The Silmarillion

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even tho the paper don’t agree with me on this… it was self mutilation!!! She has no idea how “attached” The Silmarils, beautiful as they were, were the cause of all the drama in the book. Morgoth stole the jewels and placed them in his crown. They would dictate the fate of numerous heroes for thousands of years. 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. Of the Rings of Power and The Third Age (basically a summary of what happened in The Hobbit, LOTR and a bit before that) This edition also includes a foldout National Geographic-style map and a comprehensive glossary of characters, locations, and languages. Relevant family trees are also included.

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. A video discussing why you should read The Silmarillion. Many have said it better than myself, but I hope my passion for this collection of wonderful stories can be seen. Why You Should Read The Silmarillion The closing chapters also talks about Numenor and the rise and fall of the that great island nation and how this society led to the line of kings of whom Aragorn was one.When the Valar entered into Eä they were at first astounded and at a loss, for it was as if naught was yet made which they had seen in vision, and all was but on point to begin and yet unshaped, and it was dark. For the Great Music had been but the growth and flowering of thought in the Timeless Halls, and the Vision only a foreshowing; but now they had entered in at the beginning of Time, and the Valar perceived that the World had been but foreshadowed and foresung, and they must achieve it. So began their great labours in wastes unmeasured and unexplored, and in ages uncounted and forgotten, until in the Deeps of Time and in the midst of the vast halls of Eä there came to be that hour and that place where was made the habitation of the Children of Ilúvatar. Todo empieza con una canción, la de Ilúvatar, por medio de la cual se crea Eä (el universo) y, con ella Arda (la tierra). Y el resto de historias y cuentos se encadenan como notas de una larga y hermosa canción que se da durante siglos. La canción de como la Tierra Media se convirtió en el escenario de las aventuras de Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn y el resto de la Compañía del Anillo y demás personajes de ESDLA, punto al que termina por desembocar en su final. Y es más que eso. Es la canción de un mundo entero, y en ella tienen cabida todo tipo de notas y acordes. La lucha eterna de las fuerzas del bien contra el mal, de la luz contra la oscuridad; se alterna con historias sobre guerras y luchas, ambiciones, muerte, amores más fuertes que la muerte, amistades, perdidas, sagas familiares malditas, traiciones y heroísmo. Y todo esto tiene algo tanto de épico como de humano que logra conectar con el lector. Más allá de que las páginas de “El Silmarillion” estén pobladas de héroes, dioses, magos y elfos, hay en todos estos personajes y en sus vivencias algo profundamente reconocible y que forma parte de lo más hondo del bagaje humano y de su forma de ser. It is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.” Valaquenta (the bulk of the story, chronicling the rise of the Elves and then their fall from grace, the deeds of Melkor (or Morgoth), the greatest of the Valar that fell to darkness, also the master of Sauron (how awesome is that?!); and there’s also the coming of men and their part in the war that followed)

Ever they dwindled with the years, until their glory passed, leaving only green mounds in the grass. At length naught was left of them but a strange people wandering secretly in the wild, and other men knew not their homes nor the purpose of their journeys, and save in Imladris, in the house of Elrond, their ancestry was forgotten. If you're expecting something like The Hobbit (or even LotR), this will be a surprise - but an enriching one, I hope. It was cold. And deep. And dark. It took a while to feel my limbs. It took even longer to get my arms and legs moving, but I soon found I was OK: Still breathing and able to dog paddle. The book also includes several shorter works: the Ainulindale, a myth of the Creation, and the Valaquenta, in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor 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.Well, maybe I don't feel *THAT* bad. I mean, it is DAMN full of names and genealogies and it's probably a bit worse than having to slog through the Iliad for all that. You probably shouldn't read this before reading The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. I think it would be too confusing and just a bit too much as a starter to this world. Then the name of the forest was changed and Mirkwood it was called, for the nightshade lay deep there, and few dared to pass through, save only in the north where Thranduil's people still held the evil at bay. Come on! This is GREAT stuff. :) And we even get to the ending of the First age, the ending of the Second age, getting the full story of Sauron's corrupting the Kings of Men, inflaming their desire to be immortal just like the Elves and ending with the utter destruction of their kingdom, their island, their Atlantis. :)