Mr.United_Nations Posted October 10, 2012 #1 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Evening guys and girls, as you can see I have started a collection on JRR Tolkien books and along with his son Christopher. I have just started reading the History of Middle Earth Volumes The book of lost tales Volume 1 which i have just started to read. I have read the the Similarion, The children of Hurin, The Hobbit and started to read the Two Towers. As you can see there is still alot of reading to do. Also I need volumes 9, 10 and 11 but I wont be getting volume 3 as it has poems which i dont really like. I don't have much time now but later I will do a review on The Similarion. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ever Learning Posted October 10, 2012 #2 Share Posted October 10, 2012 that collection looks good, i really need to finish all of those. simarilion was meant to be harder to read i heard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Voodoo Posted October 10, 2012 #3 Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) To me best ever book written by Tolkien was Hobbit following by Roverandom. Tolkien fell in my eyes after I discover that he didnt invented material but borrow it. There is now better fantasy writers then Tolkien. Also one fantasy book that I will never forget is Wizards fisrt rule. I recommand it for anyone who like fantasy. Edited October 10, 2012 by the L 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted October 10, 2012 #4 Share Posted October 10, 2012 To me best ever book written by Tolkien was Hobbit following by Roverandom. Tolkien fell in my eyes after I discover that he didnt invented material but borrow it. There is now better fantasy writers then Tolkien. Also one fantasy book that I will never forget is Wizards fisrt rule. I recommand it for anyone who like fantasy. It could be argued (and has) that there are better fantasy writers now because of Tolkien... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OverSword Posted October 10, 2012 #5 Share Posted October 10, 2012 It could be argued (and has) that there are better fantasy writers now because of Tolkien... Tolkien pretty much invented the genre as far as I know. I agree with the L about wizards first rule, but the second book in that series, the stone of truth I'm having trouble getting through. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin11 Posted October 10, 2012 #6 Share Posted October 10, 2012 To me best ever book written by Tolkien was Hobbit following by Roverandom. Tolkien fell in my eyes after I discover that he didnt invented material but borrow it. There is now better fantasy writers then Tolkien. Also one fantasy book that I will never forget is Wizards fisrt rule. I recommand it for anyone who like fantasy. Wizards First Rule is a good book but every book after it in the series goes down hill fast. Each one worst then the one before it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin11 Posted October 10, 2012 #7 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Tolkien pretty much invented the genre as far as I know. I agree with the L about wizards first rule, but the second book in that series, the stone of truth I'm having trouble getting through. I've heard, and agree with, that: "Tolkien invented Fantasy, but Robert Jordan perfected it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithisco Posted October 10, 2012 #8 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Reading the "Silmarillion" just left me cold. It had none of the wonder and awe of Hobbitt and Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was evident where Tolkien's son had written the dialogue and verse, and just became intensely boring.IMO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted October 10, 2012 #9 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Reading the "Silmarillion" just left me cold. It had none of the wonder and awe of Hobbitt and Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was evident where Tolkien's son had written the dialogue and verse, and just became intensely boring.IMO From what I heard, JRR T wrote the Silmarillion as an outline for two complete other series "Silmarillion" and "Akalabeth" (sp)... That's why they read like they do - he didn't live long enough to flesh them out - or so I heard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Voodoo Posted October 10, 2012 #10 Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) Did anyone read Roverandom? That is interesting book. R.A.Salvatore is good one. Richard Lee Byers is also amazing one. And Ursula Le Guin. Tolkien didnt invented anything imo. He just explore notrh european myths. Edited October 10, 2012 by the L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted October 10, 2012 #11 Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) Nice collection TNRN It just reminds me of how little time we have in our day to day lives. I would love to begin such a collection, I just wish I had the time to start reading such a collection (maybe I waste to much time on UM ). Good luck on your hunt, hope you enjoy them. Edited October 10, 2012 by Junior Chubb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.United_Nations Posted October 11, 2012 Author #12 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Anyway in the first review I talk about the Silmarillion. When i first started to read the introduction I knew i was in for a long ride as it talks about the life and how the book came to life about elves and the first age. It was a bit long and i did not think it was needed, because at that point a few people would have not carried on. The book is in 5 parts, the first which is the Ainulindale which is the creation of EA, Ainur which is created by the one of Eru and the beginnings of Melkor and his corruption. This for me was hard to understand because it talks about the music being created and the type of language the characters use, which is like a Shakespeare old English. In the 2nd part it goes onto the Valaquenta which gives a description of each of the Valar lords and Valar Queens, one of which i like is Ulmo, the lord of waters because he is one of the most powerful and he rules the seas in a strong fashion. The 3rd section which contains most of the book is the Quenta Silmarillion which starts before the first age and how Melkor uses one of them in his crown as the power of the Silmarils is very powerful. The 4th is the Akallabeth where for the first time mentions Sauron when he sides with Morgoth and the tales of men who cannot enter the realm of the elves which the men turned evil under the Dark Lord and had a war with the elves. Also mentions Isildur. Up to this point is where the 3rd and 4th sections become very interesting as the tale speeds up and the language style becomes easy to read and follow and the names are common and in the last section talks about the beginning of the 3rd age where Sauron makes the rings that are given to the elves, dwarfs and men however his plan fails as they hide them from him. He has a war with the elves and gets all the rings apart from 3 of them which was given to the elves, in this time Sauron made the one ring. It then goes on until the defeat of Sauron and the ring survives and ending of the 2nd age. There is alot to type but I only put small snippets of each of the 5 parts of the book. It is a hard book to read for a 1st timer which starts slow and builds up quicker in the middle and the end. The language Tolkien uses is excellent as he uses descriptive writing of all the characters and places and realms in the book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGirl Posted October 11, 2012 #13 Share Posted October 11, 2012 that collection looks good, i really need to finish all of those. simarilion was meant to be harder to read i heard i didn't get through the silmarillion - yawn central Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Ship Posted October 11, 2012 #14 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Did anyone read Roverandom? That is interesting book. R.A.Salvatore is good one. Richard Lee Byers is also amazing one. And Ursula Le Guin. Tolkien didnt invented anything imo. He just explore notrh european myths. So where was Feanor, Melkor, Sauron, The Silmarills, Valinor, Luthien Tinuviel ,etc... before The Silmarillion? Edited October 11, 2012 by Twin Peaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Voodoo Posted October 11, 2012 #15 Share Posted October 11, 2012 So where was Feanor, Melkor, Sauron, The Silmarills, Valinor, Luthien Tinuviel ,etc... before The Silmarillion? I dont know but I can surely tell you where was Thorin and others dwaves, runes, Tolkiens trade mark Gandalf and similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted October 11, 2012 #16 Share Posted October 11, 2012 That's a lot of heavy reading. You should balance it with something like this; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Poacher Posted October 18, 2012 #17 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Anyone who is of the complete opinion that Tolkien should be dimissed because he 'borrowed' probably shouldn't listen to music, read books or watch film. EVERYTHING can be called derivative. Good on Tolkien for admitting it, though, which is more than most people will bother doing. And yes, the man basically defined the genre. That's not to say other authors have not, perhaps, perfected it, but everything out there is somehow touched by his work. Hell, just common speech was affected by him: prior to Tolkien, it was 'dwarfs' and 'elfs', as though common English rules didn't apply to fantasy (/mythical?) creatures. Obviously this is not the case any more. I appreciate him first as a linguist, then as an author (as you might have been able to tell). I love the Silmarilion, and I don't understand how anyone can't, but then I'm bored to tears over the Hobbit, so that's that. Great little thread!! And nice collection, Nixon. If you can get a hold of his collection of letters, it would be worth a read. So where was Feanor, Melkor, Sauron, The Silmarills, Valinor, Luthien Tinuviel ,etc... before The Silmarillion? Silmarilli. Tsk tsk, Twins. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Ship Posted October 19, 2012 #18 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Silmarilli. Tsk tsk, Twins. Thank you Hecubus. And good to see you again:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codeblind Posted November 30, 2012 #19 Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) The Hobbit was the first book I ever read cover to cover and then read it again cover to cover a few weeks later peter Jacksons film opens in the UK in two weeks time [media=] [/media] Edited November 30, 2012 by Codeblind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReaperS_ParadoX Posted November 30, 2012 #20 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I like Tolkien and I appreciate his works I couldnt get through the Silmarilion that was like a tranquilizer to me, but I also love R. A. Salvatore, and H.P. Lovecraft, Edger Allen Poe to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckskin scout Posted December 1, 2012 #21 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I like Tolkien and I appreciate his works I couldnt get through the Silmarilion that was like a tranquilizer to me, but I also love R. A. Salvatore, and H.P. Lovecraft, Edger Allen Poe to. I cant vouch for Salvatore (never read him). But I throw in Robert E Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Great pulp writers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReaperS_ParadoX Posted December 1, 2012 #22 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I cant vouch for Salvatore (never read him). But I throw in Robert E Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Great pulp writers. Salvator has a very clear grasp of the genre. I like his writing a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckskin scout Posted December 2, 2012 #23 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Salvator has a very clear grasp of the genre. I like his writing a lot. I was always under the impression Salvatore wrote teen oriented fantasy potboilers for the Forgotten Realms brand. But then again, I rarely if ever read novels that are adapted from multimedias such as D&D rpg games, movies, television series, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted December 2, 2012 #24 Share Posted December 2, 2012 (edited) I started reading the Silmarillion in 2000 and while I was making my way through it I learned that my father had died. Never picked it up again but now I may have to finish it. Edited December 2, 2012 by and then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysticStrummer Posted December 4, 2012 #25 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I guess I'm in the minority but I loved The Simarillion. As a musician, the beginning hooked me with everything being created essentially from music, and I was fascinated reading about the early stages of Middle Earth, such as the origin of the Balrog, Shelob, and Sauron's early days serving the original Dark Lord. I'd love for someone to make a movie or three out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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