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Terry 's Reviews > Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
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Terry 's review
bookshelves: fantasy, tolkien, that-northern-thing, inklings
Jul 11, 2008
bookshelves: fantasy, tolkien, that-northern-thing, inklings
Read 3 times. Last read May 8, 2013 to May 31, 2013.
This is the first work that showed us how Tolkien's obsessive perfectionism was a double-edged sword. On the one hand it gave us the wonderfully deep world and implied distances of The Lord of the Rings; and on the other hand it left us with a jumble of tales in various states of revision and development that had to be compiled by Tolkien's son Christopher into some form as The Silmarillion...a jumble of tales that, if they had been finished, would have given us a truly staggering body of work. Just reading the fragment that makes up the entirety of "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin" makes me weep for what might have been. Given the chance to expand even half of the partial tales from _The Silmarillion_ into something equating the full treatment of the LotR would have been a wonder indeed.
Even given the incomplete nature of the works herein, the reader is greatly repaid the effort of reading them even though many tantalizing questions are left unanswered. We get perhaps the only significant view of the land of Numenor in the Second Age; intriguing glimpses into the nature of the Istari, the Woodwoses, and the Palantiri; and expansions on the background of the Third Age and the events that led up to both The Hobbit and the LotR.
A really amazing work and enjoyable read if you're a die-hard Tolkien fan.
Even given the incomplete nature of the works herein, the reader is greatly repaid the effort of reading them even though many tantalizing questions are left unanswered. We get perhaps the only significant view of the land of Numenor in the Second Age; intriguing glimpses into the nature of the Istari, the Woodwoses, and the Palantiri; and expansions on the background of the Third Age and the events that led up to both The Hobbit and the LotR.
A really amazing work and enjoyable read if you're a die-hard Tolkien fan.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
July 11, 2008
– Shelved
September 23, 2011
– Shelved as:
fantasy
September 23, 2011
– Shelved as:
tolkien
February 3, 2012
– Shelved as:
that-northern-thing
May 8, 2013
–
Started Reading
May 31, 2013
–
Finished Reading
June 18, 2023
– Shelved as:
inklings
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Traveller
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Apr 03, 2012 05:14AM
I have this but I haven't read it yet. I can't decide if I should re-read LOTR, or rather read Tolkien's other works, none of which I've read besides LOTR and The Hobbit.
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I really love this book. I have grown to appreciate the volumes of the History of Middle Earth series (certainly more than I did at first), but I have liked this one since I first came across it as a kid.Even the truly unfinished stories in it are great and in some ways the fact that Christopher didn't bother trying to cobble them into a coherent narrative works for them.
Traveller, it's hard to say where to go first. I definitely strongly recommend The Silmarillion, but it's generally a love-it-or-hate-it experience. As long as you approach it as NOT a novel in the vein of LOTR, but as a series of epic tales then you're on the right track. You might want to dip into this one just to see if you like stuff in that mode from the First and Second ages of Middle Earth.
I already bought all of the Tolkien books, long ago just to be... I don't know, just to have them. And then somehow, I never got around to reading them. So I have the Silmarillion too actually. It's sitting nicely there on a special Tolkien shelf in one of my display cases in my living room. :D Don't you think people who collect books that they don't end up reading are a bit strange? There must be a name for it, because I know for a fact I'm not the only person who does it...
Something between a bibliophile and an antiquarian, I guess...(if you like to collect antique books - which my father did, but sadly I didn't get much of his collection when he passed away) and yes, I adore old books, only I don't have enough dough to collect them in a serious manner. But I love "finding" them in places like curiosity shops where they're less expensive than in proper antiquarian shops. Sadly, then they're usually musty and motheaten - such a shame.
I am always buying books that I still have not read. Less from a bibliophilic perspective though, and more from the "sure, of course someday I'll read it" one.
Manny, you should always give your inner Tolkien-nerd free-rein!
I no longer have my much read and much thrashed hardcover copy of this (it was left behind in the divorce). It was full of my notes and paperclips and spilled Pepsi stains. I hope it found a good home.
Brad wrote: "I no longer have my much read and much thrashed hardcover copy of this (it was left behind in the divorce). It was full of my notes and paperclips and spilled Pepsi stains. I hope it found a good h..."Ah, so you're on the Pepsi side of the great Coke/Pepsi divide...
Sadly yes. And I am thoroughly addicted.
Luckily my addiction is (just!) coffee. That's not as bad for your teeth as Pepsi/Coke is.It might be more expensive though. I should actually work it out one day when I'm really bored...
Truly my very FAVORITE of al the JRRT fringe books! It Still leaves me wishing for more information, history, and character background ! I seriously recommend this book * for both die hard fans AND those who became disenchanted.
@Csssss I agree, this is definitely my very favourite of the 'extra' books too.
I always thought that most literary genius' were obsessive perfectionists - sort of goes with the job.
I understand your point of view and agree to a certain extent but you have to understand that Tolkien never intended to publish most of what is contained in the Unfinished Tales. To be honest we're all lucky Christopher Tolkien even released it to begin with and that we've had the chance to read it. Indeed even though it's very fragmented it's still an amazing volume of work.
