female characters. The only ones that come to mind right now are Arwen, Eowyn, and Goldberry, one of whom has practically nothing to do with the plot. But the Silmarillion is full of fascinating and resourceful (as well as determined) female characters - Idril, Haleth, Yavanna, Emeldir, Luthien, and others.
The one tale that I didn't enjoy (the creation stories were interesting, just a little slow) was the tale of the Children of Hurin. I just wasn't interested in it at all. The fact that I really dislike the main character probably has something to do with this. But this by no means dimishishess the awesomeness of the book. The tale of Beren and Luthien was one of the best, as well as the story (which continues throughout the book) of the Sons of Feanor, who are some of the least boring and perfect elves ever.
You probably shouldn't read this if you prefer books with plenty of dialogue (something the Silmarillion is rather short on) or if you have a really hard time keeping lots of names (some of which are only used a few times, or are very similar to others) straight. The name thing does become less confusing once you read things over a few times. The family trees in the back are also helpful.
This is certainly one of the best things I have ever read, and I reccomend it to everyone, even though not everyone will like it.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Silmarillion, 2008-07-25
I used this book for a college class and it served me well. I got it in great shape for a good price too!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 the silmarillion ON CD!, 2008-06-26
i absolutely love the book, so i figured why not try the audiobook for my holidays. Martin Shaw reads the book brilliantly. And it really helps you focus on the imagination of the book because he does the hardwork for you.
I would strongly recommend knowing the book before listening to this collection though, as if you don't know the names and maps etc, you just wont keep up with martin (not that he's too fast, but rather Tolkien constantly creates new characters and locations chapter after chapter).
The only downside to the CD collection is that it is in a great box, but has 13 normal-sized CD cases in there, each with no sleeve.
It would be better if either the cases had sleeves or they came in slimmer cases or sleeves, thus reducing the size of the box.
all in all. a great buy
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 the title says it, 2008-06-04
a bit hard to read, but the background of its creation was told; they are unfinished tales. however, it's a wider view to the history of LoR and others.
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