Reviews

Der Fall von Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien

daniel_nunes's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

abey's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

calliope421109's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous informative slow-paced

3.0

italorebelo's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced

1.5

venusaspirant's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. 4.5/5 stars! Proper RTC soon!

bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

More a 3.5-star.

The same old Tolkien trope of "the fall" plays out, again, in this still enchanting and rich piece of literature. Fortunately, Tuor is a much more likable protagonist than Turin from The Children of Hurin, far less tarnished by pride, lack of consideration for others, and the insufferable deficiencies in foresight that plague Tuor's bombastic cousin.

The most rewarding piece of this compilation by Tolkien's son Christopher are the tales at the end of the book surrounding Earendil, Idril, Elrond, and Elros. Readers get to experience some of the rare moments of heroic ascension found within Tolkien's legendarium.

Next up: the Fall of Numenor. I Look forward to spending time in the more neglected second age of Arda.

ketreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous informative

4.5

To preface this review:
I have read both Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, but not any of Tolkien's other unfinished works. It was only after I started reading this that I quickly learnt this was the last book in the series edited and published by his son, Christopher Tolkien.

This book did a fantastic job of putting together not only the original tale told within the Silmarillion, expanding upon it and explaining it's differences, but also gave an insight into Tolkien's methodology as a whole. I knew Christopher (J.R.R. Tolkien's son and editor for these books) had been left with a multitude of notes by J.R.R. but never quite the extent or potentially paradoxical notations. Regardless of this, Christopher did a fantastic job of taking us through these multitude of notes regarding the Fall of Gondolin and it's surrounding cast. I'm left not only with a greater understand of the story, but also a greater appreciation of Tolkien and his life work that is Middle Earth. 

I am 1000% going to read the other books once I get my hands on them!

ayamawa's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous

4.0

roxyc's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced

4.0

kalkn's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This was the toughest of all the Middle-Earth books for me to get into. It’s sad to think this was my last journey, for the first time, into Middle-Earth. All returns trip will be just that, a return to somewhere familiar. I was happy to have one last journey there via Gondolin.