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The Silmarillion

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The Silmarillion

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Martin Shaw
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Summary

The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion tells the earlier history of Middle-earth, recounting the events of the First and Second Ages, and introducing some of the key characters, such as Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil and the Dark Lord, Sauron.

The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.

Included in the book are several shorter works. The Ainulindale is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings.

©1977 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)1977 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Dark Fantasy Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Military Feel-Good Mythology
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Critic reviews

"How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?" ( The Guardian)
"Demanding to be compared with English mythologies...at times rises to the greatness of true myth." ( Financial Times)
"A creation of singular beauty...magnificent in its best moments." ( Washington Post)
"A grim, tragic, brooding and beautiful book, shot through with heroism and hope... its power is almost that of mysticism." ( Toronto Globe & Mail)

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... Is the best casting decision I've seen on Audible to date. Can't praise the narration enough. As a kid reading it and ever since, the inflection and cadance I had in my mind is served up wonderfully by Martin Shaw. Two thumbs up.

Martin Shaw

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Great mythic tales on a grand scale from the master of ancient storytelling.
LOTR is but a an episode to the scale of The Silmarillion.

Epic Stuff

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Not for those who liked Lord of the rings, but for those who are obsessed by it. This book gives a new perspective of middle earth and the history of that world. Would recommend listening to the audio book while referring to a map to ease the visualisation of Tolkiens gteatest story.

Depth to middle earth

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A brilliant look into the lore of Tolkien's Legendarium, read by an outstanding narrator, Martin Shaw.

Fantastic!

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Well narrated great for learning some of middle earths lore and characters. would definitely recommend!

really enjoyed

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