I was thinking of reading "The Silmarillion" this year, but instead I'm going to start going through The Lost Tales. I liked this first book and what Christopher Tolkien has done with providing some commentary about the history of the Tales as his father was formulating and starting the story 100 years ago now.

I believe that my favorite section in this book was the discussion about the trees lighting the day and night and how they were destroyed and eventually revived for a last, and greater, purpose to be for the light of a sun and moon.

Did I enjoy reading The Book of Lost Tales, Part One? Yes and no. I'll try my best to explain why. First, The Book of Lost Tales traces Tolkien's writings about Middle Earth from the very beginnings. Many of these stories and poems (yes, poems) date from around the first World War. Tolkien sets up a framework for his fantasy stories. A man, Eriol, stumbles across The Cottage of Lost Play, and, meets a bunch of storytellers essentially. Tolkien's mythology is at its earliest and in some ways its weakest. It was interesting to read these early pieces, in a way, to see the origins of what would become a great fantasy. And a handful of these stories can be seen--to a certain degree--in what would be published as The Silmarillion. I'll be honest though, I preferred the more-polished stories of The Silmarillion. One does learn that Tolkien kept working and working and working and working on some of these stories. That this mythology was always a work in progress. From the first version of the story to the latest version of the story, they'd be BIG changes. Other stories he edited or rewrote perhaps only two or three times, and then almost sort of forgot about. Some stories he never finished at all. I believe there is at least one unfinished story in The Book of Lost Tales. Since I've started reading the introduction to the Book of Lost Tales, Part Two, I might be slightly confused. But. Generally speaking, what readers are being "treated" to is fragments, captured moments of his early writings.

In addition to reading Tolkien's own work, one also is privileged to read Christopher Tolkien's commentaries on the stories included. At first I had my doubts that commentaries would be interesting. But I can say that without the commentaries, the stories themselves wouldn't make much cohesive sense. So I was quickly proven wrong!

But as interesting as I found it. (And I didn't mind the poetry, by the way) I can't say that I "loved" it or found it wonderful or thrilling. I'm undecided on if I'll continue on with Book of Lost Tales Part Two.

“Preparati ad ascoltare cose che tra gli uomini mai sono state udite prima, e di cui gli Elfi parlano di rado”

The degree to which you enjoy this book will depend on exactly how much you like Tolkien. Unlike The Silmarillion, this piece, as with the rest of the books in these series, is comprised of fragments of text cobbled together by JRR Tolkien's son Christopher, with Christopher's notes on the evolution of the material. It will give you insight into Tolkien's process of writing. And it will show you the various directions Tolkien was headed in whilst writing the Silmarillion. And yes, there is great story here, but it is incomplete, and it'll take hard work on your part to piece the parts together, even with Christopher Tolkien's guidance. If you're still interested, congratulations. You're a real, deep-down Tolkien fan. Ifr you aren't, no need to fret - but there's no need for you to buy this book either. I can't imagine not having a copy, though.

RE de Leon
Agoo, La Union, Philippines
10:51 PM January 5, 2010

What can I say? I freely admit that my two passes through the Silmarillion left me wanting for more.

I found the analysis fairly interesting, but must confess that I was constantly just hoping for longer passages of uninterrupted story. Changes in names and between races and major plot points were confusing, as was to be expected - but it seems as though how the story played itself out by the time it reached the Silmarillion was superior in almost all instances.

One critique would be that the book could really have used an expanded set of appendices. It seems like most of the notes at the end were more about pronunciation and the meaning of various place and person names, and not the more often immediate pressing question, which is: "Who is that, again?" Or, "Who is the L.O.T.R./Silmarillion counterpart?"

I've only read one other History of Middle-earth volume, although the set has been on my "to read" list for decades. I finally read The Book of Lost Tales part 1. It provides background on the tales that went on to become the Simarillion. I am not a fan of the Silmarillion; I agree with the person who said it's like reading a phone book written in Elvish. Although I was not bored by the background, I was not fascinated either. I'm one of those readers (obviously) who is happy to enjoy the brilliant Lord of the Rings without knowing any additional background about Middle-earth's history.

(Aside: I feel sorry for poor Christopher Tolkien, having to spend his life sifting through his father's notes to satisfy the fans!)

El único interés que se ve en este libro es el de encontrar diferencias entre la primera historia que Tolkien escribió y la revisada que aparece en el Silmarillion.

I don't envy Christopher Tolkien his position. He seems to be caught in an unfortunate catch 22 wherein every time he edits and releases works from the Tolkien estate, he catches endless ire of fans who believe he's an incompetent out for the money. Yet, were he to withhold Tolkien's unpublished work, he'd be a miser, a selfish child keeping the great man's work hidden out of spite.

I find his editorial voice to be able and competent, and appreciate the in depth and scholarly look into the very earliest evolution of the Silmarillion, the Elvish Tongue, and characters that eventually evolved into those I loved so deeply in my childhood. The phrase Kortirion-Among-The-Trees still evokes some perfect sense of undefinable longing in me.

Read this for its academic value, and to see the nuts and bolts of the Silmarillion coming together. It's not a unified or particularly riveting tale - it's a fascinating look into the process of the author and the reader will come away with a sense of the staggering amount of work that went into creating such an immortal work.

Barely worth reading, even if I did struggle through this and part 2. Too much Tolkien Jnr., who in my not so very humble opinion couldn't write himself out of a box, and not enough Tolkien Snr., who could.

I went no further in the books cobbled together by Tolkien Jnr. after volume 2 of The Book of Lost Tales. I never intend to do so. Save your money.

If you must read them either borrow them or steal them.

Not for casual Tolkien readers, this is more like a "making of" documentary, presenting previous drafts of stories eventually published in final versions in The Silmarillion.

There are some lovely gems of poetry previously unseen interspersed here, The Song of Aryador being one that is quite haunting, set in the time of darkness before the creation of the Sun and the Moon. An excerpt:
"In the mountains by the shore
In forgotten Aryador
There was dancing and was ringing;
There were shadow-people singing
Ancient songs of olden gods in Aryador."

Such beauties are few in these pages, and much is given of revisions and alternate versions, and many pages of encyclopedic definitions and commentaries by his son, so this is why I say this is only for the true die-hards seeking every single drop of Tolkien's words.

The tales herein are treats to the ear only of those who could sit and listen at Professor Tolkien's feet for days and years on end. As the subject character Eriol relates herein "...neither will Lindo ever lengthen the tale beyond my liking, whatsoever he tells, but behold this history is all to my heart."

I know that there is a somewhat popular opinion among die-hard Tolkien fans that any book that his son touched is automatically not a good book. After reading The Book of Lost Tales, as well as a few other books that Christopher edited, I find it hard to agree with this opinion.

I found these early works of Tolkien to be fascinating, and the commentary provided by his son to be both informative and enlightening. While The Book of Lost Tales is certainly on the drier side, I thought it was a wonderful look into the early writings that eventually developed into The Silmarillion. Seeing how the characters and ideas developed from their earliest notes into the full-fledged story of The Silmarillion was very interesting, and Christopher Tolkien's analysis and insights really helped to provide context to how any why these writings developed over the years.

I would say to anyone wary of reading anything touched by Christopher Tolkien to set aside your doubts and to give it a shot. It may not be "pure" J.R.R. Tolkien, but it's a wonderful look deeper into the origins of Middle-Earth and Tolkien's later works.

É magnífico, mas para fãs hardcore de Tolkien. Existem muitas camadas da mesma história. O foco é a evolução dos contos. Mas não deixa de ter muita coisa nova e linda que não chegou a entrar no Silmarillion publicado.