What do YOU think about J.R.R. Tolkien's book, 'The Silmarillion'?

I finally finished reading a book the other day that I’ve wanted to read for years, J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, “The Silmarillion.”

Published in 1977 after Tolkien’s death (in 1973), this book is a VERY detailed history of the fictional world that’s the setting for Tolkein’s more famous novels, “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” The book was edited by Tolkien’s youngest son, Christopher, who’s still alive and kicking today at the age of 87.

My urge to read “The Silmarillion” ramped up a year or so ago when my favorite web site, The Art of Manliness,” ranked “The Silmarillion” at No. 21 on a best-of books list called “The Essential Man’s Library: 50 Fictional Adventure Books.” “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” also made that list and were ranked No. 19 and No. 20, respectively. I love adventure books – fictional and otherwise – and I’d already read “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” I figured that if “The Silmarillion” was as good as those two, I needed to quit putting it off and read it.

I’d also seen that “The Silmarillion” had been listed on a couple of other recommended reading lists that ranked it among the best fantasy books of all time. In July 2011, NPR ranked “The Silmarillion” at No. 46 on its list of Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books. In 2003, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club ranked “The Silmarillion” at No. 41 on a list called “The Most Significant Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years, 1935-2002.” The Silmarillion” also won the prestigious Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1978.

If you’ve never read “The Silmarillion” and feel like tackling it, be warned. This book might not be for everyone, even hardcore Tolkien fans. I finished this book only through great effort. This book is very different from “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” The language was extremely dense and the narrative was extremely complex. In addition to it being difficult to read, the book contains literally hundreds of hard to pronounce names. The paperback edition that I read actually contained a glossary of names in the back of the book to help the read keep all the characters straight. That edition also contained several pages of family trees and fictional genealogies to help you better understand the material.

This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. I consider myself a hardcore Tolkien fan, and I’m happy to say that I’ve read what’s arguably Tolkien’s third major work. The sheer scope of “The Silmarillion” is amazingly impressive, and it’s obviously the work of a genius with a powerful, overwhelming, superhuman imagination. To say that the book is notable adventure book would be an understatement.

In the end, how many of you have read “The Silmarillion”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? Would you recommend it and why? How old were you when you read it? Let us know in the comments section below.