Book Review - The Silmarillion

Greetings, book lovers! Are you on the search for a good book to read—and by good book, I mean a really good book? Willing to take on a challenge and read a masterpiece of fiction written by one of the greatest authors of all time? If so, The Silmarillion is the book for you.

I recently read through this book and it is truly an incredible work. Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, this book is sort of a backstory to these more well-known stories. It is comprised of five parts: the Ainulindalë, the Valaquenta, the Quenta Silmarillion, the Akallabêth, and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.

The Silmarillion is, in short, a history book. It is set in Eä, the world that is, which contains the major continents of Aman (containing Valinor), Arda (containing Middle-earth), and later Númenór. There are other lands, mostly uncharted, but they are of lesser importance to this history.

The first part, the Ainulindalë, recounts the creation of Eä by Eru Ilúvatar through the music of the Ainur, angelic beings created by the thought of Ilúvatar. Their music was made visible and became the world that is, Eä. This section, as well as the next, are much shorter compared to the Quenta Silmarillion, which is, according to Tolkien himself, the “Silmarillion proper.”

At its beginning the Valaquenta is somewhat redundant of the Ainulindalë as it tells again of the creation of Eä, but with different detail. This, however, is not the focal point of the Valaquenta; it is more a recap to help the reader grasp the setting of the Valaquenta. This tale tells how fifteen of the Ainur descended into Eä, becoming the Valar, the Holy Ones of Arda, and how one of their members became corrupted, later becoming Morgoth, the greatest enemy of the world. While the Lords of the Valar (Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos, Lórien, and Tulkas) and Valier, Queens of the Valar, (Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estë, Vairë, Vána, and Nessa), shaped Arda and Middle-earth, they also contended heavily with Morgoth, who coveted the lands of Middle-earth for his own. And no, you will not have to keep all these names straight, but you will do well to recognize Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Varda, and Yavanna (that seems like a lot more than it was supposed to—don't worry, the story makes it easier than it seems). This part also touches on who the Maiar are and who and what Morgoth’s many servants are, particularly the Balrogs and Sauron.

The Quenta Silmarillion is the major portion of this book and takes the longest to read. Spanning the whole first age, the Quenta Silmarillion takes us from the time when the only inhabitants of Eä are the Valar and Maiar, as well as Morgoth and his servants to shortly before the founding of Númenór. It tells of the coming of Elves and Men, of the creation of Dwarves, and of many important events in the histories of these races.

This part can be a little slow going at first, and readers may struggle through the first few chapters as I did. Still it is quite fascinating. After Fëanor and the creation of the Silmarils, however, the story is packed with action and becomes very hard to put down.

There is far too much information in the Quenta Silmarillion for me to even touch on it all (nor would I if I could, for I am encouraging you to read the book, not listen to me tell you everything that happens), but there are a few main stories besides Fëanor and the creation of the Silmarils. The story of Beren and Lúthien immediately comes to mind, and is undoubtedly the most famous of the stories in The Silmarillion, especially as part of their story is sung by Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring. Their story, told here, is also told in full in the Lay of Leithian, which, though I have not read it yet, I intend to do so soon. Other stories in the Quenta Silmarillion are the stories of the sons of Fëanor and the Doom of Mandos, of Thingol and Melian and the guarded kingdom of Doriath, of Elwing and Eärendil, of Túrin Turambar and Níniel, and many, many others. But the thread that ties all these stories together is that of the three Silmarils.

Following the Quenta Silmarillion is the Akallabêth, or the Downfall of Númenór, which tells of the second age. It tells how the Valar formed the Isles of Númenór as a home for the Edain, the men who were friends of the Elves and descended from Elros the son of Elwing. It tells of the rise and fall of the Númenóreans; how gradually they were swayed by the cunning of Sauron and eventually all but the Faithful— those who still remained loyal to the friendship of the Elves— were lost in the destruction of Númenór and returned to Middle-earth under the leadership of Elendil, the father of Isildur.

The third age is covered in Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age. Like the Akallabêth before it, this part of The Silmarillion is shorter in length than the Quenta Silmarillion but is more directly connected with The Lord of the Rings. It tells how Sauron forged the many Rings of power, giving seven to Dwarves and nine to Man, and how he forged the One Ring in secret to rule them all. The Three Rings of the Elves, however, his hand never touched and they were not corrupted. Those who wielded them were still able to wield them in secret after the forging of the One Ring. This part also tells of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and how Isildur cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron. This section also first mentions the Istari, the wizards, especially Mithrandir and Curunír, known to men as Gandalf and Saruman.

This book was an amazing read for me. I loved finding out the history of Middle-earth leading up to the stories of The Lord of the Rings and seeing how it connected. The only cons to it (if they can even be called that) are the amount of time and commitment to finish the book and comprehend the material. (It took about two months for me, but it varies with each reader). It reads more like a history textbook than the narrative of The Lord of the Rings, with little dialogue between the characters and even less insight into their thoughts. It is more of a summary of their actions, with key moments reading more like a story than the rest. This can only be expected, however, as the book was written to tell the history of Middle-earth, and would take much longer to read if it were written in story form. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone willing to commit to reading it!

- Auriel