Koen Pauwels

A solid 3 stars...surprised nobody has given it this rating before. A Tolkien fan since i devoured LOTR 7 times and started roleplaying at age 17, i only just read the Silmarillion and thought it was...okay. While many readers complain about the cost of reading, my focus is on the benefits: do we really need another Creation myth (as Tolkien intended) and how good is it compared to other creation myths? Tolkien has a lot more competition in this arena than for his truly new-to-the-world LOTR. While i love the first few pages about musical creation and the Valdar, the rest of the stories are simply not as good as Greek, Hindu, Mayan or Viking mythology. As a side note, i also felt an uncomfortable level of elitism in this story: it is all about the high versus the low creatures, noble blood thinning etc. In contrast, LOTR can and is read as a story of great inclusion: even the least noticeable of creatures can and do save the day, even the most corrupted has a positive role to play. Bottom line: if you need to know the stories behind the LOTR references, do read the Silmarillion. Otherwise, don't bother.

Most interesting story on Uber 's rise and fall - my only issue is that the book is double as long as need be. Why go in full page details on appearances of even minor characters and which kind of wine they drank at which events? Is the author aiming for a movie adaptation?