Very nice to have such a comprehensive resource.

"An encyclopaedia for confirmed Tolkien enthusiasts - includes references to Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales as well as the better known trilogy. Many beautiful illustrations (not Tolkien's, though). "

Love this book! It breaks things down and explains them in great detail to better help in understanding Tolkien's thought processes, character development and plot structures of his work. By reading this book, I was able to glimpse into areas of his work that normally I would have missed or misunderstood. It's a brilliant compilation of information for writers, readers and educators alike. The vivid colors and illustrations are an added bonus.

There's timelines, maps and charts to help with explanations. Very thorough!

I highly recommend adding this book to your resource shelves. I'm going to be looking into his other work too.

Excellent book! Highly recommended.

On the one hand, this book is a lot of fun. On the other hand, Tolkien is the last author to read a bestiary about. Time and again you read a term and it's just another name for elf. Tolkien was better at thinking at names for elves than he was of thinking about different kinds of "beasts."

This is still a light criticism of the book because Tolkien was REALLY GOOD at thinking of names for elves.

WOW everything you might need to know about the beasts in Tolkien's world. Beautiful pics and great writing. Very recommended

While not a big fan of David Day's artwork, I have several of his illustrations of Tolkien related work. This one feels very reminiscent of the Tolkien Bestiary, with some of the artwork following over from that book too.

As with David Day's other book, 'A Guide to Tolkein', Characters of Tolkein is a comprehensive resource, listing the characters you are likely to come across during any exploration of the Tolkein mythos, be it reading the books, watching the films, or even playing Tolkein-based games. Excellent for those of us who want a better understanding of the subject material, whichever media you may choose to explore it in.

My favourite book from childhood. We lost it when we moved when I was 11.the family still talk about it reverently.

I recently found this book, an early edition published in 1983, at an antiques fair in Newark, UK. Being an ardent Tolkien reader and fan of his creation, 'Middle Earth', I snapped it up for a mere £5 note. What a stroke of luck! This book is a masterpiece, a truly wonderful depiction of Tolkien's creations by a group of gifted artists and illustrators, beautifully brought together by David Day. This is a very comprehensive work that all fans of Middle Earth and it's inhabitants (also of The Undying Lands), should devour, savouring every morsel and enjoying the detail and thoroughness of its contents, leaving no crumbs, until it is completely digested. I did and I am still gorged, satisfied that I am all the richer from the experience.
Thank you David Day for bringing Tolkien's imagination into 'physical' reality on the pages of this now treasured volume.

Interested in a broader background for Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit? Tolkien wove other stories into his history of Middle-Earth. Day has done an excellent job of focusing on the creatures of that mythical world. His research is top-notch and the illustrations are also of high quality.

Nice to have near at hand when the urge manifests itself to delve into something Tolkien

An excellent Bestiary that just scratches the surface of the wonder of Tolkien's world. I love it and look at it often (the illustrations are worth it alone), but if you really want to learn deeply about the characters or events you need to read the Silmarillion, Lost Tales, or otherwise. Still, it's a very interesting book.

Taught me a lot! Plus wonderful illustrations.