The Silmarillion
by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien · first published 1977
19% recommend71% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Mythology of Middle-earth's earlier ages, with several strong standalone tales like Beren and Lúthien. Fans find it more epic than LOTR and suited to readers who let the names wash over them.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A number-one New York Times bestseller when it was originally published, The Silmarillion is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before The Hobbit.
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…role is. That said, my advice would be to not get too caught up on the names and places and details — just let the story sort of wash over you. Many, many, many names are only said exactly once in The Silmarillion; if you try to remember them all, you'll go crazy. If you see a name 3+ times, that's when it's time to track them down on the family tree, probably. I'd also recommend making sure you reference the…
on “Christopher Tolkien has died” ↗…it many times, especially the Gospel of Matthew). All of Kafka's novels, but especially "The Castle". Several of PKD's novels: "The Man in the High Castle", "Through a Scanner Darkly", "Ubiq" "The Silmarillion" (when I was a young adult) Douglas Adams' "Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency" (when I was a teenager)
on “Ask HN: Which books have you read more than once?” ↗…greatest most detailed work of science fiction ever created. Seriously, it would put Star Trek/Wars to shame. No fiction has lore with such fractal depth of detail as NASA, not even close. Not even Silmarillion comes close.
on “French scientist's photo of ‘distant star’ was chorizo” ↗1984 The Silmarillion The Hero With A Thousand Faces Dune Walden (about half the chapters anyway)
on “Ask YC: favorite books” ↗…much do you think people would like it? More or less than the version Stephen King wrote? - Imagine yourself writing the same story -- in Mongolian. It's the same story, written down. - Tolkien's The Silmarillion has several excellent stories in it, which people will be happy to hear you tell them about after you go through the laborious effort of reading it. It's not a coincidence that the material of The Silmarillion…
on “Harper Lee has died” ↗Jonathan Livingston Seagull: no limits Accelerando: open source, open ideas, as a way of life Silmarillion: shout at the gates of hell, if that's what it takes
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…decent rule of thumb would be to list books I’ve read at least twice: - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig - The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien - The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien - Watchmen by Alan Moore - From Hell by Alan Moore - V for Vendetta by Alan Moore - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series by Alan Moore - Dune by Frank Herbert - Immortality…
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?” ↗…assumption that some things I've done or planning to do are a lot more for self-serving reasons than I like to admit. On the fiction side from this year that I'd recommend, I reread Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion and read Unfinished Tales for the first time, all were great. I've read Tolkien as a kid, a teen, and now an adult, enjoyed him each time but I think I got even more out of some things this time around.…
on “Ask HN: Best books read in 2022” ↗…Tolkien was an academic of the highest caliber, and it seems his son has retained his love of the more arcane and in-depth aspects of the Middle Earth world. I, personally, agree with them: I find the Silmarillion to be the most interesting work of Middle Earth, but that's only because I'm a massive geek. As far as a pop-culture and on-screen rendition of the books go, Jackson's work has been superbly loyal to…
on “My Father's "Eviscerated" work - Son of J.R.R. Tolkien finally speaks out” ↗Read the Silmarillion if you haven't. It's dense (like a history book), but explains the machinations of Morgoth and Sauron, the creation of Dwarves and Orcs, and clears many things up. The only pity is that J.R.R. Tolkien…
on “What kind of Apple Mac did Arthur Dent have?” ↗I've read LOTR many times as well the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, Tolkien's letters, etc. I really recommend trying out this show. It gets the heart of Tolkien if not the exact details.
on “Amazon putting a three-day pause on reviews for Rings of Power” ↗…he's clearly dismayed by any deviation from the original intent. I suspect he'd likely be unhappy with any TV adaptation as well. Like many other Tolkien fans I'd much rather see an adaptation of The Silmarillion, which if anything is the more epic book of tales.
on “Amazon Wants to Turn Lord of the Rings into the Next Game of Thrones” ↗I loved to read this story on Silmarillion. It is a fantasy story about love but still being deeply inspired by Tolkien feelings from his wife. I did not knew about it when was reading and how they (Beren and Lúthien) started loving one another…
on “JRR Tolkien book Beren and Lúthien published after 100 years” ↗…option for "new" stuff, since there are many written stories in this universe about other characters and the created world by him is massive. There is also a possibility to start with his oldest book "silmarillion".
on “Amazon to Adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s Globally Renowned Fantasy Novels” ↗If this means they will be adapting some of the Silmarillion stories then I might be on board. There are some great sketches of stories there that unfortunately were not completed in Tolkien's lifetime. I would love to see them fleshed out. When publishing these,…
on “Amazon to Adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s Globally Renowned Fantasy Novels” ↗