book data
1,449 ratings,
3.58
average rating, 37 reviews
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published
January 1st 1985
by HarperCollins
(first published 1983)
details
Paperback, 304 pages
characters
isbn
0048232815
(isbn13: 9780048232816)
description
The Book of Lost Tales stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor, for the Tales were the first form of the myths an…more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2,411)
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avg 3.58
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in August, 2009
Don't pick this up unless you were very bummed about finishing the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, and other greats -- and are craving more. So much that you're willing to essentially sit back in a college-level literary analysis course.
The stories are magical, and definitely "Tolkienesque", but at times it can be a tough read.
That's primarily because most of what Christopher Tolkien (J.R.R.'s son) used to put this -- not to mention the rest of ...more
The stories are magical, and definitely "Tolkienesque", but at times it can be a tough read.
That's primarily because most of what Christopher Tolkien (J.R.R.'s son) used to put this -- not to mention the rest of ...more
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Read in January, 1999
Barely worth reading, even if I did struggle through this and part 2. Too much Tolkien Jnr., who in my not so very humble opinion couldn't write himself out of a box, and not enough Tolkien Snr., who could.
I went no further in the books cobbled together by Tolkien Jnr. after volume 2 of The Book of Lost Tales. I never intend to do so. Save your money.
If you must read them either borrow them or steal them.
I went no further in the books cobbled together by Tolkien Jnr. after volume 2 of The Book of Lost Tales. I never intend to do so. Save your money.
If you must read them either borrow them or steal them.
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Serious Tolkien fans only
It's really impossible to rate this book. If you are a hardcore Tolkien fan, I think you'll love it. If you thought The Silmarillion was a difficult read, you'll probably want to skip this one.
Basically, this book is a printing of Tolkein's early drafts of tales that eventually came to comprise the Silmarillion, along with his son Christopher's commentary. Much of this material was ultimately rejected in the final versions, and there were some major changes to much of the material.
...more
Basically, this book is a printing of Tolkein's early drafts of tales that eventually came to comprise the Silmarillion, along with his son Christopher's commentary. Much of this material was ultimately rejected in the final versions, and there were some major changes to much of the material.
...more
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More of a scholarly read than a strictly fictional one. This is a heavily-annotated earlier version of what eventually became the Silmarillion. The interest is mostly in seeing how the work developed, though there are a few places where this early draft is much more thorough than the later notes Christopher Tolkien built the published Silmarillion from. His father had still been working on the book at the time of his death; some parts were just brief accounts of the plot, a framework to be built...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Huge Middle Earth Fans
Fun and interesting if you're into Middle Earth enough to dedicate the time to it, but it is dry and literary, not fun and story-like as the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings were. Fascinating stuff if you can make it through it.
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I'm still reading this book. In some ways, I like it much better than the 3 star rating would indicate. Still, the book has a lot of 1st draft qualities, and feels artificial, especially compared with LOTR, and even the Silmarillion.
What makes it fascinating is to see the textual variants, and the way that Tolkien was constructing his languages and names even as he wrote his books.
It's work keeping track of the names, some change between the Lost Tales and the Silmarillio...more
What makes it fascinating is to see the textual variants, and the way that Tolkien was constructing his languages and names even as he wrote his books.
It's work keeping track of the names, some change between the Lost Tales and the Silmarillio...more
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recommends it for:
Tolkein Fans
All of the supplemental books to the LoTR give interesting back story to the world Tolkein created. The individual parts in the book are interesting to greater or lesser degrees.
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Read in February, 2009
Well, I ain’t gonna lie to ya; this is a really tough book to read. As I read the reviews of this book that have already been posted I feel a bit like a broken record but, this book is really just for very die-hard Tolkien fans. It’s not easy to follow sometimes and Christopher Tolkien’s commentary is definitely not light reading. However, if you are big fan of Tolkien it does give a great amount of insight into the evolution of the Middle-earth mythology. I think it’s pretty cool to...more
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This is some of Tolkien's driest material. I love the stories, but they were obviously not ready for publication when Tolkien died in 1973. This is only for those who enjoyed The Silmarillion.
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Read in January, 1999
More histories from Professor T. Best to read the Silmarillion first. If you like that then this will be a nice treat for you. If you didn't don't bother.
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Read in August, 2008
The stories in this book were great, but the way the book presented the stories was just too "difficult" for me to read. I enjoy free flowing stories, but there was just too many interruptions during the stories that it caused me to lose my focus on numerous occassions. The synopsis parts were helpful, but all the other add ins to explain things should have been placed in the back of the book. My friend bought me the first five volumes of this series and I'm afraid they will all be ...more
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Good look into the history of Middle Earth. Would be more enjoyable as a book without commentary from Christopher Tolkien.
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Read in December, 1984
recommends it for:
really dedicated silmarillion fans and people who loved unfinished tales
Although this is the first book in the sweeping and dense History of Middle-Earth series, it does not contain either the earliest written or the most exciting material from the very early Book of Lost Tales material, begun during the Great War of 1914-18, while JRRT was still in uniform. That material (including some incredibly detailed material about the falls of Gondolin and Doriath that Tolkien never really updated or rewrote) is to be found in vol. 2. This material (in vol. 1) is more cosm...more
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"The Book of Lost Tales, Part One (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien (1992)"
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This is the first of a 12-book series written by JRR Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien. After his father died, his son collected and studied both his father's published and unpublished works, and decided to organize them into a readable collection, complete with explanations and footnotes. For anyone who loved the Lord of the Rings and hungers for more; also for anyone who is curious about how Tolkien developed his imagined world in the first place.
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A little hard to read, but fascinating. The next time through is bound to be better.
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recommends it for:
Tolkien fanatics
Phenomenal portrait of the creation of a mythos. Brilliant even if daunting. Tolkien's mind was extraordinary.
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I read this book before I was familiar with Tolkien's writing style. So it was a little difficult for me to get through. If I read it again now after having read The Lord of the Rings trilogy I would be fine and probably find it interesting.
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