From the Bookshelf of J.R.R. Tolkien…

The Silmarillion

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

Start date: January 1, 2015

Finish date: March 31, 2015

Discussion: Group Reads

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Group Reads

* Group Read September 2021-January 2022 (No Spoilers)
By Michael · 21 posts · 118 views

last updated Jan 31, 2022 11:38AM

Group Read January-March 2015: The Silmarillion
By deleted member · 5 posts · 127 views

last updated Apr 18, 2023 01:00PM

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What Members Thought

Dec 20, 2008 Manny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: if-research-were-romance, science-fiction, linguistics-and-philosophy, transcendent-experiences

How To Build A Truly Convincing Fantasy World

1. It's all about the language. Make sure your world's language is convincing, and you're pretty much there. Conversely, if your language sucks then everything else will.

2. Your book can't include more than a few sentences in your invented language without losing your audience. But it can include plenty of names. So what people will really judge you on is the quality of the names.

3. In fact, a world with only one language is implausible. You should ha ...more

177 likes · Like · see review

May 05, 2010 Ebster Davis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My little sister just started reading this and was telling me about it. I was surprised with how much I remembered from this book!

We talked about the characters at the beginning of the book: the Valar and Maiar, what each one's personality is like. I still remember Feanor was my favorite elf (even though most people don't like him). And the first (heartbreaking!) friendship between an elf and a human and how awesome Tinuviel was!

Tolkien didn't just write stories, he created legends. It may be l ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2009 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: tolkien, fantasy, reviewed

It's hard to know where to start with this review. Fans of Tolkien probably already know that The Silmarillion was Tolkien's life work and that the more famous and iconic Lord of the Rings is only a short tale within the confines of The Silmarillion. It's probably also worth posting a disclaimer: if you love LOTR, you won't necessarily love The Silmarillion. It's a big, complex book that is hard to read and digest.

This is the second time I've read The Silmarillion, the first time was when I was ...more

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