The Silmarillion Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Martin Shaw (Narrator), J. R. R. Tolkien (Author), HarperCollins Publishers Limited (Publisher)

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The complete unabridged audiobook of J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion.

The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.

Included in the book are several shorter works. 'The Ainulindale' is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. 'The Akallabeth' recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age and 'Of the Rings of Power' tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings.

Listening Length

14 hours and 49 minutes
Author

J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrator

Martin Shaw
Audible release date

29 October 2015
Language

English
Publisher

HarperCollins Publishers Limited
ASIN

B01B9ZE4BK
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	14 hours and 49 minutes
Author	J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrator	Martin Shaw
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	29 October 2015
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B01B9ZE4BK
Best Sellers Rank	206 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 10 in Classic Literature 12 in Classic Literature & Fiction 17 in Epic Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals)

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AWM

Not an easy read but well worth it.

Reviewed in Australia on 9 November 2020

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I clearly remember the excitement I felt in 1977 when my brother gave me a first edition hardback edition of the Silmarillion. I had just read Lord of the Rings and already had a box set of Tolkien's other writings. I launched into the Silmarillion and did not get very far. Several times I tried but it was too dense. I lent it to a friend who persisted through it over about six months admitting it was hard going.

This year after reading a biography of Tolkien I have been working my way through all his writings and I once again attempted the Silmarillion, this time in Kindle edition. I persisted and ultimately completed it. It is undeniably a classic work but more than that, if it wasn't for the Silmarillion we would have The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. Tolkien started his writing with creating languages and creating the legends at the heart of the Silmarillion. So much of what he is famous for is only just the final part of whole landscape of mythology.

For its amazing scope this is undeniably a 5 star work. However for readability it does not reach those heights so I have opted for giving it four stars. Two things make reading this book easier, having access to a Tolkien atlas. There are several available but I found Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, very useful. Also helpful is access to a Tolkien companion of names. There is an index of names at the back of the Silmarillion but jumping back and forth to it on a Kindle is pretty hard. My old hardback copy came in handy after all.

If there was no Silmarillion then there would no other stories of Middle-earth, so it deserves to be held in highest regard. But don't start your adventure into Tolkien's writings with it. Start with the Hobbit, LOTR and then work your way into the Silmarillion, when you do, you'll be glad... eventually.

2 people found this helpful

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The Bible Of Middle-Earth

Reviewed in Australia on 1 January 2019

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This collection of stories covers the mythos and history of Middle-Earth. The central theme of the book is the fall of Elvin kind. Full of loss, revenge, betrayal, grief and a constant strain of heroism. Not as easy to read as the main sequence novels but worth the read for those of us who want to know the history and backstory. JRRT spent over 50 years developing and refining events of his made up world and characters including languages, family trees and historical events. I salute Christopher for picking up his father's work and completing it. Truly an amazing feat of creativity.

3 people found this helpful

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R Chand

An awesome continuation but...

Reviewed in Australia on 3 June 2021

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Great Book but the publishers have really dropped the ball on quality. Was looking to buy and build a collection of some great novels. Its nice to be able to buy have a collection at the reasonable price but you also have to be able to read the book as well. The typeface and font size leave a lot to be desired. Unless you have a magnifying glass, some super strong reading or perfect 20/20 vision give this a miss.

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AliE

Stunning Edition

Reviewed in Australia on 12 May 2021

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If you are a Tolkien fan then this edition of The Silmarillion is a must buy! Gorgeous cover, with art work throughout. Highly recommend!

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Beau

The amalgamation of genius.

Reviewed in Australia on 16 August 2020

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Anyone who got swept away in Middle Earth must read this masterpiece. Brilliantly tells the great tales of Tolkeins epic world.

One person found this helpful

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Pablo

My favourite book

Reviewed in Australia on 21 December 2018

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I hope Peter Jackson makes at least 3 movies out of this book some day.

2 people found this helpful

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Darlene D. Richard

Subtle and Detailed

Reviewed in Australia on 12 November 2014

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Tolkien's writing is subtle and so detailed. This book has become a serious focus for me and a group of others who discuss and work to re-enact the events within the first seven chapters, as a means of engaging others in our goal of growing literacy skills around the world, especially with youth (see SheriwodFoundation.org ). His writing is our challenge. It is a difficult book to read, however, because unlike most books, it is more like a series of short stories with a golden thread flowing throughout than a modern novel. A great book from an amazing author.

One person found this helpful

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Pierre Joubert

Must read

Reviewed in Australia on 3 March 2020

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Gives an enormous amount of background, but with so much context and a greater understanding of the topics within the LOTR.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

EMR

Magnificent masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 November 2018

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I bought The Silmarillion a long time ago in paperback, settled down and started to read. I gave up after a few pages feeling bored and confused. What was this? It was like reading the Bible. I just couldn't get into it. However, a few months later I tried again. Still didn't like it. And then later I tried again. Once more I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. Bored, bored, bored. In the end I gave my paperback to charity.

Many years later I decided I would try The Silmarillion again. This time I bought it in hardback, thinking that I could guilt myself into reading it as I'd paid so much for it. I knew I was having difficulty reading the first chapters so I forced myself to read two pages a day (not an ideal way to enjoy a book!). Then something magical happened. I found myself enjoying it. By the time I had reached chapter 6 "Of Feanor and the unchaining of Melkor" I was completely gripped and couldn't put the book down. I didn't want it to end. I actually felt quite bereft when I'd finished it. The stories of Feanor and his sons and the Silmarils, the fall of Gondolin, the love story of Beren and Luthien, the tragic story of Turin Turambar all completely enthralled me. It is difficult to put into words how completely captivating and engrossing these stories are. How one man had all this inside his head is beyond me.

I have one tiny gripe. Why on earth isn't Thangorodrim and Angband on the map included in the book? It's like leaving Mordor off the map of Middle Earth in LOTR. It's essential. In the end I bought Karen Wynn Fonstad's map book The Atlas of Tolkien’s Middle-earth so I could sort it out in my head.

So the moral of the story is if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. If you persist with this book you will be very well rewarded. It's the sort of book that will stay with you for a lifetime.

181 people found this helpful

Djilly L.

The one uncompleted book in my vast book collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2019

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With fondness i recall how much I enjoyed reading the Hobbit and even more so the Lord of the Rings during my teenage years - I even feigned illness to have a good few days to complete these books.

Although I barely read fiction these days, I thought it a great idea to bring the Silmarillion along on a holiday trip. That was a mistake. I was aware the book was never published during the author’s life and that it was completed and composed by his son. However it’s of much higher mythological content than for instance the start of the Lord of the Rings. To me the book just goes on and on about the Elderdays to which there are references in the Lord of the Rings. But the writing style is very different. And it reads more like a dry history text that heaps up exotic dwarf and elven names. To me it was all a bit incoherent or maybe I didn’t try hard enough to find the coherence. Yet I did make a serious effort!

Perhaps my setting wasn’t great as I like my holiday reading to be accompanied by a few beers or a good wine, but that doesn’t blend well with the nature of this book as it requires close attention. I never, ever do not finish a book. But the Silmarillion broke this rule, as I gave up after 1/3 and decide to leave it to the Middle Earth fanatics and started to enjoy my holiday.

43 people found this helpful

David M

Most beautiful Silmarillion published so far.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2021

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This review is for the 2021 de luxe slipcased edition. This is an outstandingly beautiful edition of The Silmarillion. Cloth bound, beautifully printed and with Ted Nasmith’s wonderful illustrations on a matt paper, which I actually prefer to the glossy paper on the previous illustrations. The map of Beleriand is printed separately in colour. If you’re a lover of Tolkien then, trust me, you will want this on your shelf.

Some people find the Silmarillion hard going. The point to note is that it is very different to the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien envisaged the Silmarillion as a compendium of Middle Earth legend and history transmitted in the later years of Middle Earth by Elvish and Numenorian scholars. The style of writing is therefore that of myth and legend, which some people find dry and difficult. But the Silmarillion is anything but dry - the tone is somber, the language beautiful and poetic and the tales both profound and often sad and exciting in equal measure. If you want to come to a deeper understanding of Tolkien’s world then the Silmarillion is absolutely indispensable. In essence this is a prequel to Lord of the Rings and once you have grasped both books the entire history of Middle Earth is laid open to you and many of the events in the Lord of the Rings can be grasped in their proper historical setting and significance.

The Silmarillion, more than the Lord of the Rings, was Tolkien’s major achievement. He worked on it his entire adult life. It was unfinished at Tolkien’s death and existed in many drafts (all of which are set out and thoroughly analysed by Christopher Tolkien in the History of Middle Earth). It was left to Christopher Tolkien to bring these drafts together in the published Silmarillion. He did an excellent job. Without Christopher Tolkien’s painstaking work then we would only have fleeting glimpses of Tolkien’s legendarium through the references in the Lord of the Rings and it’s appendices. We would not know about the Ainulindale, Tolkien’s beautiful creation myth, nor would we have the moving tales of Beren and Luthien or Turin Turambar in all of their glory. We owe the late Christopher Tolkien a huge debt of gratitude for his work in unveiling the full majesty and splendour of his fathers creation.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough and this de luxe edition, with Ted Nasmith’s superb illustrations, does it justice. However, in one sole respect both the de luxe and standard hardback of this edition departs from its otherwise high standards and that is on page xxiv (in the introductory letter to Milton Waldman) where there is a glaring error - the text of the footnote on that page is repeated in the main text of the letter, rendering the last part of that paragraph unintelligible (although no part of the main text is actually lost). Come on Harper Collins - you can do better than that.

6 people found this helpful

Demonsub

One of The Best Books I Have Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2017

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This book is amazing. It covered the entire history of Tolkien’s creation. It is not an easy read as it reads more like a history book rather than a novel and takes a little work to understand names and places, but some very useful family trees and maps are included to aid the reader.
It’s by far my favourite book of the year so far and I certainly look forward to rereading it in years to come.

30 people found this helpful

Adam

A beautiful and engrossing masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2017

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Deep, captivating, tragic, epic, violent... these are just a few words that describe the stories of the silmarillion. To those familiar with the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, be warned that the silmarillion is more grim and shocking than what you might have come to expect from Tolkien, but this does not at all hinder its greatness.
Would absolutely recommend to any Tolkien fan or fan of fantasy/literature in general.

38 people found this helpful

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The Silmarillion Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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