The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, Martin Shaw Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Silmarillion
Book Review: Meant to be read aloud
Summary: 4 Stars
I had already read the Silmarillion before but I never really appreciated how beautifully Tolkien wrote until I heard this book read aloud as an audio book. I usualy don't buy audio books also. It is still dense, bt when you listen to the reading by Martin Shaw, you realize that this is beautiful prose. It is the Old Testament of Middle-earth.Book Review: One of the best books ever, if you can....
Summary: 5 Stars
Edit: I apologize, I wrote this review about the book. This is actually an audio version.
Quite simply, the Silamrillion is one of the best books ever written, a tragic story of the first order, if you have the patience to read it. It is a tale of the heroic First Age of Middle Earth, and encompasses material referred to numerous times in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The sheer depth of the history is staggering.
If forced to make a comparison, the tone and feel of the book are most similar to the ending of the Return of the King, and places where the fading and departure of the Elves are mentioned, though The Silmarillion is more distant. It encompasses all of the feelings of glory, beauty, and sadness of The Lord of the Rings, distilled to a biting essence. Imagine the bittersweet feel of the end of LOTR, and the feeling of victory-but-at-what-price-?, magnified ten times, to see the glorious history of men and elves come to such a humble end at the Silmarillion's conclusion. In the Silmarillion, the grass is greener, the stars are brighter, the swords are sharper, and the black is blacker than in any other work of fiction.
The Silmarillion covers the entire history of Middle Earth in a combination of Norse, Christian, and Greek-style mythologies (roughly in that order, though I'm not an expert), picking and choosing the most glorious and tragic aspects of these. It covers the creation of existence, the origin, departure, and triumphant return of Elves to Middle Earth, the Elves' war upon the Great Enemy (Morgoth, of whom Sauron was only a servant), and the terrible breaking of the seige. It then goes on to tell of the Hidden City of Gondolin (where Bilbo and Frodo's sword Sting was made), Beren and Luthien, The Battle of Unnumbered Tears, and many other stories. The tagedy of the book befalls as the once-magnificent Elves are gradually driven into the ground by a series of treacheries, driven partly by the will of Morgoth and partly by pride; all the more tragic since this was prophesied. We then learn of the final battle where Morgoth is overthrown, and the Second Age begins.
The latter part of the book is just as tragic, though it is not presented in as much detail. The magnificent but proud Numenoreans (men who fought on the side of the Elves) face a similar fate, and are eventually crushed by the gods in their home of "Atlantis"; with the few survivors populating Middle Earth and creating the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor, thus beginning the Third Age. There is some description of this as well as the Fourth Age, and the book ends with a brief discussion of the fate of the surviving memembers of the Fellowship (most notably Gimli and Legolas), and a hint of how men can still at times come to the undying lands of Valinor and behold the glory of the Elder Days, before they die.
Though I have read the Silmarillion several times, I have never met anyone else (in person) who has read the whole thing through without skimming, and that is including some rabid Lord of the Rings fans. In fact, the first time I read it I took a six-month break at page 56. If worse comes to worst, skim until about that page and then start reading because the story becomes more interesting when "real" characters are introduced. There is a simple test to see if The Silamarillion is right for you: if you read and enjoyed the Appendices to the Lord of the Rings, especially the history portions, then the Silmarillion is right for you. If you have not read the Appendices or disliked them, then you might not get much from this book (though the Silmarillion is a much better read than the appendices).
Book Review: Read it!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book deserves to be read for so many reasons, the beauty of the language alone being enough for all five stars. The Silmarillion is professor Tolkiens masterpiece and his main work. Not the Hobbit, nor the Lord of the Rings, but the Silmarillion. In a style reminiscent of (and probably inspired by) the powerful prose of the ancient Norse sagas, but more beautiful by far, Tolkien tells the tales of the creation of the World and of the eldest days.
This book is THE central piece of fiction in all of the fantasy genre, filled with love and hatred, hope and despair, glory and tragedy. The phrase "epic" is used way too often in connection with works of fiction, but this is truly an ephos, unequalled and unsurpassed. Oh, and by the way, get "Unfinished Tales" as well for the entire story of Turin Turambar and Glaurung, and of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin!
Book Review: Reading v. Listening
Summary: 5 Stars
I've always loved the Silmarillion ever since that first read a long age ago. I've since reread the book over a dozen times and have gone through five paperback copies. With time in an ever decreasing spiral when it comes to career and life, I thought an audio version would help me in my desire to keep the story fresh and alive in my head. It was wonderful to have on my drives to work and other places.Book Review: Review the CDs, not the book!
Summary: 5 Stars
Why are all these reviews about the hard copy book and not the unabridged narration on CD? Not one review talks about the quality of the unabridged cd's production or the narrator's performance reading the entire book. If I wanted info about the book itself, I'd go to that product page. I need info about these unabridged CDs!