Category: Tolkien

Title: The Silmarillion
Author: J.R.R.Tolkien
Published: 1977
Pages: 358 Pages
Structure: 4 major sections, plus a series of tables, genealogies, index, and appendix

This is a difficult to read book which is also delightful.  It is well worth the effort for anyone who is a lover of Tokien’s world of  “Middle Earth”.   The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit were such successful books because they’re built on a massive mythic foundation.  They’re like the top 10% of the proverbial iceberg.  The other 90% is represented by the depth of epic detail in the Silmarillion.

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Title: The Lord of the Rings
Author: J.R.R.Tolkien
Published: 1955
Pages: 1567 Pages
Structure: 6 “Books” each containing between 9 to 12 chapters, plus 6 appendices and 3 indexes, published in 3 volumes

Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) is a masterpiece – one of the greatest works of literature of the twentieth century. I have never read a book with so much depth in its world, and such broad and majestic themes.

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