The Silmarillion

I bought The Silmarillion a long time ago in paperback, settled down and started to read. I gave up after a few pages feeling bored and confused. What was this? It was like reading the Bible. I just couldn't get into it. However, a few months later I tried again. Still didn't like it. And then later I tried again. Once more I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. Bored, bored, bored. In the end I gave my paperback to charity.Many years later I decided I would try The Silmarillion again. This time I bought it in hardback, thinking that I could guilt myself into reading it as I'd paid so much for it. I knew I was having difficulty reading the first chapters so I forced myself to read two pages a day (not an ideal way to enjoy a book!). Then something magical happened. I found myself enjoying it. By the time I had reached chapter 6 "Of Feanor and the unchaining of Melkor" I was completely gripped and couldn't put the book down. I didn't want it to end. I actually felt quite bereft when I'd finished it. The stories of Feanor and his sons and the Silmarils, the fall of Gondolin, the love story of Beren and Luthien, the tragic story of Turin Turambar all completely enthralled me. It is difficult to put into words how completely captivating and engrossing these stories are. How one man had all this inside his head is beyond me.I have one tiny gripe. Why on earth isn't Thangorodrim and Angband on the map included in the book? It's like leaving Mordor off the map of Middle Earth in LOTR. It's essential. In the end I bought Karen Wynn Fonstad's map book  The Atlas of Tolkien’s Middle-earth  so I could sort it out in my head.So the moral of the story is if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. If you persist with this book you will be very well rewarded. It's the sort of book that will stay with you for a lifetime.

With fondness i recall how much I enjoyed reading the Hobbit and even more so the Lord of the Rings during my teenage years - I even feigned illness to have a good few days to complete these books.Although I barely read fiction these days, I thought it a great idea to bring the Silmarillion along on a holiday trip. That was a mistake. I was aware the book was never published during the author’s life and that it was completed and composed by his son. However it’s of much higher mythological content than for instance the start of the Lord of the Rings. To me the book just goes on and on about the Elderdays to which there are references in the Lord of the Rings. But the writing style is very different. And it reads more like a dry history text that heaps up exotic dwarf and elven names. To me it was all a bit incoherent or maybe I didn’t try hard enough to find the coherence. Yet I did make a serious effort!Perhaps my setting wasn’t great as I like my holiday reading to be accompanied by a few beers or a good wine, but that doesn’t blend well with the nature of this book as it requires close attention. I never, ever do not finish a book. But the Silmarillion broke this rule, as I gave up after 1/3 and decide to leave it to the Middle Earth fanatics and started to enjoy my holiday.

This book is amazing. It covered the entire history of Tolkien’s creation. It is not an easy read as it reads more like a history book rather than a novel and takes a little work to understand names and places, but some very useful family trees and maps are included to aid the reader.It’s by far my favourite book of the year so far and I certainly look forward to rereading it in years to come.

Deep, captivating, tragic, epic, violent... these are just a few words that describe the stories of the silmarillion. To those familiar with the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, be warned that the silmarillion is more grim and shocking than what you might have come to expect from Tolkien, but this does not at all hinder its greatness.Would absolutely recommend to any Tolkien fan or fan of fantasy/literature in general.

This book reeks quality - it smells like a book should, of paper and print.It is a heavy tome, best read at a table or on your lap in bed with a good reading lamp. 'Best to take the dust jacket off when reading to keep it looking nice.The print is just about the right size and the illustrations are works of art in themselves. There is a character index at the back to help you along as well as help with pronunciation of names and places.The writing is a mix of a biblical style with the modern - typically Tolkien in quality, and it is this that makes it seem so 'real', 'ancient' or 'genuine'. This is serious fantasy writing - the book is almost like a method actor, immersing itself (and you, the reader) in the world and characters the writer has created for us.All it needs is some fake dust and cobwebs to finish off the effect.Superb, and highly recommended.