Review of Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien

What do the following works have in common: M. John Harrison’s Viriconium Nights, Ursula Le Guin’s Tales from Earthsea, Ian McDonald’s Cyberabad Days, Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Martians, Robert Silverberg’s Majipoor Chronicles, and George Alec Effinger’s Budayeen Nights? They are not only all collections, they are also collections featuring stories set in an established world, binding the larger pieces together like cement. (In the case of Harrison’s Viriconium, we must make that plural: worlds).  Poring over the wealth of material available for the posthumous publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion (1977), Tolkien’s son, Christopher, tabbed, compared, analyzed, and made extensive notes of it all, and three years later published Unfinished Tales (1980).  Like the aforementioned author’s collections, it fills in holes, covers backstory, and all around creates a broader, rounder view of a world, in this case the inimitable (though often attempted) Middle Earth. Therefore, those looking for The Lord of the Rings 2: Sauron Strikes Back should be aware: Unfinished Tales is most similar to the mythic stylings of The Silmarillion and the informational appendices of The Lord of the Rings than the novel itself. 

           

Unfinished Tales is for the scholar, the connoisseur, the nerd of Middle Earth.  Frodo, Gandalf, Sam, Bilbo, Gimli, Aragorn—all get brief mention, but are far, far from being the cornerstones of the collection.  Unfinished Tales can thus be broken into three essential parts: 1) the tales and myths, legends and stories Tolkien had written in the background of the major works that are confluent with Middle Earth history yet insular.  For readers simply interested in reading more from Tolkien’s imagination, they will satisfy. 2) bits of history, including geographical descriptions, royal lineages, histories of friendships and marriages, maps, etc.  These are for the reader who revels in worldbuilding.  And 3) the foot notes.  Covering a tremendous range of side commentary, Tolkien includes his father’s scribblings in the margin, alternate versions of the stories at hand, cross-indexing, analysis, supposition, as well as explanations and descriptions how or why the information is important to the larger scheme of Middle Earth.  Though dad’s writings occupy the majority, the foot notes occupy a significant portion of the book.  (There are even a couple of occasions wherein the foot notes are longer than the story itself.)  These additional notes, analysis, and commentary are for the reader with “Frodo lives!” tattooed on their forehead.

Review of "The Silmarillion" by J.R.R. Tolkien

If The Hobbit is the tip and The Lord of the Rings is the iceberg, then The Silmarillion is the glacier from which Middle Earth was calved.  A dark, epic history, the book outlays the mythic roots of Tolkien’s imaginary land.  Truly for the connoisseur, it is written in an entirely different tone than The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. A tone that emphasizes tragedy and time over questing and adventure, filling its pages are cosmology, culture, the will of the gods, and tragically heroic tales. “Epic Pooh” it is not. 

 

Starting with the music of the Ainur and ending with the downfall of Sauron (as told in The Lord of the Rings), The Silmarillion is the history of the three ages of Middle Earth.  Written in mythic style, the gods, the world, the elves, mankind, and the roots of good and evil are revealed.  All of the names and places which lacked context in The Lord of the Rings come suddenly to life.  Why was Elrond so revered?  For what reason does Gimli speak of Moria in breathless tones?  Where does Gandalf get his power?  Why do the elves and dwarves foster enmity?  Why is the White Tree in Minas Tirith of such significance?  Why is the balrog to be feared?  How did the Numenorian kings of old lose power?  

Review of "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Printed and re-printed more than 150 million times, existing in thirty-eight translations of foreign languages, spawning a variety of scholarship, prompting viral graffiti (Frodo lives!), having a museum, providing the impetus for multiple films, adaptations, and a host of derivative literature (for better and worse), and having millions of millions of fans around the world, its fair to say The Lord of the Rings has made its mark in the world of literature.  A watershed event, the novel put epic fantasy on the map half a century ago and remains the seminal influence on the genre.

 

But the book had different beginnings.  Tolkien’s finished manuscript languished in a drawer for about a decade.  Epic fantasy’s lack of presence in the market the major decision point, no editor was willing to take the risk of publishing such a massive tome at a time when fantasy was thought dead in the aftermath of the pulp era.  Giving in to publisher request, Tolkien eventually conceded to the book being broken into sections, paving the way for The Lord of the Rings to be released as most readers are familiar today: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.  Perhaps surprising, the books were not an immediate success.  A word-of-mouth movement in the UK, however, combined with the sales and distribution of non-copyrighted versions in the US, set the book squarely on the road to success, a facet pushed over the brink by the overwhelming popularity of Peter Jackson’s films at the turn of the millennium.

Review of "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 The Hobbit is simply as much fun as any fantasy adventure can be and, along with its ‘sequel’ The Lord of the Rings, is one of the genre’s modern cornerstones. Filled with warm, light-hearted imagination and tropes that have since become standard—trolls, wizards, elves, dwarves, and the like, the book is a delight for the young and the old, all brought to life with the author’s classic storytelling voice.

The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins and his quest to recover the treasure of Lonely Mountain.  Though smaller (and fuzzier) in stature than the thirteen dwarves he goes adventuring with, Mr. Baggins proves himself useful time and again escaping goblins, thwarting giant spiders, riling up dragons, and brokering peace among the various humans, elves, trolls, and otherwise the band meet along the way.  It doesn't hurt that he finds a most peculiar ring along the way.  This is all most peculiar because, such adventures are the last thing on Bilbo’s to-do list at the beginning of the book.