The Silmarillion

by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

In Brief

A True Treasure. Word to the Wise: If you're a Tolkien fan, and loved the books, do not, I repeat do not make the mistake of *failing* to read The Silmarillion: What The Hobbit is to the LOTR TRILOGY, the LOTR TRILOGY is to The Silmarillion.

Why you should read it

If all of Tolkien's books were the 9 rings, which one of these rings would The Silmarillion most resemble-? The answer: None. For The Silmarillion is far brighter & more beautiful than the bewitching & deadly One Ring itself. In fact, it is made of an entirely higher order of stuff. I would liken it to one of the Silmarils themselves, and when you learn the story behind the Silmarils, and find that they are the most exquisite gems crafted by Feanor, the most gifted of all the elves, who lent all his heart and skill into their making, having trapped within them the divine starlight of the two trees of Valinor, why then and only then do you begin to get the picture. The reason I bring this up is because I have found that to read The Silmarillion is to discover hands-on the meaning behind the phrase, "No Pain, No Gain", insofar as it applies to literature.