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Should I read "The Silmarillion"?; Should I?
Topic Started: Jul 13 2008, 10:00 PM (2,655 Views)
Refia
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Right, my fellow Tolkien fans, I've got a question. So far, all I've ever read of Tolkien is "The Lord of the Rings". I'd like to read a bit more of Tolkien so I was thinking of reading "The Hobbit" and "The Silmarillion".

Now I've often heard the Silmarillion is very complex and hard to understand... So I'm not sure... Is it a worthwile read? A great read? An absolute must-read? Would you advice me to read it? I'm not sure... So, eh, help, please? :unsure:
[align=center]“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
[/align]
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Telcontar Rulz
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Rising Again
It depends on how good you are at not latching onto one particular character, and whether you need your characters to have great emotions. Personally, I've read the Silmarillion like a textbook for Tolkienology (sorry to Silm fans out there).
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AraionaDuBois
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Chasing Shadows
I absoutly love the Silm! :D :D But remember, I'm a history major so that type of read is right up my alley. I never found it hard to understand though...I honestly don't know where that comes from. But also remember I'm reading books on string theory and Stephen Hawking books so anything compared to that is an easy read. ;) Try it, though.
Smashed down the light. I will not rest till I'm king. Valinor's empty now. allied the elves and men they shall be damned. A Dark Passage, Blind Guardian.

Now truly I am king of the world. Master of fate Damned shall thy house be. Thou shall not question my power Nor shall thou defy me further. The Steadfast, Blind Guardian.
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~Tio~
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Seer of Visions
"The Hobbit" is a nice read. A good fantasy tale that started Tolkien's works on the world Middle Earth. :) He saw the first phrase of it wite itself in a dream ^_^ All in all, it's a nice fantasy story, maybe even like a fairytale of sorts ^_^ I enjoyed that one :)

Silmarillion, I don't know, I haven't read it, either. But I've also heard it's hard to read... From what I've read about it, it's the History of Middle Earth, from the creation up to.... Umm... I don't remember what...
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Caranthol
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At Journey's End
You are right about the Hobbit, Tio, it's a nice book. As for the Silmarillion, I really recommend it, especially for everyone writing Tolkien fanfiction. It gives much better understanding of Tolkien's world and ideas than LotR. Personally, I liked Silmarillion's style. It's epic and semi-biblical, so I guess everyone wouldn't find it easy. The tales in it, however, are very interesting.
"Ha! Wonnige Glut! Leuchtender Glanz!
Strahlend nun offen steht mir die Straße.
Im Feuer mich baden!"
- Siegfried, Act Three, Scene Two.
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Fishpaste
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I find the Silmarillion a brilliant read, the tales are much deeper and more intricate than LOTR.
Books contain knowledge. Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Corruption is a crime. Crime never pays. So, if I keep reading, Im gonna go broke!

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jules14
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(Wo)man on a Mission
So do I. Plus the characters, though Tolkien doesn't go into much detail on their thoughts and feelings, are much more complex.
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Fishpaste
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Rising Again
And you get so much more out of it, when you read LOTR after it you find all these references to legends and old stories.
Books contain knowledge. Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Corruption is a crime. Crime never pays. So, if I keep reading, Im gonna go broke!

Proud member of the society for the Protection of Neglected Commas (SPNC)
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Refia
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Damn, means that after the Silmarillion, I'll have to reread LotR again. >.< And it's such a thick book. Yesterday I read the chapter 'The Uruk-Hai' and 'Treebeard' and it took me 1,5 hours. >.<
[align=center]“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
[/align]
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Fishpaste
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Rising Again
*snort* practise makes perfect. Keep rereading.
Books contain knowledge. Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Corruption is a crime. Crime never pays. So, if I keep reading, Im gonna go broke!

Proud member of the society for the Protection of Neglected Commas (SPNC)
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Refia
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Easier said then done. Rereading isn't like listening 50 times after each other to "If I could Fly". Besides, I like to put some space between my rereads. Though, I do have to say the LotR is an interesting read. Especially "The Fellowship of the Ring". That's probably my favourite of the triology. "The Two Towers" is also good, especially the first book, but I don't like reading the books focussing on Frodo and Sam. It's just... boring, no offence. And I'm not too fond of "The Return of the King". I like the chapter "The scourging (?) of the Shire" or something like that, but aside from that... Not really, sorry. ^^"
[align=center]“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
[/align]
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AraionaDuBois
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Chasing Shadows
Yeah, I found the Frodo and Sam stuff rather boring too. Only the first time round, mind you. After that, everything became 'un-boring'. (If you get my meaning.) It has been a while since I've reread the Rings trilogy...might have to do that after the Hawking books...that'd make for a nice break after all that science and theory!

My favourite part of the Silm is the stuff about Numenor. I think I've read it at least 15 times!
Smashed down the light. I will not rest till I'm king. Valinor's empty now. allied the elves and men they shall be damned. A Dark Passage, Blind Guardian.

Now truly I am king of the world. Master of fate Damned shall thy house be. Thou shall not question my power Nor shall thou defy me further. The Steadfast, Blind Guardian.
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Refia
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I'm rather interested in everything that has to do with Morgoth and the Dragons...
[align=center]“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
[/align]
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~Tio~
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Seer of Visions
And I'm curious about the very beginning of it all :) I think I've read that part somewhere on the Internet a long time ago... Something about Eru creating the Valar (or something) and their Music that lead to the creation of the World, but Morgoth brinning dissonance and thus making the World imperfect from the very beginning... I also vagualy remember about the awakening of the Elves and them meeting Dwarves... And, that's all. I haven't read further.
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AraionaDuBois
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*dreamy sigh* Oh, now I've got to read it again!

Actually, one of my favourite parts (besides Numenor) is the scene at Lammoth with Morgoth. :)
Smashed down the light. I will not rest till I'm king. Valinor's empty now. allied the elves and men they shall be damned. A Dark Passage, Blind Guardian.

Now truly I am king of the world. Master of fate Damned shall thy house be. Thou shall not question my power Nor shall thou defy me further. The Steadfast, Blind Guardian.
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