History of Middle Earth Books

A place to discuss your favorite authors and poets, Christian and secular

History of Middle Earth Books

Postby Godly Paladin » Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:42 am

Does anyone else read these? (We're talking the Book of Lost Tales, Unfinished Tales, Lay of Beleriand, etc.) The writing style is difficult to get used to, but I think these books are the deepest glimpses we can get into Tolkien's creations. Anyone else with me on this?
ImageImage
User avatar
Godly Paladin
 
Posts: 2016
Joined: Sun May 23, 2004 10:21 am
Location: Missouri

Postby jazz » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:19 pm

oh hey! i've been trying to finish the silmarillion for about a year, i just need to sit down and read one day.... all day.

i have the book of lost tales part one... i think... yeah, i started reading it as well, i found it sooo interesting, but then i got distracted with finals and all that.. i have yet to finish that one as well. i'm terrible at starting books and forgetting about them. even if i'm enjoying them. i did find that they weren't as 'easy' to read as a typical novel, but if you're interested, it's definetely worth it.

but yeah, i'm all for the history of middle earth books... yay for tolkien!!! woo!
jazz
 
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada

Postby Hitokiri » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:23 pm

I really do need to get the other history books. For now though, I just have the Silmarillion which I adore as well as a Atlas of Middle Earth which goes from the starting of the First Age until a few years after King Elessar's reign in the 4th Age.
User avatar
Hitokiri
 
Posts: 3475
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Yatsushiro-shi, Kumamoto-ken

Postby Maledicte » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:41 pm

Ive read the Simarillion, the Unfinished Tales and the Lost Tales. put me to sleep...except for the ones with the more "interesting" elves (Feanor the fire elf, and Eol the Dark Elf, who worked with the dwarves and much later went mad, tried to kill his son and was executed...I'm quite twisted).

I also enjoyed reading about Turin's plights in the Second age. Very depressing stuff, but I kind of like the Shakespearean tragedy-esque sort of things.
User avatar
Maledicte
 
Posts: 2078
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:39 pm

Postby Hitokiri » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:02 pm

I'm a big fan of Beren and Luthein myself as well as Two Trees of Valinor.
User avatar
Hitokiri
 
Posts: 3475
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Yatsushiro-shi, Kumamoto-ken

Postby Warrior 4 Jesus » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:05 pm

Silmarillion is great, Unfinished Tales had interesting parts and the Lost Tales almost bored me to tears. Haven't read any others - too complex for me.
User avatar
Warrior 4 Jesus
 
Posts: 4844
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2004 10:52 pm
Location: The driest continent that isn't Antarctica.

Postby Hephzibah » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:53 pm

I've read Silmarillion, and own the Unfinished Tales (as well as the Hobbit and LOTR) :grin:
Hephzibah
 
Posts: 1494
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:00 am
Location: Australia

Postby Sephiroth » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:26 am

i've read the Silmarilion, Unfinishaed tales, the Return of the Shadow & The Treason of Isenguard. I thought the last 2 were really good, showing how the whole story evolved through tolkiens creative processes, and how he built up the story for Lord of the Rings from what was originally going to be a short sequel of the Hobbit (in a similar style) to the epic it is today. Lol, stuff like when Aragorn was supposed to be a hobbit - Trotter (who wore wooden shoes, lol)
Largo (Megatokyo): "Its this thing... and its like, cool... and it does things... cool things!"

Ph34r t3h Cu73 0n3z!
User avatar
Sephiroth
 
Posts: 631
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 9:04 am

Postby Namelessknight » Thu Feb 03, 2005 2:21 pm

Yeah, i've read Sil, unfinished, lost tales 1&2 and am hoping the rest of the history comes out. lost tales was pretty tough reading[very history like, sigh], but the others i really enjoyed....
His Strength was as the Strength of Ten, for His Heart was Pure

My blog=[url=elfenknight.blogspot.com]Knightly Ruminations[/url]
User avatar
Namelessknight
 
Posts: 206
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 1:46 pm
Location: NH

Postby mitsuki lover » Sat Feb 05, 2005 12:16 pm

I've read The Silmarillion also and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil which is really an anthology of poems some of which appear in either the trilogy or the Hobbit. :jump:
I perfer TAOTB as it is lighter for the most part and the title poem involves one of the more interesting characters in the series.
Btw:I read some of The Letters Of J.R.R.Tolkien and he doesn't come across as interesting as C.S.Lewis in his letters.
User avatar
mitsuki lover
 
Posts: 8486
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:00 pm

Postby kirakira » Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:16 pm

*can't remember them all* I've read the Silmarillion (The only reason I got through it was because my older brother said I couldn't), Lost Tales, Unfinished Tales, the Adventures of Tom Bombadil, The Lays of Beleriand *liked it muchly*, and *thinks* Tales from the Perilous Realms? Was that one? *doesn't remember* I think I've read most (all?) of them, but I get their names confused. *lol* Lays was my favorite of all of them. ^_^
Love wins.
User avatar
kirakira
 
Posts: 494
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:57 pm
Location: on the corner of inane and insomniac

Postby Sparrowhawk » Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:29 pm

I read them, and i would say the style is different, but once you get it, the books have so much to offer to see Toliens amazing work. I have finished the Silmarillion, and working (slowly between school and other hobbies) on the eventually getting through all his writings. Oh yeah and i read the Tolien reader, but i don't know if that one counts, its not like the other (as i call them "history of middle earth") books, but its one that doesn't get as much recognition or reading, but probably more than lost tales and the others. And my dad has read them all more times than i can count (he was a founder of a tolkien club at his school). Well i made this WAY too long so i'll shut up now. Wait oh yeah *someone slugs Sparrowhawk from behind and sits at keyboard* sorry you all had to listen to all his jabbering. goodbye
Image
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."
-Fellowship of the Ring, by JRR Tolkien
______________________________________________
"...And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us." -Hebrews 12:1b (NLT)
User avatar
Sparrowhawk
 
Posts: 263
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 4:04 pm
Location: College

Postby mitsuki lover » Sun Feb 06, 2005 2:19 pm

I think that The Silmarillion and Lost Tales are good for the background of
LOTR and TH,but in style they're inferior.
User avatar
mitsuki lover
 
Posts: 8486
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:00 pm

Postby Kanerou » Fri Nov 04, 2005 1:40 pm

I own LOTR, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. I've read HoME (History of Middle Earth) IV, and I'm now working on I and V. They're a bit dry, but not horrible, though I did skip the earliest Silmarillion in IV. The Silmarillion (published) is awesome, as is Unifnished Tales. I want to read the other HoME books, especially VI on, as they look more interesting.
"You've gotta speak about those things you don't currently see as though they already exist. Back in the beginning, God didn't look into space and say, 'Gee, it's dark.' He called light into existence."

Gotta Getta Gundam. ;)

Raiden no Kishi (post: 1218170) wrote:Also, I hope never to hear "Nate" and "prance" in the same sentence again . . .
User avatar
Kanerou
 
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 3:25 pm
Location: Somewhere you aren't, most likely

Postby Godly Paladin » Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:27 pm

You gravedigger, you! ;)

I'm impressed that you've read that much. Did you actually enjoy Silmarillion or were you just trudging through it?
ImageImage
User avatar
Godly Paladin
 
Posts: 2016
Joined: Sun May 23, 2004 10:21 am
Location: Missouri

Postby Arnobius » Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:53 pm

Enjoy Silmirilon? Do those words belong in the same sentence? ;)
User avatar
Arnobius
 
Posts: 2870
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:41 pm

Postby TurkishMonky » Fri Nov 04, 2005 3:50 pm

i've read, enjoyably, the silmarillion four times through, unfinished tales thrice all the way through and certan parts more then 10 times. (not to mention i've read lotr 10+ times.) i don't own lost tales, but would like to read it sometime. bwahaha!
User avatar
TurkishMonky
 
Posts: 808
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:07 am

Postby Arnobius » Fri Nov 04, 2005 3:54 pm

TurkishMonky wrote:i've read, enjoyably, the silmarillion four times through, unfinished tales thrice all the way through and certan parts more then 10 times. (not to mention i've read lotr 10+ times.) i don't own lost tales, but would like to read it sometime. bwahaha!

Was it Unfinished or Lost Tales that dealt with his old 1920's stuff like the Magical Whale etc. I remember seeing the ancient roots od Middle Earth in that book.

My favorite non Middle Earth work was Leaf, By Niggle which was a touching allegorical look at the afterlife... I understand it was read at his funeral.
User avatar
Arnobius
 
Posts: 2870
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:41 pm

Postby TurkishMonky » Fri Nov 04, 2005 4:20 pm

that must have been lost tales, since i don't remember it. as for non-middle earth books, i read one of them, but i don't remember the name, nor the plot (i was 12)...
User avatar
TurkishMonky
 
Posts: 808
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:07 am

Postby Arnobius » Fri Nov 04, 2005 4:48 pm

TurkishMonky wrote:that must have been lost tales, since i don't remember it. as for non-middle earth books, i read one of them, but i don't remember the name, nor the plot (i was 12)...

It may have been "Tolkein Reader."
User avatar
Arnobius
 
Posts: 2870
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:41 pm

Postby Warrior 4 Jesus » Fri Nov 04, 2005 5:02 pm

I've read Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Unfinished Tales, The Silmarillion and The Book of Lost Tales (1).
Tolkien has many interesting ideas and lots of originality and story but his writing style is so darn dry and boring. Unfinished Tales was a bit of a chore to read (some parts were great) and some parts of The Silmarillion are extremely dry (but there are also excellent parts there too).
I may read The rest of the History books (because they sound very interesting) but it may be awhile...
User avatar
Warrior 4 Jesus
 
Posts: 4844
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2004 10:52 pm
Location: The driest continent that isn't Antarctica.

Postby Godly Paladin » Fri Nov 04, 2005 5:39 pm

They're certainly not on the tippy-top of my reading list, especially since I haven't experienced a wave of Tolkein nostalgia in a long while.
ImageImage
User avatar
Godly Paladin
 
Posts: 2016
Joined: Sun May 23, 2004 10:21 am
Location: Missouri

Postby FarmGirl » Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:41 pm

I began Silmarilion (then life got in the way) and read the adventures of Tom Bombadil (I managed to read the one poem to my family about five times before they noticed).
Until you find something worth dying for, you're not really living.
User avatar
FarmGirl
 
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:03 am

Postby mitsuki lover » Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:40 pm

I've also read some of the Letters of JRR Tolkien and The Inklings the group
biography of Tolkien,Lewis and Charles Williams.
According to The Inklings the Lewis brothers were apparently mildly anti-Catholic and
apparently they made Catholic jokes behind Tolkien's back.
On the other hand years after Lewis died Tolkien seems to have expressed some
rather bad sentiments about Lewis as well.
User avatar
mitsuki lover
 
Posts: 8486
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:00 pm

Postby Godly Paladin » Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:16 pm

(I managed to read the one poem to my family about five times before they noticed).


:lol: Nicely done!
ImageImage
User avatar
Godly Paladin
 
Posts: 2016
Joined: Sun May 23, 2004 10:21 am
Location: Missouri

Postby Hitokiri » Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:29 pm

Oh wow...it's been a while.

I just got the whole history of middle earth collection. I love it.
User avatar
Hitokiri
 
Posts: 3475
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Yatsushiro-shi, Kumamoto-ken

Postby Godly Paladin » Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:04 pm

A winner is you!
ImageImage
User avatar
Godly Paladin
 
Posts: 2016
Joined: Sun May 23, 2004 10:21 am
Location: Missouri

Postby mitsuki lover » Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:37 pm

I have a couple of books in my library that are about the influences behind TLOTR
including Master of Middleearth that talks about the Christian influence.
Evidently Aragon is supposed to be a Christ figure.
User avatar
mitsuki lover
 
Posts: 8486
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:00 pm

Postby Arnobius » Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:44 pm

mitsuki lover wrote:I've also read some of the Letters of JRR Tolkien and The Inklings the group
biography of Tolkien,Lewis and Charles Williams.
According to The Inklings the Lewis brothers were apparently mildly anti-Catholic and
apparently they made Catholic jokes behind Tolkien's back.
On the other hand years after Lewis died Tolkien seems to have expressed some
rather bad sentiments about Lewis as well.

Is "The Inklings" the title? Who's the author? I'd like to read this since it's something never mentioned in other accounts I've read... though I guess in retrospect Sheldon Vanauken may have alluded to it
User avatar
Arnobius
 
Posts: 2870
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:41 pm

Postby Hitokiri » Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:51 pm

One story I really enjoyed (and I think it was in the Unfinished Tales) concerning one of Numenoreon Kings who loved the sea and even though he loved this girl, he could not part with his love for the sea [spoiler]so after they got married. He could just not tear himself from sailing so they becam ebitter towards eachother.[/spoiler]. I'll do more research.

Most of my knowledge concerns the Sring of Arda, The First Age, The Second Age which are both the Eldar Days. My cheif study is focused on the Nodoli from thier exile from Valinor to there wars against Morgoth until the War of Wrath. One event I am extremely intrested and curious about is the prophesied battle Dagor Dagorath.

http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.asp wrote:The prophesied final battle between the forces of light and darkess, called the Last Battle, in which Morgoth will return and suffer his final and ultimate defeat.

The Dagor Dagorath, the great final battle at which the forces of the brothers Manwë and Melkor will face one another, and Arda will be unmade.
For some odd reason I keep on picturing the ending to Last Exile and Rah Xephon when I picture this battle. I did read snippets and other writings where apparently Manwe's son defeats and destroys Morgoth in a tree after Morgoth casts down Uniein, whom Manwe's son loves. I will try and find that section - it was very intresting.
User avatar
Hitokiri
 
Posts: 3475
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Yatsushiro-shi, Kumamoto-ken

Next

Return to Book Corner

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 159 guests