I'm not even going to pretend to be objective about this.

I realize the Silmarillion won't be for everyone; it won't be for most people. It is not a novel or a short-story collection -- it's a book of myths and legends of Middle-earth written in a sort of King James biblical prose. The tales range from the creation of the world (and the rebellion of Melkor/Morgoth, of whom Sauron was merely his chief lieutenant) through the rise of the peoples of Middle-earth (Elves, Dwarves and Men) and great Wars of the Jewels (the Silmarils proper) to the departure of the last elven ship into the Uttermost West sometime after the end of the War of the Ring. To (mis)quote from Tolkien, here you will find much of beauty and much of sadness.

And you'll also find, if you're so inclined, the deeper tales that underlay most of the songs and poems in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

*** 2022 Reread

I reread this wonderful book in anticipation of the upcoming Prime Video series. Still as good as ever.

Tolkien tells the story of the beginning of Middle Earth and has provided us with a very cool mythology for his creation. We learn about the Valar, the Maiar (of whom Gandolf and Suaron are both members) the tribes of the elves and the fall of the great cities of the Elves in Middle Earth.

The closing chapters also talks about Numenor and the rise and fall of the that great island nation and how this society led to the line of kings of whom Aragorn was one.

For Tolkien fans this is a MUST read and a great book of fantasy for SF/F aficionados.

*** 2020 reread

I first read this back in HS, more than 30 years ago. I recall being amazed at the magnificent world building and likened this to “Old Testament” Tolkien.

I must admit that one reason why it’s taken me so long to revisit was my memory of the etymology and I was hesitant to jump back into stilted language and a litany of begats and whose father was who in the time of this or that.

Tolkien is too good for that and modern readers should not at all be intimidated by a stuffy origin story. This reads like a cool mythology and each vignette is a page turning story on its own. Apparently this was actually first begun soon after The Hobbit in the late 1930s but publishers were none too keen. Christopher Tolkien collected his father’s notes and stories and put all this together for a 1977 publication, posthumous to JRR’s 1973 death.

BTW – 1973
t1 ring to rule them all
t9 rings for men
t7 rings for the dwarves
t3 for elves

The first part, of Eru Iluvatar (God) is clearly inspired by the Christian Old Testament. The music of the Ainur (angels) has one Ainur who thought his voice was better than the rest – Melkor (Satan) and so Eru made the music into the world and fifteen Ainur came to reside in the world, including the troublemaker.

From here we have a pantheistic legendarium of the Valar (the Ainur who stayed) and of their conflict with Melkor and of the coming of the elves and of men. One of the Ainu formed the dwarves and had to petition Eru for this transgression.

The legends of the tribes of the elves and of their great migrations and of fantastic cities and of the wars against Melkor and his lieutenant Sauron fills this mythology with a richness that is for more than just for LOTR fans, this is good reading for any fantasy genre aficionado.

Overwhelming and gorgeous.

سیلماریون شامل پنج بخش است:
۱. آینولینداله «آهنگ آینور» - داستان آفرینش جهان توسط اِرو [آواز آینور اسطورهٔ آفرینش آردا توسط ارو ایلوواتار روایت می‌شود. داستان با توصیف آینور به عنوان فرزندان ایلوواتار آغاز می‌شود. به آنها هنر موسیقی آموخته شده و منجر به زندگی جاودانه برای آن‌ها می‌شود. آینور در دسته‌های کوچک و بزرگ دربارهٔ تم‌هایی که ایلوواتار به هر یک از آنها داده آواز می‌خوانند. ایلوواتار برای تک تک آنها تصمیم‌های بزرگی دارد. یک سمفونی باشکوه که با همکاری همهٔ آنها به انتها می‌رسد و همه با هم در هارمونی آواز می‌خوانند.
ملکور قوی‌ترین آینور است و با بلندی بیش از حد، هارمونی موسیقی را برهم می‌زند. ایلوواتار می‌ایستد لبخند می‌زند و دست چپش را بالا می‌برد و یک تم تازه را آغاز می‌کند. ملکور دوباره تلاش می‌کند تم را برهم زند. ایلوواتار این بار دست راستش را بالا می‌برد و برای بار سوم آغاز می‌کند. ملکور دوباره تلاش می‌کند موسیقی را برهم زند اما این بار آنقدر بلند است که نمی‌تواند. ایلوواتار، موسیقی را به اتمام می‌رساند، ملکور را سرزنش می‌کند و آینور را تنها می‌گذارد.
مقام خدایی کاری می‌کند تا آینور ببینند که او چگونه از نیستی، آردا را آفرید . هنگامی که تم آخر منجر به آمدن فرزندان ایلوواتار، الف‌ها و انسان‌ها شد بسیاری از آینور خواستند تا به جهان روند و آنها را ببینند آنها به عنوان والا و مایا به آردا رفتند. اما برخی در تالار بدون زمان با ایلوواتار ماندند. در این میان ملکور بارها تلاش می‌کند فرمانروایی آردا را در دست بگیرد.]

۲. والاکوئنتا «حکایت والار [والار چهارده روح قدرتمند از نژاد آینور می‌باشند که پس از خلق آردا وارد آن شدند و از سوی ایلوواتار آن یگانه خالق هستی دستور یافتند که با روح پلید ملکور به مبارزه بپردازند] و حکایت  مایار [ مایار (مفرد: مایا) موجوداتی از رشته‌افسانه‌های تالکین می‌باشند. آنها نیز مانند والاها از تبار آینور، ولی از والاها ضعیف تر هستند. نام مایار در زبان کوئنیایی و از ریشه الفی، مایا به معنی «بسیار عالی، قابل تحسین» است] بنا به روایت اِلدار.

۳. کوئنتا سیلماریون «تاریخچهٔ سیلماریل‌ها» - داستان اصلی سیلماریون که شامل داستان‌های دوران دو درخت والینور و دوره اول می‌شود.
[والینور (سرزمین والار یا سرزمین والاها) یک سرزمین خیالی در رشته‌افسانه‌های تالکین است که در تصرف والاها در امان است.]

۴. آکالابت «سقوط نومه نور» - داستان سقوط نومه نور و مردمانش و دوره دوم.
[نومه‌نور (به انگلیسی: Númenor) یک جزیره تخیّلی در داستان‌های تالکین است. این جزیره از قلمروهای انسانها در دوران دوم بود. نومه‌نور هدیه‌ای از طرف والار به اداین (کسانی که در کنار الفها ضدّ مورگوت جنگیدند) بود. نومه‌نور دارای تمدّن بزرگی بود اما با گذشت زمان، طمع نومه‌نوریان به نامیرا شدن شروع شد. به اصرار سائورون، آر-فارازون سعی کرد که سرزمین‌های نامیرا را تسخیر کند اما نومه‌نور نابود شد و زیر دریا فرورفت. در این بین یاوران‌الف (مؤمنان به والار و ایلوواتار) زنده ماندند و با رهبری الندیل به سرزمین میانه رفتند و قلمروهای گاندور و آرنور را پایه‌گذاری کردند.]

۵. حدیث حلقه‌های قدرت و دوره سوم - که با آن این حکایت‌ها به پایان می‌رسد و راهنمایی است بر ارباب حلقه‌ها. [حلقه‌های قدرت در رشته‌افسانه‌های جی. آر. آر. تالکین عبارت است از حلقه‌های جادویی که توسط سائورون یا الف‌های هولین زیر نظر سائورون ساخته شده است. سائورون می‌خواست در حالی که خودش حلقه یگانه را بدست می‌کند، الف‌ها، کوتوله‌ها و انسان‌ها این حلقه‌ها را بدست کنند. او با این کار می‌توانست سرنوشت سه نژاد ساکن در سرزمین میانی را بدست گیرد چون حلقهٔ یگانه که حلقه‌های دیگر را کنترل می‌کرد بدست خودش بود.
نقشهٔ سائورون عملی نشد چون الف‌ها حلقه‌های خود را در دست نکردند و تا هنگامی که سائورون حلقهٔ یگانه را داشت حلقه‌های خود را پنهان کردند؛ کوتوله‌ها نیز آنچنان که سائورون انتظار داشت به فرمان حلقهٔ یگانه درنیامدند تنها انسان‌ها بردهٔ او شدند و به نازگول تبدیل شدند.]
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سخت ترین، عجیب ترین و جذاب ترین کتابی که تا امروز خوندم.
مجموعه یادداشتهای تالکین که شامل تاریخ آفرینش اردا، درخت های زندگی، خلقت الف ها و انسانها و داستان حلقه های قدرت ان
موقع خوندنش تخیلم به دورترین نقطه های تصور پر میکشید و قلب و مغزم از هیجان لبریز میشدن.
تجربه نابی بود برای منکه فانتزی خوان نیستم/نبودم.
گمونم این کتاب مقدس فانتزی خونها و علاقمندان مجموعه ارباب حلقه ها و بقیه کتابهای تالکین باید باشه. که به حق انتخاب شایسته ایه.
....
ممنون از سینا برای هدیه دادن این کتاب شگفت انگیز به من.
در حد پرستش عاشقش شدم ♡
....

Man, the world building!
High fantasy at it's finest. Makes me want to re-read LOTR.

“From without the World, though all things may be forethought in music or foreshown in vision from afar, to those who enter verily into Ea each in its time shall be met at unawares as something new and unforetold.”

Oh, how I enjoyed reading this book!

Yes, it took me forever and a day to finish reading it but it wasn't, in ay moment, because I didn't like it or I was bored or something like that. But, mostly, because life is cruel like that.

As the fourth of my excursions into Tolkien's work, I can say that I was as satisfied as I could be with the end result. Because even if I was expecting a different type of prose the contents of the actual book were beyond what I could have ever imagined.

“… and in every age there come forth things that are new and have no foretelling, for they do not proceed from the past.”

The Silmarillion is the compilation of the history of Middle Earth from beginning to the where The Return of the King leaves us.

Witnessing the incredible amount of imagination that came into play to create this world is truly humbling.

The parallels between our own religions and the way Tolkien adapted them to his world and gave them his own spin was incredibly fun to discover. The origin of things, as it turns out, was simpler and more complicated than I had expected.

Which really just kind of summarizes my feelings for the whole thing.

Trying to keep all the facts, names and places in order was the real challenge. I could do it with the main protagonist, by which I mean the ones whose names were repeated the most, and maybe place some of the others by name but mostly I refer to them by what they did. Much easier.

“The doom of the Elves is to be immortal, to love the beauty of the world, to bring it to full flower with their gifts of delicacy and perfection, to last while it lasts, never leaving it even when ‘slain’ but returning.”

Must of the story is focused on the deeds and happenings of the Elves. And it was interesting to discover that they weren't as pristine as I had previously thought.

This is a revelation I had previously had with the Darwfs back when I read The Hobbit. So I was kind of expecting it again. It was still nice to see how racist and petty the Elves could be. And just how many terrible things they ended up doing.

I enjoyed their stories even if sometimes I wanted to whack them in the head.

The fact that women would just... layback and die because they were feeling particularly dramatic made me laugh a lot.

This is just an example of the kind of drama that there's in this book.

“Aure entuluva! Day shall come again!”

Reading again my favorite story in this world -which I can say with some authority now that I've basically read them all if abbreviated, Beren and Luthién was as delightful as I remembered. As well as a new experience because the story is narrated differently than in its own book. I do prefer its own book.

Finding a new story that I enjoyed a great deal was also great. The Children of Húrin was such a mess and I fell in love with the story.

Obviously, after reading the somewhat abbreviated versions I want to read the books that are dedicated respectively to each of the stories.

“Thus ended the mightiest of the Noldor, of whose deeds came both their greatest renown and their most grievous woe.”

I wish I had been able to read the book faster but with Tolkien's books, I always find that I can¿t read them too fast.

It was as worth it as I have always believed that it would be and I do think that if you loved Middle Earth this is a must-read. It's thoroughly enjoyable.

“But those who saw the things that were done in that time, deeds of valour and wonder, have elsewhere told the tale of the War of the Ring, and how it ended both in victory unlocked for and in sorrow long foreseen.”
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After nearly five months I finally finished it!

I truly love this world, it's so incredibly built that I can't help but be super impressed all the time and learning so much about it was a real treat.

RTC.
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Since starting with Beren and Luthien all those months back I been wanting, quite desperately, to read this book.

I've been told that it explains a lot about the world and has a lot of history. Which is exactly what I want to read right now.

I wonder how will the narration be? Like that of Beren and Luthien? Or like the one from The Lord of the Rings? Whichever the case, I just can't wait.

"Many are the strange chances of the world, and help oft shall come from the hands of the weak when the wise falter."

Many years ago, my dad, who was already an accomplished Tolkien nerd, attempted to read The Silmarillion. He attempted this not once, not twice, but three times, and as he tells me, each time he wasn't able to make it past the first part.

My dad was the one who introduced the world of Tolkien to me, and I will forever (and anon

Η Βίβλος των nerds λάτρεων του high fantasy, το απόλυτο εγκυκλοπαιδικό έπος της μυθολογίας του Tolkien, μα κυρίως ένα λογοτεχνικό κόσμημα.

Οι περαιτέρω περιγραφές είναι, νομίζω, περιττές.
Κάποια έργα είναι υπεράνω κριτικών.

She went then to the gardens of Lórien and lay down to sleep; but though she seemed to sleep, her spirit indeed departed from her body, and passed in silence to the halls of Mandos. The maidens of Estë tended the body of Míriel, and it remained unwithered; but she did not return. Then Finwë lived in sorrow; and he went often to the gardens of Lórien, and sitting beneath the silver willows beside the body of his wife he called her by her names. But it was unavailing; and alone in all the Blessed Realm he was deprived of joy. After a while he went to Lórien no more.   

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(Credit goes to Elena Kukanova. Check out her Tolkien art, it's amazing)

To be honest, The Silmarillion is not an easy read. There's Valinor, Númenor, Middle-earth, creation of the world, music battles (I am not joking), the Valar, the Maiar; Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri elves, men, orcs, beasts, wizards, dragons, and jewels.

At one point, my brain almost malfunctioned.

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It was worth it for the rich lore, doomed romances, and scheming dark lords.

If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings books and/or movies and wish to explore the lore in-depth, this book is perfect for you. Tolkien takes us back to the beginning, where we learn about the creation of the world and The Ainur (also called The Valar), who were beings above everyone, second only to the Ilúvatar. The book takes us through the Years of the Lamps, Years of the Trees, the First Age, and the Sixth Age, providing a comprehensive understanding of the Lord of the Rings universe.


*spoilers*

We meet Tolkien's most powerful villain. No, not Sauron. Morgoth (also called Melkor). The most powerful Ainur/Valar. We learn more about Valinor (Valinor is where Frodo and Bilbo depart at the end of the Lord of the Rings). Valinor is the home of the Valar (Ainur). We learn about the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor by Morgoth and Ungoliant.

We follow the fates of The Children of Ilúvatar - Elves and Men. We witness the kin slaying between the Noldor and the Teleri elves. We travel to Númenor, the greatest kingdom of men. For those that don't know- the first king of Númenor was Elros, the twin brother of Elrond. Unlike his brother Elrond, Elros chose to be mortal. He became a great king of men, and it was through his line that Aragorn was born 62 generations later. Much like Atlantis, Númenor was destroyed and sunk beneath the ocean.

At the heart of the book is the story of the Silmarils. Fëanor, the Elven King of the Noldor, crafted the Silmarils. These magical jewels contained the essence of the Two Trees of Valinor. Fëanor asked his niece, Galadriel, the princess of Noldor, for a few strands of hair to put in The Silmarils, but she refused him. If you remember, she granted the request to Gimli in the Fellowship of the Ring.

The Silmarils, beautiful as they were, were the cause of all the drama in the book. Morgoth stole the jewels and placed them in his crown. For thousands of years, the fate of many heroes was determined by the Silmarils.

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Fëanor sucks.

Túrin Turambar, Niënor Níniel, and the dragon Glaurung are central figures in what is arguably the most tragic tale ever written by Tolkien.

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Their narrative is thoroughly explored in The Children of Húrin. I firmly believe that George R.R. Martin drew inspiration from this story, which features elements of tragedy, incest, and dragons.

Of all the stories, my favorite were the ones involving Beren, Lúthien, Melian, and Thingol. And, of course, my fictional husbands - Glorfindel and Finrod Felagund. Yes, I am allowed to have more than one fictional husband. How could Tolkien create such incredible characters like Aragorn, Faramir, Legolas, Éomer, Beren, Glorfindel, and Finrod and not expect his readers to fall in love with them? Glorfindel was a powerful elf from Gondolin who appeared in The Silmarillion and the Fellowship of the Ring (some of his scenes in the movie version were given to Arwen). Glorfindel perished in battle against a Balrog. Although he triumphed over the creature, he succumbed to his injuries. Eventually, he was reincarnated and returned to Middle-earth.

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Glorfindel

Many are the songs that have been sung of the duel of Glorfindel with the Balrog upon a pinnacle of rock in that high place; and both fell to ruin in the abyss. Then Thorondor bore up Glorfindel's body out of the abyss, and they buried him in a mound of stones beside the pass; and a green turf came there, and yellow flowers bloomed upon it amid the barrenness of stone, until the world was changed.   

Finrod Felagund, a Ñoldorin Elf and the brother of Angrod, Aegnor, and Galadriel, was the King of Nargothrond. He was known for being honorable and was referred to as "Friend of Men." Even though he knew it meant certain death, he agreed to help the mortal Beren in his quest. He met his end while defending Beren from Sauron's werewolf. Although he managed to slay the beast, he succumbed to his injuries.

One of my most cherished pieces of writing by Tolkien is 'Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth,' which can be found in Morgoth's Ring. Finrod engages in a profound dialogue in this narrative with Andreth, a mortal woman who harbors feelings for his brother Aegnor. Despite Aegnor's love for Andreth, he refrained from marrying her, fearing the sorrow that would follow his inevitable death. Ironically, Aegnor perished in battle around the same time Andreth succumbed to old age, and Finrod also faced a tragic fate. This tale illustrates that even though elves are immortal, they are not exempt from life's unpredictable nature.

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Older Andreth and Finrod Felagund by Elena Kukanova

“They buried the body of Felagund upon the hill-top of his own isle, and it was clean again; and the green grave of Finarfin's son, fairest of all the princes of the Elves, remained inviolate, until the land was changed and broken, and foundered under destroying seas. But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.”   


Beren and Lúthien:

Tolkien's most cherished love story. Lúthien was inspired by Tolkien's wife, Edith, and the tale first came to him in a small woodland glade adorned with hemlock flowers near Roos in Yorkshire, where he observed his wife dancing.

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Beren, Lúthien, and Huan by danielosu

Farewell sweet earth and northern sky,
for ever blest, since here did lie
and here with lissom limbs did run
beneath the Moon, beneath the Sun,
Lúthien Tinúviel
more fair than mortal tongue can tell.
Though all to ruin fell the world
and were dissolved and backward hurled
unmade into the old abyss,
yet were its making good, for this—
the dusk, the dawn, the earth, the sea—
that Lúthien for a time should be.   


Beren and Lúthien's love story is the heart of the book. Before diving into their tale, let me give you a little background on Lúthien's parents. Melian, like Sauron, was a powerful Maia. The Maiar are more powerful than Elves but weaker than the Valar. Thingol, also known as Elwë, was a Sindar elf. One day, while traveling through the forest, he met Melian and instantly fell in love with her. Melian felt the same way. It was unheard of for a Maia to fall in love with an elf, and it would never happen again. They ruled the kingdom of Doriath together and had a daughter, Lúthien Tinúviel, the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar. Lúthien fell in love with a mortal man named Beren, but Thingol was furious and forbade their marriage. He eventually changed his mind but on one condition: Beren would have to bring him a Silmaril. It was an impossible task.

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Beren sees Lúthien dancing in the forest by Elena Kukanova

Beren embarked on the perilous journey with Galadriel's brother, Finrod Felagund. Unfortunately, Sauron and his minions captured them and killed Finrod. Lúthien, who followed them along with her faithful companion Huan, a wolfhound, confronted Sauron. She and Huan defeated him and managed to take one of the Silmarils. However, Beren succumbed to his injuries, and Lúthien died of grief. Mandos, the Doomsman of the Valar responsible for the judgment of the Spirits, took pity on her and gave her a choice - she and Beren could be revived and return to Middle-earth. But there was a catch - she had to give up her immortality. Lúthien agreed to come back to Middle-earth as a mortal. Lúthien and Beren were the great-grandparents of Elrond and Elros and the great-great-grandparents of Arwen. Arwen shared Lúthien's physical appearance as well as her fate. She, too, would choose a mortal life and marry a man.

King Thingol was murdered. Melian returned to Valinor without her husband and daughter. The kingdom of Doriath passed to Dior the Fair, the son of Lúthien and Beren, yet he too met a sorrowful end, leading to the kingdom's downfall. Dior's daughter, Elwing, survived the destruction of Doriath and had a complex fate that is too intricate to detail in this review. Tolkien's grave is inscribed with the name "Beren," while his wife Edith's grave bears the name "Lúthien."

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Thingol and Melian by Elena Kukanova

Other favorites: Eöl, the Dark Elf, and his reluctant bride, Aredhel, the White Lady of the Ñoldor. The drama of Gondolin featuring Eöl and Aredhel's son, Maeglin, elven princess Idril, and her mortal husband, Tuor. The bittersweet love story of Eärendil, the son of Idril and Tuor, and Elwing, the granddaughter of Beren and Lúthien.

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Sauron and Finrod Felagund

In my humble opinion, The Silmarillion is the greatest work Tolkien almost finished. It is by far more difficult to read than The Lord of the Rings (which I already expressed my love for earlier in the year after completing my re-read) or The Hobbit but its greatness is found in the way it mixes together epic fantasy, mythology and linguistics to create a grand tale of creation and destruction.

Part of what I love so much about Tolkien's entire Middle Earth story is that there is a cycle as to how events take place. The overall events of The Silmarillion lead into the smaller events of The Hobbit which lead to The Lord of the Rings. It is a cycle that discusses the nature of archetypical good and evil and how evil does not truly die among mortals but re-invents itself in newer and lesser ways for different generations and different heroes. The ring of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is birthed of Sauron and Sauron is birthed of Morgoth.

The entire story of The Silmarillion begins with the creation tale of Middle Earth. This creation tale features around the idea of the one true god Eru Ilúvatar creating minor gods (or angels) responsible for the development of Middle Earth. Each of these beings possess some different type of reflection of who the ultimate God is, that is aside from Morgoth (who begins life as Melkor) who appears to possess all the reflected gifts of Ilúvatar.

Much as Lucifer did, Melkor attempts to become like Eru Ilúvatar, seeking the power of true creation and falling into the shadow. Melkor then moves to distort and destroy the acts of the other godly beings of Middle Earth (the Ainur) as he could not create life aside from the blessing of Eru. This leads to him becoming Morgoth and warring openly against the other Ainur, men and elves. It is these conflicts that The Silmarillion covers in detail, alongside the actual tale of the Silmarils - three mystical gems created by the elves and stolen by Morgoth for his crown.

As a rough conclusion I must admit that The Silmarillion is not for every reader. Many have complained about the rough, almost Biblical style of writing and how hard it is to read. It is not written like Tolkien's other works and part of this is because it was only in draft form when he passed away. Part of this is because it is a mythical epic and not an epic fantasy as readers commonly understand. Yet it is a work of fiction that explains best why Tolkien is the master of fantasy and one of the great fathers of modern fantasy. When 'Tolkien' clones are talked about, very few people recognise the idea of The Silmarillion. If they did then even fewer books would hold a candle in fantasy to the work of Tolkien as a whole.

The English version can be found below.

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German version:

Das Werk ist in mehrere Teile eingeteilt. Zuerst ein Vorwort und ein Brief Tolkiens, dann die Entstehung der Welt, besonders Mittelerde und die Geschöpfe und Geschlechter (Ainuldindale/Die Musik der Ainur; Valaquenta/Das Buch von den Valar und den Maiar). Erst dann kommt die eigentliche Geschichte der Silmaril (Quenta Silmarillion), die nun den Großteil des Buches ausmacht. Zum Schluss gibt es noch jeweils ein kurzes Kapitel zum Untergang Númenors und zu den Ringen der Macht. In den Anhängen gibt es Hilfen zur Aussprache der Elbennamen und Namensregister sowie Stammbäume der Häuser.

Ich finde die Vorworte und den Brief Tolkiens sehr informativ und es hilft dabei, das Geschehen in Zusammenhang mit seinen anderen Werken zu bringen. Besonders spannend fand ich die Erklärungen Tolkiens im Abschnitt zu Maschine und Magie, dahingehend welchen Zweck seine Figuren hier erfüllen sollen.

Die eigentliche Erzählung nach dem Vorwort und Brief hat eine etwas gewöhnungsbedürftige Sprache, an die man sich allerdings schnell gewöhnt und bei welcher durch ihren Stil auch etwas Mystisches, Altes und Urtümliches mitschwingt, wie man es bereits aus Bibelerzählungen, besonders die Schöpfungserzählung, kennt. Da es sich um das Fundament der Welt Tolkiens handelt, ist diese Art des Erzählens durchaus gelungen. Nur die Namen machen einem sehr zu schaffen, vor allem da eine Figur teils mehrere besitzt und auch Ort, Hügel oder Objekte nicht nur überhaupt einen Namen sondern gleich mehrere in verschiedenen Sprachen besitzen.

Final rating: 6/5 stars

So, i finally finished Silmarillion. I thought it would take me longer than 5 days, but i have never been so wrong. What had driven me to read this was the movie adaptation of Hobbit, and since i have never read anything of Tolkien before, i decided to do it now :D. I am glad i did, because this book is epic - really epic and amazing.

The history of Middle Earth was full of tragic stories and tragic families, and especially tragic love stories. Most of them ended tragically so to say. But every story was breathtakingly beautiful in it's own twisted way.

The thing is, it isn't complicated as i expected. They just have confusing names...Especially sons and fathers and the naming system - they all sound alike! And there were so many main characters - and all of them had a lot of influence of the story.

Silmarillion is split into many parts, where the main part is Silmarillion story - the longest one - and the most tragic one. So many characters, and so many are dead in the end. It's kind of sad :(


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n  n    Charactersn  n:
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Characters were amazing, even though it wasn't classic book. You follow their whole lives, not just a part of the story.

I especially enjoyed reading about Maedhros and Fingon, Beren and Lúthien, Túrin Turambar, Finrod. It was interesting reading about Morgoth and Sauron too. I never thought Sauron was lesser evil before(Morgoth being the biggest evil ever - i don't think Sauron was good at being evil in LotR)....

n  n
THIS IS MY ARTWORK OF MAEDHROS, AND CLICK ON THE IMG FOR THE FULL VIEW <3

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THIS IS MY ARTWORK OF FEANOR AND HIS SILMARILS ♥, AND CLICK ON THE IMG FOR THE FULL VIEW <3
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n  n    OVERALLn  n:
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Unforgettable experience, and it's wonderful, wonderful book. Not for everyone though, especially those who don't like tragic endings.:D

p.s. for those who didn't know - Blind Guardian, metal band, made an albumn   Nightfall in Middle Earth n which is based on Silmarillion. All the songs are awesome, but the most beautiful is Harvest of Sorrow - about Túrin and Niënor Níniel.

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REVIEW(S) RELATED TO THIS BOOK:

◈  The Children of Húrin