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A review by hadeanstars
Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkien
5.0
After reading The Hobbit, then Lord of the Rings (11 times so far) I decided it was finally time to read some of the background work, the 'lore' of LotR, and I started with The Silmarillion last year which was pretty good, and I finally completed the Unfinished Tales yesterday. I am so very glad that I did, because some of these stories, whether complete or not, are amazing. I especially enjoyed The Children of Hurin and the story of Gondolin, but I cannot say that any part of this compendium of Tolkien's incomplete manuscripts was not entirely worth reading.
It has left me feeling especially keen to read Lord of the Rings again, because having an understanding of Middle Earth throughout its preceding histories and ages must surely add considerable depth and richness to that master work.
I suppose the only negative here is the sense of regret around what might have been were any of these stories ever to have been finally published by the great man. The Children of Hurin must have been fairly close, because it does not feel lacking, even if it could have been more complete overall.
I really want to now read even more of Tolkien's work, but it becomes slightly difficult to know where to go. I am tempted by the Fall of Gondolin just for the Morgoth vibes. We shall see.
It has left me feeling especially keen to read Lord of the Rings again, because having an understanding of Middle Earth throughout its preceding histories and ages must surely add considerable depth and richness to that master work.
I suppose the only negative here is the sense of regret around what might have been were any of these stories ever to have been finally published by the great man. The Children of Hurin must have been fairly close, because it does not feel lacking, even if it could have been more complete overall.
I really want to now read even more of Tolkien's work, but it becomes slightly difficult to know where to go. I am tempted by the Fall of Gondolin just for the Morgoth vibes. We shall see.