‘to thee my spirit dances oft in sleep’

As a Tolkien enthusiast I enjoyed this a lot. Given all of the content to cover and re-cover Christopher did a great job of keeping it interesting. There was a dip in the final chapter or two where the repetition was a bit much, but it did assist in conveying the information well and clearly.
It is both strange and strangely wonderful to see the development of Tolkien's works from earliest drafts to published pieces.

Very slow read, but interesting if you are faaar too invested in Middle-earth :)

More great Tolkien archaeology! I really appreciate the time and effort his son Christopher put into researching his father's writing process. This covers Tolkien's earliest conception of the tales of Middle-earth, presented in a very different way than the published versions of LotR and the Silmarillion. Love the earliest version of Sauron-- an evil anthropomorphic cat named Tevildo.

Another Tolkien Leaf in his Niggle tree. 5 Tales, I’ll be reviewing each seperatly.

1) Beren and Luthien (4/5)
I have read this Story over and over again in “The Silmarillion”, “Beren & Luthien” and now in “The Lost Tales”. Did I get bored? A Little. Did it stop me from reading it again? Hell No ! Did it slow me down a little bit? Definetly Yes. However this will forever be my favourite fictional love story I have ever read.

2) Children of Hurin (4/5)
Same as with “Beren and Luthien”, having read this Novel more than once made me slack a little bit when reading it for the 3rd time, but it definetly didn’t lose it its glamour. It remains the story bringng the deepest grief to my heart whenever I talk about or read.

3) The Necklace of the Dwarves (5/5)
A Tale showing the power of greed, Morgoth’s strongest weapons from my own point view. How it’s evil leaked to reach the hearts of the first-born, and how the dwarves were carved by that greed by then. Yet we can argue that the Dwarves were only asking for their right to cherish their own making, but I believe even with that lies their greed. A sorrowful tale, linking The Tale of Beren and Luthien with the Tale of Earendel, giving a full picture of the History of Gnomes and Dwarves on Middle Earth.

4) Fall of Gondolin (4.5/5)
I did miss the rush of a Battle that is Tolkien written. That feeling of being in the middle of the battlefield, seeing this being killed, running with that from the field, striking with that through the Shield, bleeing with that from his wound. You can sense every single feeling a War Frenzy brings to its warriors. A Battle that remains to be one of the most important one in Middle Earth.

5) The Tale of Earendel (2/5)
I am at a loss of words. We’ve lost a tale that might have been the Core Link between the History of Middle earth and The Lord of the Rings. It is very sad that Tolkien died before finishing/drafting this tale in a rather more complete manner, yet what Christopher could gather shows us how masterly Tolkien has planned for Earendel to be part of his world.

Ne mogu vam opisati koliko sam uzivao u ove dve "Knjige Izgubljenih Prica"!
Kao neko ko neopisivo zudi za svakom recju koju je Tolkin napisao neizmerno sam srecan sto one postoje.

Kristofer Tolkin nas na jedan fantastican nacin, uz jako svrsishodne komentare, vodi kroz rane verzije dogadjaja koji ce kasnije, u svojim "finalnim" oblicima, postati kanon, odnosno Silmarilion.
Citaocima Silmariliona ce brzo postati jasno da su neke dobro poznate price radikalno izmenjene u Tolkinovim revizijama, dok su se neke druge odrzale u svom manje vise originalnom obliku.
Dosta stvari ce te prepoznati, pa cete samim time moci i da pratite razvoj Tolkinove misli sto se mitologije sveta Srednje Zemlje tice. To je po meni, pored svih onih sjajnih novih informacija, i najlepsa stvar vezana za ovo delo.

Pomenu sam kanon. To je rec kojom mnogi tumaci Tolkinovog dela vole da se frljaju kako stignu.
Razumem da cemo se prvo voditi Gospodarom Prstenova i Silmarilionom a kasnije i Nezavrsenim Pricama kako bi smo dosli do sto koherentnije kanonske istorije Valinora i Srednje Zemlje.
Medjutim ove najstarije verzije dogadjaja obiluju morem informacija koje nikada nisu usle u kanonske verzije izdate u Silmarilionu. Moja ideja kanona je da sam u svoju glavu, kao dodatak kanonu, ubacio sve one nove informacije koje Tolkinov svet cine sirim i bogtijim ali ni na koji nacin ne menjaju originalni tok radnje. Te informacije su uglavnom siri opisi ili ne ispricani delovi prica, koji opet kazem ne mogu utiati na originalnu - kanonsku radnju. Na primer kao kanon cu preuzeti nikada objavljeni opis borbe na ulicama i belim zidinama Gondolina, ali necu prihvatiti cinjenicu da je u Melkorovoj vojsci bilo na stotine Balroga. Tolkin je u svojim pismima pomenuo da ih je moglo biti najvise sedam. Ako oduzmemo Durinovu Propast, Balroga koji se sakrio u Moriju mozemo reci da je u Padu Gondolina ubijeno najvise sest Balroga. Moja racunica ide ovao: Jednog je ubio Glorfindel, jednog (Gotmoga) Ehtelion, Rog i negovi ljudi dva, dok je jednog ubio Tuor. To znaci da su dva Balroga prezivela, Opet dajem prostor tome da je kraljeva (Turgonova) garda takodje ubila jednog. Sto Durinovu Propast cini mozda i jedinim prezivelim Balrogom koji je nekim cudom preziveo i Rat Besnih. Eto to je neka moja verzija toga kako se moze na jedan hibridan nacin tumaciti kanon. Da ne bih o padu Gondolina kanonski razmisljo kroz tri recenice date u Silmarilionu ja sam preuzeo citavu originalnu verziju ali sam iz nje izbacio sve ono sto bi kasnije moglo uticati na radnju Silmariliona ili na dogadjaje iz drugog i treceg razdoblja.

Iskoristite svoju sansu da na najbolji moguci nacin pratite razvoj Tolkinove mitologije, da nadogradite sve ono sto ste do sada znali ili mozda niste a vezano za dogadjaje u Silmarilionu tako sto cete tumaciti kanon na jedan jako fleksibilan nacin. Sa druge strane sve ono sto vam ne moze doprineti vecem volumenu price nagradice vas prosto onim osecajem koji jednino nosi Tolkinovo pisanje.

Like the first book in the series, this just wasn't for me. I've read the Silmarillion multiple times, but I think you have to be significantly more well-versed on the fine details of these stories to really appreciate this book. Book two is far superior to book one though because the stories are more insteresting.

I was laughing in the scene when Tevildo, a giant cat, is fooled into thinking that the hero of the story is a cat because he is wearing a cat skin.

Powiedzieć o Tolkienie, że „wielkim pisarzem był”, to jak nie powiedzieć nic. Bo choć w oficjalnym dorobku autora znajdziemy tylko kilka książek, to już dzięki żmudnej pracy jego syna i badaczy jego twórczości możemy w pełni wejść do niesamowitego uniwersum.
Drugi tom „Księgi zaginionych opowieści” zawiera teksty, których treść zna większość fanów twórczości mistrza, jednakże są one przedstawione inaczej niż w „Silmarilionie”. Są to wersje wczesne, nieoszlifowane, a wielu nazw nie spotkamy w późniejszym dziele. Christopher Tolkien uporządkował notatki ojca dając nam, czyli fanom Śródziemia opowieść o dawnych czasach, niesamowite legendarium, które w interesujący sposób łączy się z historią Wielkiej Brytanii. Bolączką mistrza zawsze było to, że Anglicy nie mogą pochwalić się mitologią czy legendami na miarę skandynawskich sag, zatem stworzył swoje legendarium, swoją historię. Dzięki szczegółowym komentarzom Christophera odkrywamy także, że Śródziemie, które znamy, powstawało przez całe życie mistrza, ulegało zmianom, było udoskonalane i dopracowywane w każdym najmniejszym szczególe, a liczne luźne notatki i naskrobane nawet na rachunkach pomysły dowodzą, że Tolkien zawsze był w Śródziemiu.
Tolkien nie tylko był pisarzem, ale i demiurgiem. Poetycki i dojrzały język opowieści przenosi czytelnika w stan rozmarzenia, jakby wraz z innymi siedział przy ognisku słuchając niesamowitych legend. Historia Śródziemia jest moim zdaniem niezwykle ważną serią, choć złożoną głównie z poskładanych notatek mistrza, pokazuje bowiem proces kreacji najsłynniejszego uniwersum fantasy znanego światu. Bardzo dziękuje wydawnictwu Zysk za możliwość zanurzenia się w klimatyczne opowieści o zaginionej już krainie, nie mogę się doczekać kolejnych tomów wydanych w ramach tej serii.

A nice introduction to all three great tales for those not familiar with them. But the highlight is certainly “The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales.” This is arguably where the early conceptions most drastically differed from the later ones, making this a particularly interesting stage of the mythology’s evolution.

The fact it has taken me 3 months to finish this book - and in between I’ve read or listened to 15 other ones - is indicative of how much of a struggle it was to get through it. Only the second time I’ve read it in 30 years, not sure I finished it the first time, and I won’t be reading it again.

Along with The Book of Lost Tales Pt I this gives more of the very first versions of the stories that would eventually become The Silmarillion. Written between 1916 and the mid 1920s the style was extremely archaic even for 100 years ago. There is no single story line - each section of the tales went through multiple versions, some just outlines, some more developed and adding new aspects, some developed even further but rejecting previous aspects and adding more new ones. There are seemingly endless notes on how things changed from one version to another which become increasingly confusing and are really quite boring to read, except as an academic exercise to try to track the development of JRR Tolkien’s original thinking.

JRRT was in love with language and the sound that words made. As a consequence no name is used without him having thought very hard about both its sound and its meaning as he developed two separate Elven languages. Almost every name goes through at least two or three changes and most characters have at least two different names. Again keeping track of all these changes is virtually impossible, and not much fun unless you too are fascinated by language development - I am not.

I remain a huge Tolkien fan and it is interesting to see how his original ideas for what became The Silmarillion first developed, but it is extremely hard work.

The next book in the History of Middle-earth series is The Lays of Beleriand in which two of the Great Tales from the First Age, The Children of Húrin and the Lay of Lothian are given in verse form (Tolkien’s favourite mode of writing). However I cannot take yet another version of the same stories so soon, let alone in poetic form.

I’m going to read Book 10, Morgoth’s Ring, next as at the 2024 Tolkien Society conference Verlyn Flieger described it as fundamentally changing how you read Tolkien - an amazing thought.

(Previously I was going to jump ahead to Book 6 in the series and read about the early versions of The Lord of the Rings. Hopefully it will be a much easier read as it only took 15 years to write, whereas The Silmarillion had at least a 57 year development history even before Christopher started work on it.)

I don't know that I have anything new to say about Part Two of The Book of Lost Tales that I didn't already say in my review of Part One. The insights and context that Cristopher Tolkien provides alongside these very early works of J.R.R. Tolkien are fascinating, and the book as a whole deepens my love and appreciation for everything that The Professor has created. I would certainly recommend that any devoted fans of Tolkien read these books, especially if they enjoy The Silmarillion, to see dig into the foundations of the entire mythology of Arda.

One thing I will make a note of, though, is the version of The Fall of Gondolin contained in this book. I hadn't read such a fleshed out version of this tale, and I was completely enthralled by it as I read it here. I would absolutely recommend reading The Book of Lost Tales just to read this version of The Fall of Gondolin, which I found to be gripping and exciting.

Among Tolkien’s principle ideas in the creation of his fantasy – and perhaps the one that was least successfully integrated in the final edition – is his use of a historical intermediary in the transporting of myth into history. His Eriol, or his Ælfwine , occurs regularly in manuscripts from the late teens into the 1950s; and occasionally after that. And in the latter phase of his career, Tolkien finds a way around Ælfwine – in the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings he includes a passage that implies it is the Red Book, via Bilbo, that contains the matter of the Elder Days. But in this late solution there is still no history of transmission – the means by which that Red Book found its way to the putative translator (Tolkien, or whoever else), and what its specific textual history might be. Tolkien has, in his vast drawers of unpublished works, several candidates who are likely in the writing and the transmission of these histories. Ælfwine is the Old English connexion, who is given (in various phases – in this volume initially) both a route into ‘faërie’ and then a route back, by which the texts could be conveyed. The transmission begins, typically, with Rúmil, the old lore-master of Valinor. Pengolodh is then the second, who is either a compiler of works or a latter-recorder of the Beleriandic materials. Various texts are mentioned in passing – particularly The Golden Book, in which is contained an untold wealth of ancient material. Within this transmission is an essential notion of change and warp. That Rúmil is selected, or selects, from the Golden Book; that Pengolodh provides these materials – with (or in) his own gloss – to Ælfwine; that Ælfwine translates this material from Quenya to Old English; and then that Tolkien (or the unnamed narrator-translator) then renders it into modern English. The materials provided by these authors is diverse, and becomes multiple textual traditions: we receive the Annals (and, if the ambition of the Grey Annals was fulfilled, multiple parallel annalistic traditions); then the Quenta histories; then the poetic narratives (discussed by me in the following review); then the linguistic writings. Later yet, Tolkien makes even more complex this already complex array, by introducing a (largely unfulfilled) bifurcation of his material. He suggests that the Quenta history conveyed in his Silmarillion in fact belongs to a Mannish tradition; that it is therefore a corruption (or interpretation) of Elvish myths filtered through a culturally distant lens that, therefore, introduces mythological matter in contradiction to the actual fact. Therefore implied is the counter, historical layer, in which the true cosmogony is conveyed, and from which we must assume the mythology to spring. Suddenly Tolkien has layered not only authors in a line of transmission, or various competing genres, but indeed two conceptions of literary ‘truth’, applied upon the yet-implied palimpsest of the invisible actual. In some degree this attempt was made so as to preserve, rather than overwrite, the dreams of a younger Tolkien: the two streams would allow Tolkien his cake and the eating of it. A ludicrous flat-world can exist beside a realistic round-world, the both contributing to a single mythos. If only he had more the energy, and perhaps some additional genius, with which to put this vision together. Perhaps the only distinct strand is in the introduction of yet another source of transmission: the Akallabêth, which he later attributes to Elendil. (Númenor, in general, seems a staging ground for multiple-perspective narration.) Even in the detail of The Lord of the Rings is this effort maintained: the notion that Westron is a language represented by English in the translation, which therefore necessitates (or makes logical) the translation of related languages into historical cousins of English – therefore the Rohirrim speak Old English, and the men of Dale speak Norse. (Neatly solving the problem of Norse adoptive names among the Dwarves.) It is a fascinating bluster of effort, expended (it would seem) to keep open the credibility of a tradition of translation and transmission even in the business of modern novel-writing (to which The Lord of the Rings awkwardly belongs). But then we are left with that unenviable gap. The texts arrive in the Red Book (and how one would shimmy a Mannish tradition into the libraries of Rivendell, I do not know), but there they remain. Tolkien has managed to write around Ælfwine, Rúmil, and Pengolodh – and provides some additional textual history for the Appendices, and things beyond sight of Hobbit-authors. But this early ambition – among the very first – to transport myth into history, and so into translation, is never achieved. Sail on, Ælfwine, sail on.