Middle-Earth lit question

[Ineti]

Since the LOTR boards aren't ready yet...

I've read Fellowship of the Ring, and am halfway through The Two Towers. I'm liking TTT a lot more than FOTR--it seems to move much faster than FOTR.

My question--I've heard a little about the Silmarillion and the many books Christopher Tolkien edited (the History of Middle-Earth?). My question, are any of these good reads? Are they dense history, or more fiction, or a mix?

I tend to get obsessive about things I like, and LOTR isn't an exception. I'd like to learn more about the history of ME, but am not sure where to start beyond the main LOTR book.

Advice?

[Greg Davis]

Ok, I'll take a stab at this one.

If you're interested in the history and foundation of Middle-earth, then I'd definately suggest the Silmarillion. It covers the epic period between the actual creation of Middle-earth by Illuvatar (or Eru) through the end of the First Age, as well as highlights from the Second Age, as well as a nice summary of events from the Third Age, with all the major happenings and battles that take place. It's not exactly heavy reading, in my opinion, but the language is a bit complex at times (in my opinion). If I were to compare it to anything 'real world' I'd have to go with my first thought when I read it in Elementary school, "This is like a Bible for Middle-earth!"

Still, all in all, a good, interesting read.

As for the supplemental texts (Histories of Middle-earth and the rest), I think that they're interesting, but certainly not necessary. I have all the volumes (as well as The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, and Unfinished Tales) and have never actually sat down to read them, but they're good for reference sake, or for clarification of information.

Other good Middle-earth related books would be, in my opinion: The Atlas of Middle-earth, by Karen Wynn Fonstad, A Tolkien Bestiary, by David Day, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, by Robert Foster and The Tolkien Companion, by J.E.A. Tyler. That's the list of stuff that I have, and I've never found myself lacking in available Middle-earth information (for discussions, research and whatnot).

Hope that helps!


Greg

[Ineti]

Precisely what I was looking for, Greg, thanks! The Simarillion is the first on my list.

[Greg Davis]

Glad to help, Ineti! I'm always willing to help a budding Tolkien fanatic!



Greg

[Sarge]

Ineti, you read The Hobbit, right?

Greg's opinion is about the same as mine; The Silmarillion does read a lot like The Bible. When you run a LotR RPG, you'll definitely want the Atlas. Foster's Complete Guide is a very handy quick reference work.

If you really enjoy The Silmarillion, I'd also recommend The Lays of Beleriand. Tolkien expanded two of my favorite chapters from The Silmarillion and turned them into epic poems. Unfortunately, he never finished them, but they still add a lot of detail to the stories of Beren and Turin.

[Liquidator Queeg]

I'm terrible with names, so whenever I read the Silmarilion, I always keep Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth in hand as well. The Silmarillion has lots and lots of names for places and people, many times over. And then in several languages at that!

As far as the Histories go, I've only read about half of the Shaping of Middle-earth. If you are a fan, it's worth checking out, but in all honesty I found it incredibly boring and not very interesting. The others may be better, but I haven't checked them out.

By contrast, I found Unfinished Tales to be a great read, despite the fact that it's written in a similar format to the Histories: Parts of J.R.R's writing mixed with Christopher's commentary and references.

The Tolkien Bestiary by Day is a must have (lots o' pictures too!) and the Complete Guide to Middle-earth by Foster is a must have, IMHO. I don't know about the Atlas or the Companion, as I don't own those ones.

And, of course, the Hobbit. Well, it just rocks on toast. We even get to find out how Bullroarer Took invented golf.

Steve

[Ineti]

I read most of the Hobbit ages ago. I need to find my old copy and reread it.

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I'm sure I'll post ME questions as they come up. Nice to know there's an enthusiastic Tolkien fan base here to tap into.

[Chris Landmark]

I'll weigh in on this one as well, since I've read practically all the History of Middle Earth series, etc. and can give an assessment of what's contained in them.

First off, let me second the previous responses and encourage you to have a go at the Silmarillion. This gives you the "prehistory" of the creation of Arda (the world in which Middle Earth exists, in case you didn't know) and about as much of the history of the First and Second ages as you are ever going to find. There's some good stuff in there, stuff that is only hinted at in the Lord of the Rings. The tale of Beren and Luthien. The tale of the Children of Hurin. Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin. Earendil the mariner. It's a bit dense and archaic in language. It reads more like myths or La Morte De Arthur than a modern novel (like LotR), but if you can get over the different feel, there's plenty of good stuff in there.

Unfinished Tales also contains some good stuff, in the form of uncompleted manuscripts for Tuor's arrival in Gondolin, and the Narn i hin Hurin, and a story based in Numenor. There's some useful Third Age stuff in there (like the battles at the Fords of Isen, where Theodread died) and some stuff on the Palantiri and the Istari. If you can manage the Silmarillion and you still want more, go for this book.

The History of Middle Earth series is a different beast entirely. It's more the History of How Tolkien Wrote About Middle Earth. It can be very interesting to read how the stories grew and evolved as he changed and revised him, and there are uncompleted bits of stories which appear in the Silmarillion in lesser detail, along with information and insight into how the world of Middle Earth "works" (marrage customs of the elves? it's in there. Where the orcs came from? that too, in many different versions as JRR tried to reconcile their natures and origins). It can be a worthwhile read, but unless you really have an interest in how the stories about Middle Earth were developed, you'll probably have to wade through lots of commentary that would be of little interest.

I'm glad that the movies have motivated you to pick up an excellent and timeless book. Read on, my friend.

-Chris Landmark

[Ineti]

I love Le Morte d'Arthur! Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the Silmarillion.

When I got home tonight, I dug through my boxes of books intended for storage and found both the Atlas of Middle Earth and the Tolkien illustrated Encyclopedia (by David Day). I don't know where they came from, since I don't remember buying them. I flipped through the Encyclopedia--looks like a lot of info in there. Can anyone attest to the quality or lack thereof of the book?

Gotta see if I can find a copy of the bestiary. That sounds interesting.

Most interesting thing I read in the encyclopedia so far...Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and Tom Bombadil are all Maiar. I didn't pick that up in FOTR.

[RaconteurX]

Originally posted by Ineti
Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and Tom Bombadil are all Maiar. I didn't pick that up in FOTR.

That's because Lord of the Rings does not mention their divine origins... this was first revealed in Silmarillion.

[Ramage]

The whole "Origin of the Wizards" is dealt with in a (very brief) chapter ("The Istari) in "The Unfinished Tales". The amount of extra information on them (and their exact origins) is limited and its quality is, at best, fuzzy. OTOH, they do appear to have a divine origin.

Tom Bombadil is not part of the Usual Suspects. Of course his origins are as a rag doll loved by Christopher and sibs...

And if nothing else, everyone should read the tale of Beren & Luthien in The Silmarillion -- it is as beautiful and magical as anything Tolkien ever wrote!

Then again, there are always "The Father Christmas Letters" and "Farmer Giles of Ham" if you want to get away from Middle Earth for a while

[Sarge]

Balrogs are Maiar too.

I had totally forgotten about Unfinished Tales. I enjoyed it years ago, but I haven't seen my copy in some time. Better dig it out and reread it.

I'll second what Ramage said about Beren and Luthien. Have you read the Lays of Beleriand, Ramage? Ineti, if you find yourself getting bogged down in The Silmarillion, just skip ahead to the chapter Beren and Luthien. There will be some references and background that are unclear, but that story can still stand on its own as a classic heroic fairy tale. And that can motivate you to read the rest of the book and appreciate all the references you missed the first time you read it, much as reading The Silmarillion helps you appreciate all the references you missed the first time you read LotR.

[Perrryyy]

I tried reading it once and gave up. But I think the Bible analogy is spot on. Just a very difficult read, but if you've got time to devote to it, knock yourself out!

[Ramage]

Originally posted by Sarge
Have you read the Lays of Beleriand, Ramage? Ineti, if you find yourself getting bogged down in The Silmarillion, just skip ahead to the chapter Beren and Luthien. There will be some references and background that are unclear, but that story can still stand on its own as a classic heroic fairy tale. And that can motivate you to read the rest of the book and appreciate all the references you missed the first time you read it, much as reading The Silmarillion helps you appreciate all the references you missed the first time you read LotR.

Yeah, got The Lays of Beleriand -- another good version. Most of the later books, however, are more the sort of thing that are the underpinnings of a dissertation in EngLit than real literature -- Gandalf escapes from Isengard, Ver. 2b; Creation of the Ring, Revision on 9/15/47, etc.

Overall, though, I just love Beren & Luthien

Think we could convince Mr. Jackson to do another film?

[Chris Landmark]

Originally posted by Ineti
Can anyone attest to the quality or lack thereof of the book?

Most interesting thing I read in the encyclopedia so far...Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and Tom Bombadil are all Maiar. I didn't pick that up in FOTR.

Well, I haven't read the Encyclopedia so I can't comment on its accuracy. I would just caution you about sourcebooks written by other people about Tolkien's universe; some are more accurate than others. This may be due to mixing in pet theories with Tolkien "fact", or may just be due to their being written before Christopher Tolkien published additional material which contradicts the author's assumptions.

Case in point: Tom Bombadil. While Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast are all Maiar (that's the origin of the Istari which is explained better in some of the later-published material, notably Unfinished Tales), Tom Bombadil just is. There is no explanation, and I'm sure that's what Tolkien intended. Tom is a deliberate enigma. While people everywhere love to speculate on what he is (one theory is that he is Eru Iluvitar, of all things...) and the most widely held theory is that both he and Goldberry are Maiar, this is all mere conjecture.

So beware of taking other author's guesses as "fact." They may be perfectly good guesses, and the most appropriate guesses based on the available information, but don't get caught assuming they're information Tolkien ever wrote down.

-Chris Landmark