Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth in J.R.R. Tolkien

May 08, 2009 Kevis Hendrickson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

J.R.R. Tolkien's Unfinished Tales is a terrific book for diehard Tolkien fans, in particular, fans of The Lord of the Rings who have not yet read The Silmarillion. Ever wondered what were the exact events that caused Isildur to lose the One Ring? Or the origins of Wizards? Or what Middle-Earth was like during its First Age? Unfinished Tales helps to shed light on the complex creation of Middle-Earth and the many tales and legends that relate the events in its long and largely tumultuous history. ...more

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Feb 17, 2014 Rossrn Nunamaker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, middle-earth

I had wanted to read History of Middle Earth (HoME), and re-reading the published version of each became a pre-requisite to refresh my memory. So I read The Silmarillion and then decided before HoME, I'd read The Unfinished Tales. I last read this book roughly 20 years ago so re-reading it was essentially a new experience.

While HoME is definitely for the dedicated and hardcore fan of Tolkien, Unfinished Tales is a bit different. I felt like Christopher Tolkien's commentary was more along the lin I had wanted to read History of Middle Earth (HoME), and re-reading the published version of each became a pre-requisite to refresh my memory. So I read The Silmarillion and then decided before HoME, I'd read The Unfinished Tales. I last read this book roughly 20 years ago so re-reading it was essentially a new experience.

While HoME is definitely for the dedicated and hardcore fan of Tolkien, Unfinished Tales is a bit different. I felt like Christopher Tolkien's commentary was more along the lines of a historian providing commentary on events based on other source material rather than a literary exploration that I find HoME to be.

As a result, a person who is a fan of The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) that wants to learn more about the events that took place and the history behind those events, can pick up Unfinished Tales and learn something more.

So I decided for this review to indicate which sections are more for the readers who fall into the fan of LOTR vs. HoME. This book is of no interest to anyone who isn't at least a fan of LOTR;-)

The First Age probably won't provide much immediately relevant new information to the LOTR fan, but I would hope they would love the tragic story of Turin (my favorite of all of Tolkien's works).

The first sections of the Second Age also may not be of interest, but certainly The History of Galadriel and Celeborn should be.

Part Three is focused on the Third Age, the time of LOTR and The Hobbit. The Quest of Erebor and the Hunt for the Ring are probably most informative to the LOTR fan, while the other sections probably more enjoyed by HoME fan.

The fourth Part has an intriguing story of the Druedain, but it is probably more for HoME fans than LOTR fans as it is great story-telling, but not highly related to the events of LOTR.

The book finishes with an essay and information on the Istari and the Palantiri. Both play significant roles in LOTR and provide a wonderful extension to what we learn in LOTR.

All in all, the information contained in Unfinished Tales and its presentation is fantastic and I'd recommend this to any person who read LOTR and at the end wanted to know more. ...more

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Mar 20, 2009 James rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I'll start out by saying that I found the style of writing in The Silmarillion hard going at points. When I started reading Unfinished Tales I though that this was going to be another hard slog. I was pleasantly surprised.

The first section of the book is hard going but when you get further in the style changes to that more like you find in The Lord of the Rings. I found the essays about the Palantiri and the Istari excellent. The story about the Battle of the Fords of Isen is a must read. As a ...more

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