The Silmarillion is a collection of tales encompassing the entire history of Middle Earth, from the creation of the world to the end of the Lord of the Rings saga. (However, this last bit is in the form of a three-minute epilogue.)Tolkein can be a master storyteller. When I was in high school, I read The Hobbit at a quicker pace than any other book of that size, though I admit that I never read any of his other works before Silmarillion.
As a bit of explanation, the book is named after the Silmarils, which are three jewels of near-infinite value, beauty, and power. Much of the book revolves around their loss and attempts to regain them.
Unfortunately, the good bits are far-between. The book does contain a history of the dark lords Morgoth and Sauron, all the various lines of elves, and all kinds of neat things like that. But it also has boring genealogies and brief mentions of minor characters who appear once and are forgotten. And, there are all kinds of descriptions of geography, and lots of stuff only a fanboy could love.
It's a shame because, as I said, there are good bits. But I don't remember being so happy to get through a work. And yes, this includes the Faulkner. If you're the kind of person that likes to dress up as a Hobbit and go to fan conventions, this book is for you (but you've probably already read it). Otherwise, stay away. One star.
1 comment:
@I'm with you - I hated the 20 pages that I read of this book.
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