# Try reading the Silmarillion before reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy.



## AjaxMinoan (Oct 30, 2011)

I have finally got around to reading the Lord of the Rings. I watched the movies, and had read The Hobbit years ago, but only recently picked up the rest of Tolkien's work. I read the Simarillion before I started, as I am researching an idea for an article. This volume is essentially a description of the creation of the world, and a concise world history. A few tales like that of Beren and Luthien are told in more detail. 
  What I'm discovering as I now read the trilogy, is I understand a lot of the vague references while reading the books that I did not while watching the films. The books would be a lot more tedious without knowing the backstory of Middle Earth I think, and as a result; the Lord of the Rings is the best fantasy I have ever read.


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## OurCosmicStory (Apr 29, 2017)

I never got around to reading this book and keep regretting it after I hear such great reviews like this one. Sounds like I need to read this one and then the others again, starting with Simarillion, then The Hobbit, and then the others. Would you recommend that order?


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## William Meikle (Apr 19, 2010)

AjaxMinoan said:


> I have finally got around to reading the Lord of the Rings. I watched the movies, and had read The Hobbit years ago, but only recently picked up the rest of Tolkien's work. I read the Simarillion before I started, as I am researching an idea for an article. This volume is essentially a description of the creation of the world, and a concise world history. A few tales like that of Beren and Luthien are told in more detail.
> What I'm discovering as I now read the trilogy, is I understand a lot of the vague references while reading the books that I did not while watching the films. The books would be a lot more tedious without knowing the backstory of Middle Earth I think, and as a result; the Lord of the Rings is the best fantasy I have ever read.


Some of us old farts had to read LOTR long before The Silmarillion was published. 

I bought the Silmarillion first edition hardcover the day it came out but that was already quite a few years after reading LOTR for the first time in 1969.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

i could never get into reading the Simarrilion, and never felt that i was missing anything in LOTR by not reading it.

also, remember that the Hobbit and LOTR were written for different audiences.

and if you found the movies vague, that has nothing to do with how LOTR is written, it has to do with how it was adapted, and is a whole different problem.


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## AjaxMinoan (Oct 30, 2011)

OurCosmicStory said:


> I never got around to reading this book and keep regretting it after I hear such great reviews like this one. Sounds like I need to read this one and then the others again, starting with Simarillion, then The Hobbit, and then the others. Would you recommend that order?


Yes I would, though I think The Lord of the Rings is better than The Hobbit.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Reading the _Silmarillion_ could be a good way to dissuade people from reading the other books. 

If you are really interested in Tolkien's world-building, you may well find it interesting; but if you just want a good, readable fantasy story, I would not recommend it.

Your mileage may vary.


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

NogDog said:


> Reading the _Silmarillion_ could be a good way to dissuade people from reading the other books.
> 
> If you are really interested in Tolkien's world-building, you may well find it interesting; but if you just want a good, readable fantasy story, I would not recommend it.
> 
> Your mileage may vary.


Ditto. I have the Silmarillion but have never had the time to read it. It's Tolkien's encyclopedia and he never intended to publish it. His estate made that decision after his death to satisfy fans' requests for more of Middle Earth. I find his history of Middle Earth as taken from his notes and revisions much more fascinating as it sheds new lights on some mysteries and unanswered questions that made it into his final revision of LOTR.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

NogDog said:


> Reading the _Silmarillion_ could be a good way to dissuade people from reading the other books.
> 
> If you are really interested in Tolkien's world-building, you may well find it interesting; but if you just want a good, readable fantasy story, I would not recommend it.
> 
> Your mileage may vary.


Agreed. Totally. I loved the earlier novels, but could not get very far at all with the Silmarillion.


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## Elsye_Harwood (Oct 9, 2016)

I read LOTR years ago but try as I might couldn't get into the Silmarillion. I'd been warned about and sure enough I found it way too complex and wordy for me. 

A few years later I read LOTR again but this time I didn't even  bother trying to read  the  Silmarillion.

When the first film came out I reread LOTR for the third time. Afterwards I  have to admit I was a bit obsessed and  wanted more Tolkien. It was  then that I  finally managed to get into the Silmarillion and ended up devouring it, only to be  disappointed when it ended abruptly. 

I think it only works if you're fully immersed in Tolkien's world and mythology and I was that third time.

I loved it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.


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## passerby (Oct 18, 2015)

Elsye_Harwood said:


> . . . I think it only works if you're fully immersed in Tolkien's world and mythology . . . I loved it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.


 ^^^ This. Also, it might help to know in advance that while it is fascinating, much of _The Silmarillion_ is extremely depressing (especially the story of Turin Turambar. That one is heart-wrenching.)


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## Galaxy Dog (Aug 2, 2017)

For me it was very dry, like trying to read a religious text.


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## H.C. (Jul 28, 2016)

OurCosmicStory said:


> I never got around to reading this book and keep regretting it after I hear such great reviews like this one. Sounds like I need to read this one and then the others again, starting with Simarillion, then The Hobbit, and then the others. Would you recommend that order?


Yes If you haven't yet read them. That's the order I would recommend.


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## C. Gold (Jun 12, 2017)

NogDog said:


> Reading the _Silmarillion_ could be a good way to dissuade people from reading the other books.
> 
> If you are really interested in Tolkien's world-building, you may well find it interesting; but if you just want a good, readable fantasy story, I would not recommend it.
> 
> Your mileage may vary.


Oh so true for me anyway. The only way I got through the Silmarillion was to read it while sitting around for jury duty for eight hours on two days where there a choice of either read that or do nothing but sit on hard seats. The book is dry and boring as heck.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

I have tried, and failed, three or four times to get through _The Silmarillion_. I have now given up trying and feel better for it.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Jeff Tanyard said:


> My advice: don't read it like a normal fiction book. Pretend it's a history book, and read it as if you're doing research for a history project. That might help your brain switch gears and be more accepting of the words you're reading.


I shall add it to my TBR list of 'difficult' books and approach it as you suggest, Jeff. I'm currently wading through _Infinite Jest_ and will need something much shorter when I've eventually arrived at the end.


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