Christopher Tolkien (1924–2020)

In all honesty this is 3.5 stars for me but due to things I learned about the Arthur's myth I gave it additional 0.5 star.

Book was not what I expected. Actual poem (or better said finished parts of it) make maybe 20 percent of the book. Rest is more academic discussion about the actual myth, variations (and evolution) of it and the way it affected Tolkien's stories from the Lord of the Ring world. I enjoyed these sections, especially parts about old epics in old English. Considering I know some German I enjoyed reading these verses (and figuring the meanings phonetically - some words were really ... strange until you read them out loud) and then checking the footnotes for any meanings that I missed - which was almost always related to the words no longer in use:)

While these parts of the book were great last part is something that only hard-core student of literature can enjoy. I don't shrink from reading materials I am not well versed in but this was too .... academic I guess for me to fully comprehend it. After reading this part I read a few similar analysis (related to my mother tongue) and I have to say I was happy - literature academics talk in their own codes (like every profession I guess) and can be equally impenetrable no matter the language or culture :)

If you aim only to read the poem book is somewhat of an overkill. If you want to learn some more about roots of Arthurian myth and how it evolved and influenced Tolkien's works (I especially liked the idea of the story very similar to Cloud Atlas) then do read the book - I enjoyed this part very much, it got me interested in re-reading some of the books related to the subject. And if you are literature analysis aficionado then this book is definitely for you. You will enjoy the last part of the book.… (mere)

I read this book because I watched the Amazon Prime series "Rings of Power" and I wanted to know the "real" story behind the series. There is a lot to unpack here. Everything ever written by Tolkein about Numenor and its history is told here in sequential order.

Some of the passages were extremely beautifully written. I was especially moved by the scene were Tar-Miriel faces the waves as the island of Numenor is reclaimed by the sea. However, some of the passages can become a little boring.

Still, this was a lot easier to read than the "Lord of the Rings" series. And, the book is very beautifully illustrated.… (mere)

Come si sapeva, non contiene materiale nuovo: stratti dal Signore degli Anelli, dal Silmarillion, dai Raccconti Incompiuti, dalla Storia della Terra di Mezzo e dalla Nature of Middle-earth.

Ma per raggiungere le 250 pagine c'è dentro grossomodo tutta la storia di Aldarion e Earendis (dai Racconti Incompiuti), una parte del "riassunto" della Terza Era presente nel Silmarillion e i due capitoli su Numenor da "La strada smarrita"/"The Lost Road"

Di positivo ci sono le immagini di Lee e il fatto di avere tutto il materiale sulla Seconda Era raggruppato in maniera ordinata in un solo volume… (mere)