Reviews

I think much of Christopher Tolkien’s commentary, both in this volume and the previous, is largely irrelevant: it mostly deals with recapping the events of the tale and then highlighting the differences between the unfinished tale and the “finished” version presented in The Silmarillion; however, an astute reader can easily discern these discrepancies for themselves. Further, Christopher’s commentary, owing to his dense and verbose writing style, is often just as difficult to read as the material presented in the tales. It is, however, fascinating to have these early legends of Tolkien’s and I believe the tales clearly demonstrate how his writing matured and bettered itself.

acorn_soup's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.5

queerofthedagger's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

We really are in scattered-drafts-and-notes territory now, but Christopher Tolkien continues to do an amazing job contextualizing all of it, and it is fascinating to trace the development of it all.

monicadee88's review against another edition

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3.0

(Same thoughts as for Part One, so copy/paste my review for that)

This book contains a collection of partially finished stories written by J.R.R. Tolkien that his son Christopher Tolkien does an excellent job of weaving together into an almost comprehensible history of Middle Earth. Like The Silmarillion, this prelude of sorts is tooth-grindingly boring; the web of names and variations is confusing and headache-inducing. Even so, I couldn't help but be awed by the individual stories and the work as a whole. J.R.R. Tolkien was an admirable scholar and writer; his desire to create an entire universe from scratch, his love for and dedication to his art is obvious in every sentence. It's also fascinating to see how his stories and his world evolved as he revised and continued to write.

mpclemens's review against another edition

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2.0

Little better than Part I, and in fact, perhaps a bit worse as far as a book of "tales" goes. Mis-titled at best, this is Christopher Tolkien's own attempt at assembling completed works his father's drafts. An editing hand was needed more than an assembling, as the tales are overlong, with few breaks in the narrative. The end-notes are of interest only to scholars, historians and biographers. A labor of love to be sure, but one that carries little weight outside the family.

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