Although The Silmarillion takes place in the same imaginary world as J.J.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and was originally published four years after the author's death and over two decades after the former book, it is set much earlier, in the First Age of the World. The tales and the book which reads as a fusion between a story collection and historical chronicle, are a matter of legend even to the characters of The Lord of the Rings:

In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is named Ilúvatar, made the Ainur of his thought; and they made a great Music before him

Tolkien wrote the heart of this material very early in his career, and continued to work on it throughout his life. It fell to his son, Christopher Tolkien, to edit it into book form, and such proved the unquenchable public appetite that he subsequently oversaw 12 volumes of The History of Middle-Earth. This edition features 20 highly evocative colour plates by Ted Nasmith, themselves worth the price of admission, while reinforcing the sense of a historical work are genealogical tables, an extensive index, appendix and colour map. Far removed from the genial style of The Hobbit, this is Tolkien at his most formal, his prose austere, poetically beautiful, his storytelling capturing the epic scale, high drama and melancholy wonder of myth. These stories of elves and heroes and old gods are quite literally the foundation of the entire modern fantasy-publishing revival, and are therefore essential reading. --Gary S. Dalkin

JRR Tolkien is best known for The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings but those who thought these two wonderful adventures marked the height of his imagination have many more delights to come. The Silmarillion represents the source of Tolkien's later work and follows the events of the First Age of Middle Earth. For information, The Lord Of The Rings concerns the end of the Third Age.

The Silmarillion is a gloriously realised story of rebellion, exile, war and the heroism of elves and men. But to gain an insight into the staggering complexity of Tolkien's world, however, the shorter works also included are must-reads. Dealing with the myth of creation, the nature of the Gods, the fall of Númenor and the Rings of Power, they paint a vivid picture not only of Middle Earth but also of the author's soaring imagination.

Tolkien was born of English parents in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 and died in England in 1973. He worked on The Silmarillion from as early as 1917 but the work was not published until after his death. This edition, richly illustrated by Ted Nasmith, is both collector's item and source of reference and fascination for every follower of Tolkien. --James Barclay

2008-10-03 Imagineering History

First things first, before you consider purchasing this book, it is of paramount importance that you are aware of the following. For the avoidance of doubt, this isn't really a literary novel in the way that LOTR is; you won't find the finely-hewn descriptions of the landscape or the close focus on characterisation. As others have indicated, its written in the archaic style of historical middle english legends or even that of a religious text i.e. lots of "...and lo, it came to pass", "...thus X begat Y, Y begat Z" etc, etc.

If that prospect doesn't appeal to you, even if you consider yourself a Tolkien fan - frankly, DO NOT buy this book! If on the other hand you can deal with the peculiarities of the narrative - perhaps you have an interest in myths and legends or want to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the concepts that underpin the LOTR universe - by all means dive in. You will be richly rewarded with a story of even greater scope and imagination than LOTR.

Essentially, The Silmarillion is to LOTR what the ancient greek myths are to the Illiad or The Odyssey, in that the events portrayed in LOTR are but the latest episode in a continuum of fictional history that stretches back eons. Where LOTR mainly concerns the Hobbits and Men, Silmarillion concentrates mainly on the Elves and goes someway to explain the lack of their presence in LOTR and the estrangement between them and the leaders of Men.

In these days of "universe building" stories ("Star Wars", "Star Trek" et al), its hard to appreciate the scale and majesty of what Tolkien achieved on his own (to the extent that even he couldn't fully complete it within his lifetime - his son Christopher had to finish it off). In addition, the fact that most of the detail in the book is only sketched out, provides ample opportunity for others to flesh out the stories as Christopher has done with "The Children of Hurin" - its a wonder that more authors haven't taken the opportunity (perhaps they are restricted by the Tolkien Estate).

As with all stories in this format, it does have a tendency to take itself rather seriously - there is very little in the way of humour or light relief. Also, due to the sheer density of myth, the number of characters involved and the similarity of names (e.g. Fingon, Fingolfin, Finwe, Finarfin, feanor etc.) its quite easy to get confused. Thankfully, like LOTR, there is a map and a number of explanatory appendices you can refer to if you get lost.

In conclusion, its unlikely that this will appeal to the casual reader. It requires real effort to get through, but the imaginative return is more than sufficient. I have recently re-read this book for the umpteenth time and still haven't tired of it - I find I get something new from it on each read. In addition, it aids your understanding of LOTR itself by filling in the gaps of knowledge (ever wondered who "Beren and Luthien" are?)

Of all the material published by the Tolkien estate (including all the "history of middle earth" series), it is the one book, other than LOTR itself, I'd label "Essential Reading".