As for the Silmarillion on a whole it’s been a heck of a ride. It was a lot less enjoyable than I expected based on what I’d read in the Ainulindale and Valaquenta, and all the good stuff about Tolkien that I’d heard. Like I pointed out toward the beginning, the story doesn’t really start till things go wrong. And they never do get much better, do they? I can’t be too hard on this, since of course every story starts with some kind of plot complication, right?
My take on Tolkien is that he’s proven himself as an exceptional writer of epic tragedy in the Silmarillion, but not fantasy. As I went along, I found myself begging for the end to come and wondering how much devestation we had to endure to know that the Noldor and the sons of Faenor got their just desserts.
I did enjoy his writing and I am really looking forward to reading the Hobbit after Akallabeth. I can see how the Silmarillion will serve as great background for the rest of Tolkien’s Middle-earth stories, but it’s not an easy read that’s for sure.
