The Silmarillion: by J. R. R. Tolkien (Author, Illustrator)

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The book also includes several shorter works: the Ainulindalë, a myth of the Creation, and the Valaquenta, in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabêth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings. I had read The Hobbit twice before and the Lord of the Rings once (and a half). As I've stated, I dipped my toes in The Silmarillion, but never let myself dive in. This time, in the interest of reading something other than required reading, I jumped in with both feet.

The detail is so rich and its history so compelling that it so easily comes alive for me. If you want to know more about Middle Earth, the info is there. You just have to find the book that tells it. If you're looking for more beyond The Lord of the Rings, this is that book. The Lord of the Rings shows Tolkien setting the scene for the quest to destroy the One Ring; The Silmarillion shows us how we got to this point and the history and origins of things. We find out things like who Sauron really is and how he became so evil (it even shows us that he wasn’t always a bad guy). In The Lord of the Rings we find out how Orcs came about, but in The Silmarillion we look into this in more detail. We even see the birth of Balrogs and Dragons. Ever wondered what or where the kindom of Númenor? This book tells us all about it.

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The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun Silmarillion tells the tale of the making of the world by Eru, the God of Middle-Earth and all that followed through the first two ages of creation, up until the events described in The Hobbit and LOTR. Christopher Tolkien did a great job of connecting his father’s writings on the subject, so we have a nice and chronological story. But it is not a novel exactly, for it covers countless years.

I will probably do it that way, just as I like to read my sci-fi and fantasy extra, outsourced exposition explanations about characters, chronological timelines, maps, fandom, etc., to get the flow better started. We meet Tolkien's most powerful villain. No, not Sauron. Morgoth (also called Melkor). The most powerful Ainur/Valar. We learn more about Valinor (Valinor is where Frodo and Bilbo depart at the end of the Lord of the Rings). Valinor is the home of the Valar (Ainur). We learn about the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor by Morgoth and Ungoliant. And thus it came to pass that the Silmarils found their long homes: one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires of the heart of the world, and one in the deep waters. For the first time ever, a very special edition of the forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout in colour by J.R.R. Tolkien himself and with the complete text. Tolkien tells the story of the beginning of Middle Earth and has provided us with a very cool mythology for his creation. We learn about the Valar, the Maiar (of whom Gandolf and Suaron are both members) the tribes of the elves and the fall of the great cities of the Elves in Middle Earth.Tolkien devised the history, mythology, culture, and languages (he was an early conlanger) of the many races of Middle Earth in intricate detail, and he was a devout Catholic. There is often a sense of the sacred and profane (“ The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light.”), but there’s not even passing mention of temples, priests, prayers, rituals, sacraments, or holy texts. The elves come closest, but even so, I find it odd that there are no invocations in the darkest times - on the eve of battle or beside the dying - or thanksgiving at the happiest.