fingfootball Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I have just downloaded 5 Tolkien books for when I workout and when I'm driving. I what order should I listen to them? The Silmarillion The Hobbit The Fellowship The Two Towers The Return of the King Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billay Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 (edited) Generally, the hobbit is considered the precurser to the lord of the rings trilogy. It introduces Bilbo and Gandalf, but, on the whole, is only tangentially related to the story line of the lord of the rings. The Silmarillion is altogether different. It is the history of the elves in middle earth. To understand the relationship between the two, it's like the mythology of the Roman gods, vs. the Aeneid. The stories are different, but the Aeneid presupposes a lot of knowledge about the gods. To have read it first might enhance your enjoyment of "Rings" You can read it either before or after the trilogy, depending on how much background you want on the tolkein universe. The narrative style of the silmarillion is different too. It's an after-the-fact telling, as opposed to the 3rd person narrative of Rings or the Hobbit. Personally, I love the silmarillion. It tells the story of the creation of the middle earth universe (literally) and the original 12 gods. Manwe is akin to Zeus while Melkor is akin to Lucifer (greatest of the lesser gods, who got prideful and attempted to take over, but was thrown down) Then it goes on to tell how the gods created elves, and Melkor used elves to create the abomination of orcs. There are battles between the gods, then battles between the elves and orcs. It only generally introduces Sauron (the main antagonist in Rings) who was, I believe an elf, who chose to follow Melkor, and learned his powers. After Melkor was defeated Sauron carried the mantle of evil. The Silmarillion is far more broad and sweeping in its scope. It covers Eons of time in the middle earth universe. Edited February 18, 2009 by billay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 ---Overload--- But seriously I read them in the following order The Hobbit The Fellowship The Two Towers The Return of the King The Silmarillion If I had to do it over I would of read The Silmarillion first..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hobbit first. Then, if you're intrigued, the trilogy. Then, if you're hungry for more, The Silmarilion ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Billay has it exactly right. I would probably read it The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, the The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is much more like reading a history book as opposed to a narrative story. It's a tougher read although it has a wealth of background information that fills in gaps in the other books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpholmes Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hobbit first. Then, if you're intrigued, the trilogy. Disagree with this personally - I was completely bored with The Hobbit and absolutely loved the trilogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cunning Runt Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Billay has it exactly right. I would probably read it The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, the The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is much more like reading a history book as opposed to a narrative story. It's a tougher read although it has a wealth of background information that fills in gaps in the other books. Ya - that's the order I read them in as well. Read the trilogy at least 4 times start to finish. One interesting part of the Silmarillion is you learn how Sauron came to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingfootball Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 Thanks for the info guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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