Only for serious Tolkein junkies. Written in a style that rivals the minutes of the Second Lateran Council for turgid prose, it does a remarkably dull job of telling the back story to The Lord of the Rings.

As a kid, I was hoping for a Tolkien fix once I'd read everything else, but zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Brilliant book. It's not an easy read, and it's one of those works that may require several readings before you start to get it. Incredibly sad, very complicated, ( those who describe Tolkien's work as simple are fools) and beautiful atmospherically. The depth of his imagination is amazing.

Tolkien could not have created a better story. It deserves to be in the personal library of every reader. If you liked The Lord of The Rings or The Hobbit, and still want more of the wondrous world of Middle-earth, then you must add this to your collection. Without this story, youll never fully understand the world of Middle-earth. You can read it once, then twice, then again, and each time you'll find something new, a new way to look at it and each time youll come closer to knowing the literary genius of J.R.R. Tolkien. This book is not just a story about one person, but its an entire history of Middle-earth, from its creation, to the coming of the elves, to the fall of Morgoth. It takes you through thousands of years, thousands of lifetimes, from the beginning to the end, this is a story that will last longer than life, as it took a lifetime to prefect and compose. It teaches the history of Tolkiens fantasy world in a way that it sounds as if it came directly out of an ancient scroll or books that was written as it happened. It tells the infamous events that were not explained in The Lord of The Rings, such as the creation of orcs, the coming of man, creation of the Silmarils and the defeat of Morgoth.

The Silmarillion is a wonderful companion to fill in all the prehistory and gaps for the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. As other comments have noted, the genesis of the book were the unfinished notes and works of J.R.R. Tolkien which were compiled and finished by his son Christopher. While the Lord Of The Rings was a true, self contained story, The Silmarillion is more a collection of interrelated short stories which means less character development and several inconsistencies. Nevertheless, the stories concentrate on the origins of Middle Earth, the history of the elves, and how this fictional world was affected by the famed jewels called the Silmarils. The elves are revealed as much more flawed and human than they are portrayed in the trilogy.

It was to hard to follow

Ok, so it did tell the history of Middle Earth, but it was one of the most boring books that was ever written. Tolkien just didn't plan this one out right. It took me a week just to get past the first chapter, mostly because I kept falling asleep while reading it. Don't get me wrong, you can learn a lot from J. R. R. Tolkien if you study him, but the Silmarillion wasn't written for laughs or adventure, it was written for the history. Most people are into the Lord of the Rings for their sense of Adventure, not the history behind Tolkien's created land.

Far too wordy. Has inspiring moments approaching the Lord of the Rings trilogy but much of it is not at the standard expected of Tolkein.

rubbish

i myself have never read it but anything from JRR Tolkien is great

I actually quite like reading and I am definitely not afraid of reading the more 'difficult' books. E.g. love Anne Rice books which generally take a long time to begin. Beautiful as the story may be I think it is not really written in a way which gives the reader an easy feeling. Otherwise would have said: EXCELLENT!

A very heavy read, but a must for a true Tolkien fan...I read it along with 'J.R.R. Tolkein, author of the century'...it explained much of Tolkein's word derivation etc...

Slow, boring, repetitive, slow, repetitive, repetitive, boring.

I agree with wonderful stories, but I miss the elements of his novels, such as characters and development that make you care about them. This is an engaging read, but in the same sense as a well written textbook.

I don't agree with Arya -- there's nothing tedious or boring about The Silmarillion. It's interesting to read more about Middle Earth and the history of the Elves. If you liked The Hobbit better than Lord of the Rings, you probably wouldn't like Silmarillion.

Okay, I finally forced myself to keep reading past the introduction of everything. And after referring to the index many many times so that I could distinguish meanings of words like Arda, Aman and Ea, I finally got to the meat of the story and it is indeed as entertaining as his other works. In fact it flows quite a bit faster than LOTR - a book I might not have been able to get into had I not read the Hobbit. Though it's funny, you'd think Elves in LOTR like Elrond would be less judgemental of Men, considering the history of Elves with the likes of Feanor. But I must admit, these books are so engaging that I'm compelled to daydream up characters for myself.

This one isn't for everyone. If you want your reading to be easy and undemanding, instant gratification, don't even try. This is a history text, beautifully written and full of amazing stories, the foundation of Middle Earth. I imagine it may have been closer to Tolkien's heart than his other books -- in it, he uncovers the depth, the richness of the histories of the Ages. If you're willing to invest a little effort, this is an absolute gem.

A must read book for everyone. J.R.R. TOLKIEN is the greatest author. This is an amazing story.

A WONDERFUL BOOK, ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER.

Tedious, with very little plot or character development.