About this title: Before there was Bilbo, Frodo, or Gandalf, there were the Elder Days, when the Dark Lord Morgoth's obsession with the magical gems called the Silmarils drove a wedge between the worlds of elves and men. THE SILMARILLION is essential reading for fans of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780345272553ISBN:0345272552
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Pages tanned and tight, text clean. Creases and wrinkles to a number of pages, no tears. Cover is shiny and clean with scratches, corner creases and edge wear with a small portion of one corner missing. Spine is creased... Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 472 p. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780345272553ISBN:0345272552
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Pages tanned, text clean and unmarked. Corner fold to one page, creases to several more. Cover is shiny with scratches, creases, edge wear and small taped tear. Spine is smooth and straight. Solid book, 458 pages. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 458 p. read more
Description: Very good. NICE BOOK! LIGHTLY AGED, NO SPINE CREASES & MILD EDGE WEAR ON COVER. "Description: Before there was Bilbo, Frodo, or Gandalf, there were the Elder Days, when the Dark Lord Morgoth's obsession with the magical gems called the Silmarils drove a wedge between the worlds of elves and men. THE SILMARILLION is essential reading for fans of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. " read more
Description: Very Good. 0345325818 Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; only minor imperfections keep this book from being graded NearFine or Fine. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780345272553ISBN:0345272552
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Cover is worn/torn, some pages creased, otherwise book is tight and in good condition. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780345325815ISBN:0345325818
Description: Good. No Jacket as Issued. Wear and creasing to the covers with mild page toning. Otherwise a clean, tight copy. Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet. read more
Edition: Reprint.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780345272553ISBN:0345272552
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Great copy. Pages tight, no marks inside. Very light wear to covers. Tiny dent to back cover. One bumped corner. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1982
ISBN-13:9780345306920ISBN:0345306929
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Has some edge wear, light creases in cover, great shape overall. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780345325815ISBN:0345325818
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Lightly read; small tear upper spine else Fine. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 480 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. 30/9 read more
"I was told that no-one ever makes it through this book on the first attempt. So I didn't feel too badly when I didn't. I went back to it several years later and read it straight through, taking my time to digest all the characters and the histories involved. It is a beautiful history of Middle-Earth, and the research and creating Tolkien did to make this masterpiece is truly amazing. He was a gifted creator of realms beyond ours. He made up a whole language (or several, in fact) to round out the worlds he made. This book sets up all that come after it, including the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Of course it is not necessary to have read the Silmarillion before attempting the others, but I highly recommend giving it a go. There are many stories connected, and the creation of the eventual Middle-Earth as we know it is detailed in the different Ages, beginning with the creation of Arda. Some of the characters later found in The Lord of the Rings are here: Galadriel, Celeborn, and Elrond. And, of course, detailed is the arrival of Sauron and the making of the Rings. It is an amazing work, one of my favourite Histories of all time. You cannot call yourself a fan without having the knowledge provided in this work of literary brilliance."
"I stumbled upon a hardcover first edition of this book at a church garage sale. What a find! It has original drawings on the front and back cover, drawn by J. R. R. Tolkien himself, as well as a fold-out map of Middle Earth and a smaller map of Beleriand. The back of the book includes incredibly helpful appendices of family lineage, a glossary of Elven words, and a pronunciation guide for the Elven language.
A friend of mine told me, while I was in the middle of reading this book, "Stop! It will take away the mystery from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy!" But I couldn't stop - it was too fascinating. There are many complicated layers of how Arda was created, how Middle Earth was formed, and how Beleriand came to be. I also had no idea how complex the relationships were between Iluvatar (Eru, the One), the Valar (his co-creators and stewards), the Elves, Dwarves, and Men. And, having read the LOTR, and seen the movies, when I think of how dark and powerful Sauron is, it is a little frightening to also think of how much more powerful Morgoth must have been, at least in Tolkien's imagination and telling of this tale.
I'm eager to now read The Hobbit and the Trilogy all over again, to see if, indeed, it has lost it's mystery... or, if it will now make even more sense knowing the long and deep history behind it all."
"While practically impenetrable from a readability standpoint, the scope and substance warrants full marks and then some. In order to fully follow the story you'd have to be some sort of name savant what with all the begats and such. Nevertheless, if you can accept that, and maybe keep a copy of the Compete Guide to Middle-Earth or the online Encyclopedia of Arda within reach, you'll find hours of enjoyment here.
Also I think sequence is important with Tolkien's work. I don't think Silmarillion should be read first since I don't think the work on its own establishes sufficient emotional buy-in to offset all the pain (those begats again).
Before I read it, I had read The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy and had seen all the films. And I was already a fan. At a friend's advice, also, I read the Silmarillion itself out of sequence. I started with the final chapters about Sauron and the One Ring. This is the material that underpins the opening sequence of Jackson's first film.
Those chapters put me in the spirit of the book: less like a novel-more like a history or even religious text. After that I jumped to the beginning and read it right through.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Tolkien's creation myth. I find it in all ways superior to the Abrahamic one most of us westerners are familiar with. It's much more interesting, coherent and beautiful."
"This is a foundational book for the Tolkien fan, young and old, to fully understand and comprehend the unlying history of how Middle Earth has evolved. It is not meant to be a theology book, but a myth which will show the reader that God is the all good creator, evil exists, and good conquers evil."
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