The Silmarillion

This book is a fascinating and rewarding read for anyone interested in deep world building and mythology. The writing style is rich and detailed, drawing the reader into an ancient and immersive universe. While it requires patience and focus, the depth of history and storytelling makes it worth the effort. Each chapter adds layers to the larger narrative, making the world feel alive and timeless. It is not a fast paced read but it is extremely fulfilling for readers who enjoy lore and epic tales. Overall, this book is a masterpiece that adds great value to the larger legendarium.

This is such a beautiful book with gorgeous art. This is really something you should own as a Tolkien fan!

A treasure for every fan of Tolkien

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The "Tolkien illustrated editions" are editions that incorporate J.R.R. Tolkien's own illustrations and drawings. If what you're looking for is a big, fancy book with professionally-painted illustrations throughout, then what you're looking for is probably the 2004 hardcover edition with illustrations by Ted Nasmith, a fantastic edition on its own merits. However, this edition will probably be of more interest to those hardcore Tolkien enthusiasts who are more interested in J.R.R. Tolkien's creative process than they are in having illustrations for the sake of having illustrations... so, your mileage may vary on that. As to the quality of this hardcover edition, it's fantastic. Aesthetically pleasing as a tome on one's shelf, and particularly nice-looking when set beside the matching Tolkien Illustrated "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit," this edition is both a fantastic collector's book and a fantastic way to READ the book. And as a bonus, it comes with two printed color maps of the Beleriand region of Middle-earth: one that is more fully colored and the other which is a simple "parchment brown." This is a step up from the maps included with the similar edition of The Lord of the Rings, which while they incorporate red text are otherwise merely black-and-white. The maps are still small-size print-outs on otherwise ordinary paper, however, so treat them with care. It should be stated that "The Silmarillion" is not a book to dive into lightly and is best approached by one who has already developed a strong interest in Middle-earth's history through "The Lord of the Rings," or else by a fantasy-literature veteran with a number of relatively dense novels under their belt. While not especially long, it is not written or structured as a traditional fantasy novel would be, but rather as a mythological history—reading "The Silmarillion" is a bit like reading translations of old mythology, or like reading the Bible (except for the long portions of the Bible dedicated to laying down religious law, of course). Rather than telling just one ongoing narrative as "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" do, it lays out the history of Arda, Tolkien's world, from creation up to and including the background lore for the events before and (somewhat) during The Lord of the Rings, with different parts of the book being more or less detailed than others—many portions of the story being told in a distant historical/mythological mode rather than the scene-by-scene, in-the-character's-head mode novels favor. It is best to view "The Silmarillion" as Tolkien intended it to be viewed, as his narrative-framing conceit for all of his Middle-earth writings characterized them: as translated and assembled documents of the long-past history of Middle-earth itself. Indeed, because of the way "The Silmarillion" was posthumously assembled and edited together by Tolkien's son Christopher from the disparate parts and pieces of evolving, unfinished work he left behind, that characterization bears a kind of incidental authenticity in the structure and styles within the book itself. If "The Lord of the Rings" is a classic trailblazer of fantasy literature, then "The Silmarillion" is the gateway that separates Lord of the Rings fans from "Tolkien scholars..." those dedicated fans of Middle-earth who enjoy delving into all of the writings Tolkien left behind to glean as much as they can about his world beyond what is merely included in the main three books.