
The Fall of Númenor
And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-Earth
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Narrated by:
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Samuel West
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Brian Sibley
J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a ‘dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told’. And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron.
It was not until Christopher Tolkien published The Silmarillion after his father’s death that a fuller story could be told. Although much of the book’s content concerned the First Age of Middle-earth, there were at its close two key works that revealed the tumultuous events concerning the rise and fall of the island of Númenor. Raised out of the Great Sea and gifted to the Men of Middle-earth as a reward for aiding the angelic Valar and the Elves in the defeat and capture of the Dark Lord Morgoth, the kingdom became a seat of influence and wealth; but as the Númenóreans’ power increased, the seed of their downfall would inevitably be sown, culminating in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
Even greater insight into the Second Age would be revealed in subsequent publications, first in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, then expanded upon in Christopher Tolkien’s magisterial twelve-volume The History of Middle-earth, in which he presented and discussed a wealth of further tales written by his father, many in draft form.
Now, adhering to the timeline of ‘The Tale of Years’ in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, editor Brian Sibley has assembled into one comprehensive volume a new chronicle of the Second Age of Middle-earth, told substantially in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien from the various published texts.
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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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The story of aldarion and erendis
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More of a editorial, than a narrative story
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I'll also add that for any fans of the Rings of Power series, this book provides great context and far more detail about the events that were adapted into that format (for which the title itself is a pretty major spoiler...). And for anyone who isn't a fan of that show and really wants to know the most definitive version of the tale as we know Tolkien intended it, this book is for you too.
An epic tale told masterfully
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Not everything it could be but something worthwhile
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Best Book Ever
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Excellent companion work to the Silmarillion
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The second age, before the Tolkien you know
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I also wish the Tolkien family had their own version of Brandon Sanderson, that could take all the leftover pieces, and all the work Christopher did compiling and researching them, and turn them into stories, like Sanderson did with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.
1/2 story, 1/2 annotation
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Eye opener
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The book was totally worth it. Although not as polished or readable as LoR, it provided me with enough understanding of the series to understand the significance of Númenor and to make more sense of what was happening there. This posthumous work gives a detailed narrative of the civilization's downfall in a moving allegory for ambition, the dangers of seizing illegitimate power, hubris, and envy of the nations.
Do not expect a story in which the good guys win. After all, it is called the "Fall of Númenor." The writing is denser and heavily footnoted by editor Brian Sibley. However, a read will provide you with deeper insights into the universe created by Tolkien.
From a non-Tolkien Fanatic: Great for Orientation.
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