As a 15 year old silmarillion was actually the book i learnt english with, i loved how grandiose yet authentic some of the stories felt, and it certainly amplified my appreciation of lotr for a while. And are there books with chapters that consistently score above 5,000 words. Tolkiens death, his son christopher completed and published his fathers most ambitious and sprawling book. Nov 21, 2017 time and again, anytime the lord of the rings or the hobbit are discussed with peter jackson or one of his production partners, the question would be asked. Tolkien worked on it, changed it, and enlarged it throughout his entire life. Tolkien deliberately used an old fashioned style, so the book would read like an ancient arthurian romance. While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Several jacket creases at top edge of front panel with one jagged but closed tear 1. Adapted from tolkiens amazing words, the first chapter of the silmarillion spans the mythological creation of middleearth and its gods. It is in these lands that the stories of the hobbit and lord of the rings take place.
Id go round explaining, like, ooh, gandalfs a nickname, real names olorin and hes a maia, which is a type of god, did you know. The hobbit veers between childish asides and grandiose battles. The silmarillion by tolkien, first edition abebooks. Is the silmarillion actually a good book or is it one of. Feb 03, 2011 the tales of the silmarillion are set in an age when morgoth, the first dark lord, dwelt in middleearth, and the high elves made war upon him for the recovery of the silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of valinor. Tolkien, is a work in five parts that serves as a mythological creation story and history of the middle earth, the fictional universe created by tolkien that served as. The tales of the silmarillion are set in an age when morgoth, the first dark lord, dwelt in middleearth, and the high elves made war upon him for the. How many pages do the lord of the rings books have altogether.
It is the ancient drama to which the characters in the lord of the rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as elrond and galadriel took part. Oct 26, 2018 the short answer is defining it with word length 7,500 to 17,000 words, generally speaking but this doesnt really give a good idea of what it is about. A remarkable tale of legend and myth, this is tolkiens retelling of the creation of the world and the happenings of the first age, the drama to which the lord of the rings characters look back. See how your word count stacks up against these popular best sellers. Pages in category characters in the silmarillion the following 200 pages are in this category, out of 215 total. For the uninitiated, the silmarillion is a history book of tolkiens middleearth, the land in which the hobbit and the lord of the rings take place as well as many other works by tolkien, most of them unfinished.
Tolkiens the silmarillion delves into the history of middle earth, and the world of arda as a whole. A standalone, book length version of the story was published on 30 august 2018. The silmarillion is actually tolkiens first book and also his last. Dec 04, 2014 see how your word count stacks up against these popular best sellers. The silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of feanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from valinor and return to middleearth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great enemy. The best way to experience tolkiens work is to read them as they came out. I have attempted to read the silmarillion before but it was far to dry for my tastes and i would often get lost among all the similar sounding names and the difference between lotr and this in writing style was far to jarring.
The silmarillion is a book written by j r tolkien who is an. Little is known about the proposed the lord of the rings tv series, but as more info comes out theres a distinct possibility it may be the longawaited adaptation of the silmarillion. But its safe to say that 1,5005,000 is the normal range for most books. The short answer is defining it with word length 7,500 to 17,000 words, generally speaking but this doesnt really give a good idea of what it is about. The fall of gondolin is one of three stories from the first age of middleearth to be published as a standalone book. For example, the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde is 16,740 words but is considered a novella. Sentiment analysis, character mentions and much more of silmarillion, the hobbit and the lord of the.
Tolkiens imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before the hobbit. The silmarillion, a posthumous publication from christopher tolkien in 1977, combines several myths, or five separate parts, written by j. First, the books readability throughout its epic length helps novice readers to. It is interesting to those who already love tolkiens world and want to know more about it. Along the way, the valar and the children of iluvatar battle evil in the form of melkor in order to survive and maintain good in ea. If youre asking this because youre wondering how long it is, i would tell you that if you worry about its length, youll never get through it. Cs lewis the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe 38,421 prince caspian 46,290 the voyage of the dawn treader 53,960 chuck palaniuk choke 70,562 fight club 53,267 rant 75,223 invisible monsters 60,930 lullaby 64,737 philip k. Tolkien describing his intentions for the book, which serves as a. A day will come at last when i shall take the hidden paths that run west of the moon, east of the sun. The work that illustrates the cores of tolkiens fantasy world, it is the last and posthumously published the silmarillion that he considered his most important work. Its written in a very different style from his more famous works and i think a lot of people are put off by that. Tolkiens other works, forms an extensive, though incomplete, narrative. Tolkiens the fall of gondolin is one of the stories in the book of lost tales which formed the basis for a section in his later work, the silmarillion.
Nov 09, 2017 it is a hard book for a casual reader to get into. Tolkiens other works, forms an extensive, though incomplete, narrative that describes the universe of ea in which are found. The silmarillion, now published four years after the death of its author, is an account of the elder days, or the first age of the world. Tolkien the silamarillion multiple times in the past and always unsuccessfully and had basically given up, but i finally did manage to realise that i was attempting to read it the wrong way. The reader who submitted this question has spent time and money collecting the best possible editions he can find of the lord of the rings but is not certain if any effort should be made to collect a specific edition or printing of the silmarillion to be honest, i dont know if anyone has cataloged errors of in. The book is a collection of narratives which talks about the universe of ea in which different lands exist. Tolkien never scoped the silmarillion to a single book length or even trilogy length story, and and left a legacy of a jumbled mess of versions of what happened before the hobbit. It is absolutely useless as a point of entry into that world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in the lord of the rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as elrond and. Tolkien which was recently published in the last decade, i wanted to prepare myself by reading the silmarillion where tolkien first introduces the tale of hurin. Time the story of the creation of the world and of the first age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in the lord of the rings.
Tolkien made up the story of the hobbit for his children. Tolkien, edited and published posthumously by his son, christopher tolkien, in 1977, with assistance from guy gavriel kay. Feb 15, 2012 the silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of feanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from valinor and return to middleearth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great enemy. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it. These boundaries are approximate, as there is no generally agreed definition of a novella other than that it is of intermediate length. From there, tolkien describes the valar, the maiar, and the fall of morgoth before he moves onto the history of numenor, the two trees, the silmarils, and melkor morgoths war for the silmarils. This is why both the silmarillion and the return of the king may appear shorter than expected. Rayner unwin, the little boy who had enthusiastically endorsed the hobbit, was now a young man working with the family firm, and he wrote to his father that the book was.
Tolkien, it is the story of the creation of the world and of the first age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in the lord of the rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as elrond and galadriel, took part. The books encompasses middleearth in the third age and is the highlight of all of tolkiens works. Oct 18, 2017 find the perfect editor for your book. But its a special book and the stories in it are worth learning to read the style. Aug 01, 20 the silmarillion is a collection of mythopoeic works by english writer j. Sep 19, 2018 a day will come at last when i shall take the hidden paths that run west of the moon, east of the sun. Designed to take fans of the hobbit and the lord of the rings deeper into the myths and legends of middleearth the silmarillion is an account of the elder days, of the first age of tolkiens world. Told here with loving care and reverence in 54 full color pages. It shows us the ancient history to which characters in the lord of the rings look back, talk, rhyme and sing about.
Since just comparing the number of unique words in a book does not take its length into account i. Tolkien as a writer for young adults the tolkien society. Movie length in adapted franchises jamie aug 7th 20 9. It contains a lot of background for the people and places in the lord of the rings tolkien deliberately created a history that works. Tolkiens the silmarillion tells the story of the first and second ages of middleearth, beginning with iluvatars creation of ea, the world that is. He created the ainur or the holy ones from his thought. A remarkable tale of legend and myth, this is tolkiens retelling of the creation of the world and the happenings of the first age, the drama to which the lordof the rings characters look back. Books with much shorter sections become bestsellers all the time. The stories take place in a time preceding the hobbit and the lord of the rings of middleearth. The hobbit and the lord of the rings are widely beloved classics. Dec 20, 2017 the silmarillion, a posthumous publication from christopher tolkien in 1977, combines several myths, or five separate parts, written by j. In the lord of the rings were narrated the great events at the end of the third age.
Silmarillion papers, not included in the book called the silmarillion, dating. I was trying to read the silmarillion like i have read and with pleasure reread lotr, as a story, an epic story, of course, but still first and foremost as a story. The lord of the rings trilogy presents 1,000 pages of. A numberone new york times bestseller when it was originally published, the silmarillion is the core of j. Should i read the silmarillion before or after reading the lord of the. And he certainly went to great length creating the languages of the different peoples of. How many lord of the rings related books were written by j. To simplify things, i divided the total word count for the hobbit 95. Is the lord of the rings tv series the silmarillion. Time and again, anytime the lord of the rings or the hobbit are discussed with peter jackson or one of his. This is somewhat tricky, because there are a lot of characters in the silmarillion, which essentially tells the entire. The work was finished by the son of tolkien after tolkien initially started it. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. The great tales at the heart of the mythic cycle beren and luthien, turin turambar, and the fall of gondolin do not begin until around page 150 pagination is usually pretty standard across editions.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this. Ea, the world that is, is created, and the valar prepare the way for the children of iluvatar. May 25, 2010 pages in category characters in the silmarillion the following 200 pages are in this category, out of 215 total. The silmarillion is a collection of mythopoeic works by english writer j. Oct 15, 2011 tolkien deliberately used an old fashioned style, so the book would read like an ancient arthurian romance. Apr 28, 2020 the silmarillion, along with other collections of tolkiens works, such as unfinished tales, the adventures of tom bombadil, and the road goes ever on, form a comprehensive, yet incomplete narrative that describes the universe within which the hobbit and the lord of the rings take place. Fairy tales in the silmarillion novella banannabelle. Although the silmarillion can be a long and difficult book to follow, it is also a perfect way to round out the middle earth books. Tolkien, edited and published posthumously by his son, christopher tolkien, in 1977 with assistance from guy gavriel kay. I remember two decades ago or more, hard to remember now i read the lord of the rings and the hobbit and loved them all.
Any debut novel over 100,000 words risks rejection from agents and publishers. With the length of a novel to work with, tolkien is able to draw the. Is the silmarillion actually a good book or is it one of those things that only big tolkien fantasy fans like. Tolkien includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 28 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Winner of the 1978 ditmar prize for best international long fiction, the 1978 gandalf prize for book length fantasy, and the 1978 locus poll award for best fantasy novel. Pages in category characters in the silmarillion the following 21 pages are in this category, out of 21 total. Handling and agerelated wear to page block edges, but normal for a book this age. Tolkien the silmarillion is a collection of mythopoeic works by english writer j. The silmarillion is an account of the elder days, of the first age of tolkiens world. This second edition features a letter written by j. In origin it precedes even the hobbit, and is the story of the first age of tolkiens middle earth.
Is there a definitive edition or printing of the silmarillion. Thats what theyve told us for some fifteen odd years now. Worlds greatest novellas a novella is a fictional prose narrative, as a rule of thumb more than 20,000 but fewer than 50,000 words in length. Over 300,000 authors trust the professionals on reedsy, come meet them. How to read the silmarillion and why observation deck. Jul 04, 2018 the silmarillion is a book written by j r tolkien who is an.
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