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- Publisher: Del Rey
- Edition: Paperback (September 1996)
- Average Customer Rating:
Beware
- If you loved The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, you may not enjoy this book. Although it provides valuable Numenorean historical information, it is comprised of unfinished stories. Tolkein's son Christopher has annotated passages, and he includes his notes at the end of each tale. This is sometimes helpful, sometimes not. He points out the obvious. A lot.
There are some fairly interesting tidbits in here, though. The book shows you exactly how Tolkein started writing about the history of mankind inheriting the world.
So, only read it if you're looking to learn about Numenor or how Tolkein thought up Middle Earth, otherwise, stick to The Silmarillion and Lost Tales.
Good for the Tolkien Enthusiast
- If you're a Tolkien scholar, you already know how good this book is. It provides insight into the process of creating many important stories in the Silmarillion, most notably the Downfall of Numenor. Most critically, if you are studying Tolkien languages (Quenya or Sindarin = elvish), you need this book, which includes Etymologies, an important reference. I'm studying Quenya, so this is pretty much mandatory reading.
But if you're reading this review, you're probably a Tolkien fan just browsing. In that case, my message to you is this. Read Lord of the Rings. Then, read the Hobbit and the Silmarillion. If you love the Silmarillion, and want a sense of how it developed over the decades, then get The Lost Road. Otherwise, it will probably be too dry an academic for you.
Essential Work Of Tolkien's Early Numenor Saga
- Once more Christopher Tolkien has provided an essential tome which is a history of his father's early Middle-earth writings as well as a splendid etymology of the Elvish languages. The book includes "The Lost Road", an early look at Numenor told as a time travel saga that starts in early 20th Century England as well as an early version of the Quenta Silmarillion. This is absolutely required reading for Tolkien fans.
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