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The Silmarillion cover art

The Silmarillion

By: J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien
Narrated by: Andy Serkis
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Summary

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 on the recording are several shorter works. The Ainulindalë is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabêth 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.

This brand-new unabridged recording is read by the acclaimed actor, director and author, Andy Serkis.

©1977 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

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

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What listeners say about The Silmarillion

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Enjoyable listening experience

I really enjoyed listening to Andy Serkis reading The Silmarillion. Although I found the story a little hard going at times, the performance was wonderful.
I have enjoyed all the Tolkien books read by Andy Serkis and would recommend them to all.

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5 people found this helpful

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Incredible

amazing story only made better by Andy serkis' emotive reading! any audio book I read that isnt read by him is gonna suffer in comparison

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An epic with an epic reader

Andy Serkis is perfect for this. The Silmarillion is harder reading than The Hobbit and LOTR, but it is worth sticking with it.

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Detail

10/10 going to listen again as so much information and now I may understand power of the rings slightly

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Amazing story. Fantastic writing!

Great narrative throughout. Would highly recommend. Read in great tones as well. Nice dramatic reading of a fantastic story.

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  • GM
  • 12-09-23

Great in every aspect except one

I really enjoy Andy Serkis’s reading of The Silmarillion. Except for his wrong pronunciation of the diphthong “AE” like in Maedhros. It’s not “may-dhros”, Andy, it’s “mah-eh-dhros”!

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  • Overall
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Another amazing audiobook by Andy Serkis!

Another amazing audiobook by Andy Serkis. Out of all of Tolkien's works, The Silmarillion is the toughest to read. So listening to this was really helpful. The book is written beautifully and the narrator reads it excellently. A recommended audiobook to those wanting to read The Silmarillion, those currently reading it, and even those who have already finished it but want to delve in it again. It's a must read for all you Tolkien fans.

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  • TH
  • 20-08-23

Fantastic Story!

If you have ever struggled to read the book, this is an excellent alternative. Andy Serkis reads beautifully and expertly pronounces the lands and names of the characters from JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion. The story provides the extensive history of middle earth in the ages before LOTR, and is a must if you are a fan!

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elvish history of Middle earth.

fantastic listen, with a narrator that paints a picture like an artist with a brush...

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  • cs
  • 25-04-24

Historical background

I will need to listen to this again to pick up the threads of history that I got lost in at first. It started to make sense later and then I wished I could remember the details of what went before. I am a fan of the Hobbit and Lord of Rings books and wanted to see what the origins were. Loved the second half of the book where there were more cohesive jointed stories of background. My heroine Galadriel appeared and her history is in this.

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