The Silmarillion

Tolkien once said that he wanted to create a genuine mythology for England, and he spent almost his whole life writing and re-writing it. 'The Silmarillion' was beautifully and painstakingly put together from these writings by his son Christopher and is a rich, moving and unique work. Covering thousands of years of the history of Middle-earth, it starts with a wondrous creation myth (the...more

Tolkien once said that he wanted to create a genuine mythology for England, and he spent almost his whole life writing and re-writing it. 'The Silmarillion' was beautifully and painstakingly put together from these writings by his son Christopher and is a rich, moving and unique work. Covering thousands of years of the history of Middle-earth, it starts with a wondrous creation myth (the universe created through music, no less!), and progresses to moving heroic tales and the epic downfall of the kingdom of Numenor. More archaic in style than 'The Lord of the Rings', but worthy to stand beside it and indeed it enriched my experience of the more famous book. The often snobbish literary world still hasn't caught up with Tolkien, but millions of book-lovers have, and they appreciate that his life's achievement is great and truly unique.   hide