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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN num: 9780618391110
ISBN number: 0618391118
Label: Houghton Mifflin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 416
Printing Date: November 15, 2004
Publishing house: Houghton Mifflin
Sale Popularity Level: 4103
Studio: Houghton Mifflin
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The tales of The Silmarillion were the underlying inspiration and source of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing; he worked on the book throughout his life but never brought it to a final form. Long preceding in its origins The Lord of the Rings, it is the story of the First Age of Tolkien's world, the ancient drama to which characters in The Lord of the RIngs look back and in which some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part.
The title Silmarillion is shortened from Quenta Silmarillion, 'The History of the Silmarils,' the three great jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves, in which he imprisoned the light of the Two Trees that illumined Valinor, the land of the gods. When Morgoth, the very first Dark Lord, destroyed the Trees, that light lived on only in the Silmarils; Morgoth seized them and set them in his crown, 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 people against the gods, their exile in Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all the heroisim of Elves and Men, against the great Enemy.
The book includes several other, shorter works beside The Silmarillion proper. Preceding it are 'Ainulindale,' the myth of Creation, and 'Valaquenta,' in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is set forth. After The Silmarillion is 'Akallabeth,' the story of the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age; completing the volume is 'Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age,' in which the events of The Lord of the Rings are treated in the manner of The Silmarillion.
This new edition of The Silmarillion contains the revised and corrected
'second edition' text and, by way of introduction, a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1951, which provides a brilliant exposition of his conception of the earlier Ages. It also contains almost fifty full-colour illustrations by the artist Ted Nasmith, many of which appear for the very first time.
Amazon.com Review:
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)
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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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 very 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.
Rated by buyers 
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This book is tough to read and is more suited to an older audience. I wouldn't hesitate to get it for someone in high school if they have already read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. But the book is probably more suited to college age and above due to some of the vocabulary and themes the Tolkien presents. There are also a lot of names used by Tolkien, so at times it can be a little cumbersome to keep track of who is who, where they are from, what they did, etc. but if you can keep attention to detail it is worth the effort. For me, this book is the clearest "Catholic work" of the works of Tolkien on Middle Earth. The introduction almost feels as if it were taken straight from the Bible. But all in all this is a fantastic book and a must-have for anyone who is a fan of the Lord of the Rings.
Rated by buyers -
The story itself is haunting; the illustrations do more to invoke the readers' imagination than deaden it..
Rated by buyers -
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.
Rated by buyers 
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This is pretty much the Bible of the world of Middle Earth. It isn't written so much as a story as some of Tolkien's other works, but it has a nearly-documentary style, as if everything in it is real (and it is, for all the detail that goes into the story). Here comes history and mythology, all romantically tied together in ultimate fantasy along with all the proper notest that would attend any other historical work. There is not a lot of detail in the stories, but that does not make them any less wonderful. This is a chance to see thoughts and possibilities and so many other characters that fit into the Lord of the Rings universe. I don't think this is necessary to appreciating Lord of the Rings, but it's still a delightful and worthy addition if one can handle the way it is presented as more history than literature.
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