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The Silmarillion

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The Silmarillion

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Martin Shaw
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About this listen

The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion tells the earlier history of Middle-earth, recounting the events of the First and Second Ages, and introducing some of the key characters, such as Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil and the Dark Lord, Sauron.

The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.

Included in the book are several shorter works. The Ainulindale is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor 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.

©1977 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)1977 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Feel-Good

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Critic reviews

"How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?" ( The Guardian)
"Demanding to be compared with English mythologies...at times rises to the greatness of true myth." ( Financial Times)
"A creation of singular beauty...magnificent in its best moments." ( Washington Post)
"A grim, tragic, brooding and beautiful book, shot through with heroism and hope... its power is almost that of mysticism." ( Toronto Globe & Mail)

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fantastic listen, only issue is that in one of the (luckily) more boring chapters, the title replays about 20 times

awesome

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Deteriorating eyesight has led me recently to Audible. I find I am "driven" to have a book not only by content but by narrator. Both are perfect in this reading.
This is one book by Tolkien I haven't read in book format. I mentioned to my son-in-law that I had The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings on Audible and he suggested that I also get this, as it helped to truly understand the other books. I am so glad he did. All those nooks and crannies filled in with knowledge and understanding.
As with all of Tolkien's works, there is great depth. But this gives a background knowledge and sets the scene. I wouldn't be without it now.
Highly recommended.

Excellent

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Some previous reviews mentioned issues with audio but they seem to be fixed as I had no such issues.

Well narrated. I won't dwell on the fact it is long, complicated and arguably a little dull as that is well known so 'priced in' to people's expectations.

audio issues seem to be fixed

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Tolkien's mythos of Middle Earth brought to life by an amazing sustained performance by Martin Shaw, who bestows upon the text dignity and gravitas. He brings alive the exposition-heavy prose, which nonetheless possesses an exquisite grace - an elevated register that ennobles and edifies, once one becomes accustomed to it --the ultimate backstory of truly cosmic proportions, which many have tried to emulate but none have outshone in beauty, breadth, depth, and linguistic sophistication. Maybe only for true elf-friends, but for those who want to draw nourishment from these deep springs, the effort is rewarded.

A true epic

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For me this is the best of Tolkien's work. this is also a brilliant performance

my favourite Tolkien work

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I just made a mess in my trousers. A beautiful collection of tales. A MUST LISTEN 👂

wowzerz

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For those of you out there that love Tolkien the Silmarillion provides the detailed history and background that sets Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit into context. As this is a compilation produced after Tolkien death it does not always flow as a single book, or in the same detail as the other two, but don't let that put you off. The book represents many years of Tolkien's work and justifiably sits alongside his other works. In converting this to audio, competently narrated by Shaw, the one weakness I would highlight is that the book does rely in some places on maps to gain full benefit from the story. Consequently I would still recommend the written word as best way to enjoy it. However, for those already familiar with the work this is an excellent way to enjoy the Silmarillion during those long walks etc.

Wonderful story for Tolkien fans

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to travel through this tome of lore is both wonderful and wearisome, and were it not for the marvellous and steadfast narration of Martin Shaw, I would have certainly struggled.

But at last I have heard the tales of The Silmarillion!

the Lore of the Middle-Earth

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My advice because it's essential for any Tolkien fan is read a story do something else do next story
Beren and luthien is essential reading and the wizardry at then end and coverage of hobbit need more but glad it's done for this decade

Long but essential for any Tolkien fan

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A bit of a slog at times but overall still great to delve deeper into the world and lore of what came before LOTR. If anything it shows the scale of what Tolkien created and its pretty mind blowing.

Backstory and Lore for LOTR fans

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