Middle Earth books have an in built feature of innocuously changing fundamental formats, with no real indication by the title or informing the general public. The Silmarillion abruptly abandoned the novel structure of its two predecessors, Unfinished Tales lost a chronological narrative, and by the History of Middle earth series and with the Book of Lost Tales part 2 you are left with a work that is literary analysis. Analyzing texts (or fragments of drafts), Christopher Tolkien directly talking to you and and giving notes. There is no suspension of disbelief or 4th wall boundaries here. This is a specific book for a specific audience. Only material for those who have gone past the Silm and UT gauntlet.

I'd highly recommend getting at least one of the three stand alone Great Tales books instead of getting this. The great Tale standalone's have the exact same main content, plus colorful illustrations and a specific focus that will help you get by the without those much bogged down academic and immersion breaking paragraphs every so odd pages.

Gets two stars because I do think the Fall of Gondolin and Tale of Tinuveil stories that this work made public for the first time are significant lore wise. This isn't just a writer's note pad and drafts of a finished work book (LOTR) like some of the later entries in this series. Except for Hurin tale, there is no well developed canon narrative of the other two tales. Just brief overviews in the Silmarillion. These pre canon tales were stand a lone and developed enough to warrant publishing back when they were first released years ago. Now you can find them in some more reader friendly publications.

Literary History Part II

"The Book of Lost Tales" is a collection (in two volumes, this being the second) of the early stories written by J.R.R. Tolkein in his creation of Middle Earth. They are interesting from a historical perspective, and for those who want more of Tolkien's world, but they frankly do not compare to "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit." Nevertheless, it is wonderful that they have been preserved and published for posterity, with the efforts of Christopher Tolkein, the late author's son.

Mah.
Francamente questo "corpus tolkeniano" si poteva tranquillamente evitare. Posso capire il senso di voler dare uno sfondo a tutte le vicende de Il signore degli Anelli, ma pubblicare anche le bozze scritte da Tolkien (il padre) e dargli una veste grafica da romanzo finito è semplicemente una operazione commerciale.

This book is not for everyone; it's a lot of story fragments with commentary and notes pieced together by Christopher Tolkien. But, for the Tolkien enthusiast or for authors/world-builders, it is absolutely fascinating. It's especially interesting to see the development, some of which is definitely for the better (generally speaking, while plot lines often remained close to the original, other areas became more sophisticated), and also the stronger ties between Middle-earth and England.

And, I wish we could have these stories as wholes, and that the published versions in The Silmarillion didn't leave some of the parts that are in here out (Idril is great in every version, but she's extra excellent here. Just throwing it out there, too, that female characters are not in the foreground in most of Tolkien's work, but that doesn't mean they are not wise, strong, fierce, incredible women who are vital to his world).

Also, I read this for a Tea with Tolkien book club, which was delightful, as always.

(And just because I'll never shut up about it, The Fall of Gondolin is always my favorite.)

Following on from part one, this book continues the narrative at the Cottage of Lost play as given to Eriol, the time traveler. Having read this book after i had read the Silmarillion, The Great Tales boxset and Unfinished Tales, i was already familiar with most of the stories told here such as Beren & Luthien, The Children of Hurin, and The Fall of Gondolin. However, there were two tales which were new to me, those of the story of Eärendil, and the history of Aelfwine, also known as Eriol.

The story of Eärendil (Tuor’s son) follows on from The Fall of Gondolin, but is not a tale so much as a commentary on a collection of Tolkien’s notes. More interesting to me was The history of Aelfwine, which details how Eriol (Aelfwine) a man, came to be on the island of Tol Eressëa with the elves, to hear the stories given in the two Book’s of Lost Tales at The Cottage of Lost Play. Of even greater interest were the links at the beginning of this history that join the place he came from to England, and Ireland in the real world.

Of course these tales had various versions, were incomplete in that they were not intended to be published, and a lot of events in them were undergoing processes of rewriting or being altered/removed altogether. Nevertheless, this is a very interesting history that shows the working development of the history of Middle Earth.

the history of middle earth continues with the second part of the book of lost tales. Another “difficult” book to read and not be entertained! On the other hand the real Tolkien fan is able to watch how the stories evolved from early 1910’s when a young linguist tried his hand on writing. The stories changed, sometime significantly, during the years although the central core of the stories remained the same for more than fifty years. In the second volume we read the stories of Beren and Luthien and the necklace of the Dwarves, of Earendil and the fall of Gondolin and Turin and the Dragon. It also shows tales of Tol Eressea the lost island that was a mythical England before times. Because Tolkien what he really tried with his stories and his languages was to create a mythology for his beloved country and an ancient history which as a scholar who had read about ancient Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian myths was jealous and eager to supplant himself. The book is like the first poorly published with tight margins, small fonts and low quality paper making reading an effort but it contains information never seen before. Also Christopher as editor comments and explains every chapter heavily adding further information to the tales from his personal experiences. As usual with Tolkien’s works there is a vast index with names, events and places linguistic appendixes and a full assortment of material to delve for many hours of reading. Mostly these books will be a guide and reference for those who want to reach deeper into Middle Earth!

This volume continues to explore the stories J. R. R. Tolkien wrote between 1917-1924 which are the earliest versions of the complex mythology that would later evolve into The Silmarillion. Here are my individual story reviews:

1.t"The Tale of Tinúviel"

This is a dramatically different version of "Beren and Lúthien". Beren is a Noldoli elf (later: Noldor) instead of a mortal man. He does not bind Finrod Felagund to his oath of loyalty, so there is no rift created between the sons of Fëanor and the house of Finarfin. Curufin and Celegorm do not kidnap Lúthien. There is also no battle to the death between Finrod and a werewolf.

In this version, Lúthien must save her true love from Tevildo, the Prince of Cats and servant of Morgoth. This is an imaginative extended sequence, and it helps make sense of the origin of Huan, the great hound who plays a pivotal role in the eventual canonical version.

Some elements from this tale were retained in Silmarillion, most notably Lúthien saving herself Rapunzel-style by using her long hair to escape her prison. Beren cuts the Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. Also, the wolf Karkaras Knife-fang (later: Carcharoth) bites off Beren's hand clutching the Silmaril. When Beren returns to Tinwelint (later: Thingol) he is able to claim success of his mission with the words: "Even now a Silmaril is in my hand".

2. "Turambar and the Foalókë"

This early incarnation of "Of Túrin Turambar" was first composed during World War I and hits the same story beats as the two later versions from Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. Túrin accidentally kills his best friend Beleg. He allows Failivrin (later: Finduilas) to die because he believes a dragon's lies. He marries his sister Nienóri (later: Niënor), not realizing who she is. Both Túrin and Nienóri, now pregnant, kill themselves in grief and shame. Their mother Mavwin (later: Morwen) haunts the site of their graves.

The impetuous Túrin is one of Tolkien's least effective characters. Every decision he makes backfires. This early version of the story does a better job emphasizing that every aspect of this tragedy is part of Morgoth's design to torment his father Úrin (later: Húrin), who was taken prisoner during the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.

The early story features an epilogue in which Úrin is released from Angamandu (later: Angbad), retrieves the hoard of dragon gold, and delivers it to Artanor (later: Doriath) as a means of cursing the Sindarin elves. Mîm the Petty-Dwarf features in both versions of the story, but in this version he never betrays Túrin, so Úrin's motive for killing him is different.

The conception of the dragon Glorund (later: Glaurung) is a bit different, too. In this tale, he does not fly but is a literal giant flaming worm that crawls and slithers, leaving a wake of desecration wherever he goes. (This is probably the intent in Silmarillion too, according to Christopher Tolkien, but it is not apparent in a casual reading. It is difficult to understand how a ground-bound Father of Dragons could be Morgoth's most deadly weapon on the battlefield, even more effective than the balrogs.)

Glorund's section of the tale is significantly expanded from later versions, starting with the sacking of Rodothlim (later: Nargothrond) until his death at the hands of Túrin.

3.t"The Fall of Gondolin"

This is a much longer version of the story of Tuor than the ones in Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. It is similar to the canonical versions. However, Tuor is the son of Peleg, not Huor. Also, Úrin is not the person who betrays the location of the hidden Noldori city. These changes lessen the narrative connections to the previous stories.

The Battle of Gondolin is as long and choreographed as any Peter Jackson set piece. Tolkien gives us iron monsters, snakes of bronze and steel, more flightless dragons, and fire-serpents (described as "creatures of pure flame that writhed like ropes of molten metal"). He provides lots of balrogs, with more physical description of them than in later works ("demons with whips of flames and claws of steel").

We learn all the names, leaders, and war raiment of the eleven noble houses of Gondolin. We get the full blow-of-blow of Ecthelion killing Gothmog in the fountains of Turgon's Tower. We see the epic fight atop Cristhorn (later: Cirith Thoronath) in which Glorfindel bests a balrog so the remnant of the Noldoli can escape with their lives. This is all the lavish fan-boy detail that is only hinted at in the canon. I loved it!

And yet -- the final version is still superior. This story is way too slow. At this point in his career, Tolkien had little sense of pace, and he was still trying to write in an affected antiquated voice much different than his later style. The sheer quantity of detail becomes a slog to get through.

4. "The Nauglafring"

This is a longer version of "Of the Ruin of Doriath". Tolkien later abandoned some of his original ideas which convoluted this early narrative. These include:

•tThe curse of Mîm as the primary driver of the fates of Tinwelint, Beren, Elwing, and Tinúviel
•tThe central villain Ufhedin, who turns the dwarves against Tinwelint
•tGenerational feud between two Dwarf clans
•tFight between Úrin's outlaws and the Sindarin elves
•tScene where dwarves pay orcs to attack Artanor (this is wholly incompatible with his later vision of the dwarf races in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings)

5.t "The Tale of Eärendel"

This chapter consists of three different outlines for the story of Eärendel and the War of Wrath. Tolkien's idea was of a much longer story than the one that actually got written and included in Silmarillion. Of greater interest are four early poems he wrote about Eärendel.

6.t"The History of Eriol or Ælfwine"

This chapter consists of different outlines and prose fragments concerning the fate of Eriol. Tolkien seemed to be playing around with two main ideas. In the first, Tol Eressëa is ancient England. Kortirion is the city of Warwick. Ireland is a part of the island that breaks away due to the violence of Ossë, and consequently develops a poor understanding of fairy culture. The most bizarre aspect of this conception is that the Saxons are descendants of Inwë, high king of the Teleri (later: Vanyar). This makes all present-day English part elven!

The second idea is that Eriol (but now named Ælfwine) is a Saxon in the 6th century who sails from England to Tol Eressëa, where he hears stories of a distant long-lost age of magic.

To be honest, while I like the Eriol framing story for these lost tales, I am glad Tolkien abandoned this path. He had no conception yet of the Second and Third Ages of Arda. All these storylines were intended to link the First Age stories directly into our modern history.

The big stories from The Silm - "Beren and Lúthien," "Fall of Gondolin," "The Children of Húrin," the Nauglamir, and Eärendel - are all here in their earliest conceptions. Some of them are barely recognizable from what we're familiar with, but they've all got elements of the stories they would later become. I adored Tevildo, the wicked kitty cat. Okay, okay, he was an evil fae in the form of a cat, but still.

Seeing some of the original concepts for these stories was intriguing. Lúthien, or just Tinúviel as she was called throughout the earliest writings, originally had an older brother. Beren was originally intended to be an Elf as well, instead of a man. Túrin always had an attitude, but he initially didn't keep his past a secret from those he met after exiling himself. Tolkien's original manuscript of the hijinks caused by the Nauglamir was quite different. Eärendel's story sadly never got out of the outline stage, and had conflicting outlines at that. It was as though he couldn't figure out how to wrap up the Lost Tales, which is boggling when you know how important Eärendel's story is, not just for The Silm but for LOTR as well. But of course, LOTR wasn't even conceived of at this point. Neither was The Hobbit, for that matter.

But the strangest thing was reading about his initial conclusion planned for the Tales. I've always known that Tolkien originally starting writing his works because he wanted England to have its own mythology, and that Middle-earth was our earth before the current age. But it's quite another thing for Eriol to turn into Ælfwine of London. LONDON! Tol Eressëa was originally going to be what later became England. Lúthien (as a name) first makes its appearance as the original name for the British Isle. How it became the name of our fair Elven maid is a mystery. Then suddenly there were Vikings, and Charlemange possibly, and Warwick, and Eärendel sailing around like Sinbad, and it was all too trippy. It felt so wrong, and not in the way you want it to be right, lol. Thank Gandalf, Tolkien changed his mind about all that nonsense.

He was a young man when he wrote the bulk of these Tales. Many of them were written during the Great War or shortly after during his early years at Oxford. He was often inspired by his circumstances, and certainly inspired by the books he loved. While much of this was abandoned (though not necessarily forgotten and discarded), this provides a wealth of potential AU plot ideas for fanfic writers, if nothing else.

This is the book where Sauron is a giant cat. If for no other reason, read it for that one.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the Silmarillion, it might actually work to start here. The heart of the Silmarillion is the stories of Beren and Luthien, of Turin, and of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin; these are all present here in a more readable form (the Fall of Gondolin is particularly good), and the Nauglafring and the destruction of Doriath are treated as a fourth Great Tale in their own right.

The planned interactions with the real world are also an interesting thought. Turning Tol Eressea into the British Isles wasn't going to work, and the Dark Ages were far too recent for those events; but I like the idea that the Noldor and the Rumhoth, that is to say the Roman Empire, did not like each other.

Just like the first Book Of Lost Tales, it's fascinating to watch Tolkien's legendarium develop over his writing career. Some of the annotations are hard to follow, particularly when some of the names get reused as the stories change, but the glimpse into Tolkien's notebooks and initial ideas for his stories is eminently worthwhile. I do agree with Christopher, where in the introduction for Part 1 he says Part 2 has the more interesting stories contained within. Not only do they seem to lead more directly to Lord of the Rings, but they have the strongest ties to his father's original intention to create a full set of myths for England.

“And now is the end of the fair times come very nigh,
and behold, all the beauty that yet was on earth–
fragments of the unimagined loveliness of Valinor
whence came the folk of the Elves long, long ago
now goeth, it all up in smoke…”

THE BOOK OF LOST TALES VOLUME 2

The final Tolkien Tuesday post for the Book of Lost Tales Vol. 2!https://amandasbookreviewsite.wordpre...

The first three of these tales are close to four stars material or even better but the unfinished nature of the later entries, the abundance of explanatory material, and the lack of scenes make this less enjoyable unless you have an immense curiosity about all things Tolkien.