The universe that JRR Tolkien created in his books is richly textured and expansive. Middle Earth is an amazing creation from one of the most beloved writers of the 20th century. What’s extra amazing about Tolkien’s universe building is that it is by no means limited to the Lord of the Rings books. Indeed, for the deeper history of Middle Earth, one must go to The Silmarillion.

Tolkien wanted Middle Earth to seem like a place with a real history, somewhere that had rich stories and a textured mythology from which to draw. He complied for himself extensive notes on the origins of Middle Earth to aid in his writing, and even had an early draft of what would later become The Silmarillion in his files. After Tolkien’s death his son Christopher compiled the notes and drafts into the history of Middle Earth that became The Silmarillion. This book is at times very dark, with heavy, intense themes and complex relationships. Tolkien was heavily inspired by “The Kalevala”, the national epic poem of Finland, for some of his writing in The Silmarillion. If you’re interested in that work, check out the translation in our collection by Eino Friberg called The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People DB 28450.

The Silmarillion is a must-read for any Tolkien fanatic, but also for fans of George R R Martin’s Game of Thrones books, or fans of the fantasy genre in general!

The Silmarillion

By JRR Tolkien

DB 60367

Posthumous collection of imaginative tales by the author of The Hobbit (DB 48978) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Stories depict the First Age of the World when Dark Lord Morgoth dwelled in Middle Earth and the High Elves made war upon him to recover the Silmarils. 1977.