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emily_bg's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
english_lady03's review against another edition
5.0
The last of three compilations of the "matter of the Elder days" which Christopher Tolkien compiled and edited from his father's remaining writings. There is everything here. Every single surviving version of the tale of the Fall of Gondolin, a great and sacred Elven city, to Morgoth, the fallen Ainur, and its aftermath.
The characters feature some of the most important, pivital and fascinating figures from Tolkien's legendarium. Glorfindel, the Elf warrior who engaged in single combat with a Balrog. Did I mention the Battle for Gondolin, known as the Battloe of Thousand Tears, involved Morgoth raising an army of dozens of Balrogs and Dragons? Yeah, not just one...
There's also Irdil, only the second Elf known to have married a human (before Aragorn and Arwen making it three), the mother of Earendil and the grandmother of Elrond. As in the Elrond. Oh and her son was also the patriarch of the men of Numenor, and almost got his own story had Tolkien managed to write a comprehensive one for him.
Earendil's tale is fascinating for its real life inspiration, in that the name may have come from an Old English poem about Christ, as well as his role in the history of Middle Earth.
His mother Idril was an elf maid who "fought like a tigress" in the fall of Gondolin to protect her child from the traitorous Elf Maeglin.
Yeah, there are so many great stories here, and some of the best examples of Tolkien's prose. What is also fascinating is a letter at the end which reveals that Tolkien himself considered the Lord of the Rings as a sequel to The Silmarillion, not The Hobbit. He also lamented, though, how the English public of his time didn't have much of a taste for his tales (what was wrong with them?. Honestly, makes me ashamed to be English).
Well, now we do Professor. This is an essential addition to the shelves of any Tolkien lover.
The characters feature some of the most important, pivital and fascinating figures from Tolkien's legendarium. Glorfindel, the Elf warrior who engaged in single combat with a Balrog. Did I mention the Battle for Gondolin, known as the Battloe of Thousand Tears, involved Morgoth raising an army of dozens of Balrogs and Dragons? Yeah, not just one...
There's also Irdil, only the second Elf known to have married a human (before Aragorn and Arwen making it three), the mother of Earendil and the grandmother of Elrond. As in the Elrond. Oh and her son was also the patriarch of the men of Numenor, and almost got his own story had Tolkien managed to write a comprehensive one for him.
Earendil's tale is fascinating for its real life inspiration, in that the name may have come from an Old English poem about Christ, as well as his role in the history of Middle Earth.
His mother Idril was an elf maid who "fought like a tigress" in the fall of Gondolin to protect her child from the traitorous Elf Maeglin.
Yeah, there are so many great stories here, and some of the best examples of Tolkien's prose. What is also fascinating is a letter at the end which reveals that Tolkien himself considered the Lord of the Rings as a sequel to The Silmarillion, not The Hobbit. He also lamented, though, how the English public of his time didn't have much of a taste for his tales (what was wrong with them?. Honestly, makes me ashamed to be English).
Well, now we do Professor. This is an essential addition to the shelves of any Tolkien lover.
tyrochemist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
nonesensed's review against another edition
3.0
I have many friends who love Tolkien's work, so I tend to try get more familiar with the worldbuilding of Middle-Earth. Reading this 'lost tale' was interesting in some ways, but oh dear, Tolkien sure could write about a looooot of environmental details and utterly skim past any kind of personality or inter-personal relationships. So yeah, not recommending this unless you're interested in the history of the world of Lord of the Rings.
queerofthedagger's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Out of those books published posthumously (notwithstanding The Fall of Númenor because I haven't read that one yet, and the Histories of course), this has by far the least cohesive, on-going narrative. There are several versions and none of them truly finished. That said, Christopher Tolkien once again did an amazing job at contextualizing the different versions, and I feel if you're still here at this point, you know what you're in for.
Story-wise, this might be my favourite one out of the three main pillars (Children of Húrin/Beren and Lúthien/Fall of Gondolin), although I find it hard to compare them. It feels the most connected to the over-arching story of the Silmarillion and the First Age though - then again, I might be biased because the House of Fingolfin and Feanor are my little guys, and this touches their stories the most, so you know.
Story-wise, this might be my favourite one out of the three main pillars (Children of Húrin/Beren and Lúthien/Fall of Gondolin), although I find it hard to compare them. It feels the most connected to the over-arching story of the Silmarillion and the First Age though - then again, I might be biased because the House of Fingolfin and Feanor are my little guys, and this touches their stories the most, so you know.
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
saumith's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0