The Silmarillion Audiobook By J. R. R. Tolkien cover art

The Silmarillion

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The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion tells the earlier history of Middle-earth, recounting the events of the First and Second Ages, and introducing some of the key characters, such as Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil and the Dark Lord, Sauron.

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.

©1977 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)1977 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Accolades & Awards

Locus Award
1978
Epic Fantasy Fairy Tales Locus Award Military Fantasy Epic Fiction Suspenseful

Critic reviews

"How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?" ( The Guardian)
"Demanding to be compared with English mythologies...at times rises to the greatness of true myth." ( Financial Times)
"A creation of singular beauty...magnificent in its best moments." ( Washington Post)
"A grim, tragic, brooding and beautiful book, shot through with heroism and hope... its power is almost that of mysticism." ( Toronto Globe & Mail)

Featured Article: Galadriel—A Lord of the Rings Character Guide


Galadriel is one of the most significant characters both in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and the wide history of Middle-earth more generally. If you've listened to The Lord of the Rings or seen any of the film adaptations, then you're likely well aware of who Galadriel is. But what, exactly, makes her so important? What is her history? This character guide is here to answer all of your questions about the powerful Elf Galadriel, the Lady of Lórien.

Featured Article Galadriel A Lord of the Rings Character Guide
Continue Your Journey Through Middle earth

Continue Your Journey
Through Middle-earth

Explore collection
Epic Mythology • Beautiful Creation Story • Masterful Narration • Rich World-building • Interconnected Tales

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An unparalleled classic book of lore and literature. Tolkien is the father of modern day fantasy and Martin Shaw truly delivered on the narrating. The combination of the authors masterpiece with the skill of the narrators voice made this truly a book of art. I’ve read it three times!

The father of true high-fantasy lore

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when I fried to read it years before, I struggled and then stopped. glad I made it through this time. definitely rounded out my understanding.

much easier to listen to than read.

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I never really understood how dense the worlds he created actually were. I see that there is much to learn, and many pages to turn.

You don't know what you don't know

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The ages and everything about the people were broken down. I was told that I should have read this first before watching any of the movies. Now I can watch them with renewed insight and understanding!

I'm so glad that I listened to this book!

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listening to it being read to you is like sitting at a camp fire at night in faraway middle earth much easier then reading this book I'll listen to it again and I think this one day will me actually pick the book and read myself

hear

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