The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Silmarillion
Book Review: Magnificent, but not for the casual reader
Summary: 5 Stars
The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkien's magnum opus, the history of Arda (the world). It is, however, not written in anything like the style of the Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings--it is a book of lore compiled from many different sources (see Christopher Tolkien's Foreword for some insight on this). There are many names, quite a few of which sound very similar. On my first reading I started to get the characters confused for that very reason; however, the Silmarillion is one of those books that improves "with age." It is now probably my favorite of all of Tolkien's writings.
It is also a book that could not be written (or at least published) by a writer of today. The vast majority of the current generation has been weaned on sound bites and MTV, and this book is the antithesis of that experience. Those few who loved the Lord of the Rings AND are up to this kind of storytelling will probably feel the same way about it as I do. The vast majority, however, won't like it and I certainly understand why. Figure out in which category you fall and that will tell you whether to purchase Tolkien's "bible."
Book Review: Maybe it was, just, me, but I found the book to be unreadable
Summary: 1 Stars
I had read the Hobbit and the trilogy of the rings and thought the The Silmarillion would be a worthwhile read. However, I found the book to be unreadable. I am not certain what the author had done differently, but I could not get past the first 40 pages and those pages required serious work to read. It looked as if the author had some very good ideas but he had put it in a manner that was difficult to understand.
Perhaps you will do better than I did. However, this was one of only a few books that I could not finish because I had a hard time understanding what the author was communicating.
If you are interested in this book, I suggest getting it from a library and trying to read it, before spending money on it.
Book Review: Must read
Summary: 5 Stars
Wasn't my intention, but I read Tolkien's books, in this order, LOTR, Hobbit, Turin, and Silmarillion. I think it has worked out quite well reading them in reverse chonologic order.
The Silmarlillion is a fantastic backdrop and foundation to the entire world Tolkien has created. A Masterpiece.
Book Review: Not only a book, but a Piece of Art
Summary: 5 Stars
It is quite difficult to write something about "The Silmarillion" when there are already so many people that have read it. But to write something about this new illustrated edition is completely different. The whole book is a work mayor fantasy, created by J.R.R. Tolkien and it has been for all of us possible to read it, thanks to his son Christopher. The book should be read after having been read "The Hobbit" and The Lord of the Rings in that order, because if not its reading it could a bit difficult. Doing it this way you can feel as if you live each one of the histories like something that was made for us to know, but somehow didn't fitted in the previous books.
Now let's take this classic book and let's add it illustrations... Can someone request for more? This edition overcomes the previous by arriving to 45 marvelously painted illustrations, made by Ted Nasmith. Some of the paintings are awesomely real. They caught my eyes from the very beginning. It's a pity that some paintings made by Nasmtih, like the ones entitled "Eärendil Searches Tirion" and "Luthien Escapes the Treehouse" haven't been included in the final edition. On the other hand it was a big surprise to see the high-scaled map of this one. Not even the illustrated edition of LOTR has such a big and wonderful map.
To tell the truth it's a privilege to have this book in my bookcase beside the illustrated editions of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings".
Once again thanks Tolkien for give us such a wonderful world to live in, and thanks Mr Nasmith for put it into images.
Book Review: Not only a book, but a Piece of Art
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read every review of this book and they all talk about the text and none about the illustrator, and I can't tolerate that.
I'm a Cuban Tolkien fan who enjoyed The Silmarillion from the very beginning. I also recommend to read it after The Lord of the Rings, for if not it can be a little confuse. But I won't talk about the book.
I want to post some comments on the illustration made by Mr Ted Nasmith for this edition. This book has a greater number of them (45 in total) than the previous editions. Some of the paintings are awesomely real. They caught my eyes from the very beginning. It's a pity that some paintings made by Tasmith, like the ones entitled "Eärendil Searches Tirion" and "Luthien Escapes the Treehouse" haven't been included in the final edition.
To tell the truth it's a privilege to have this book in my bookcase beside the illustrated editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Once again thanks Tolkien for give us such a wonderful world to live in, and thanks Mr Nasmith for put it into images.