For a lot of people, the Silmarillion is the next logical step for people who begin to appreciate Tolkien literature. Just as The Hobbit is more akin to a children’s storybook tale, The Silmarillion is considered to be one of the more thought-provoking and enriched pieces of J.R.R’s work. But no-one would say that the book is easy-reading: spanning thousands of years, thousands of people and thousands of places, the Silmarillion is often too much to take in for one reading.
A Guide To Reading The Silmarillion
First there was Ilúvatar, The One. Then there were the Ainur, some of which became the Valar: Manwe, Melkor, Ulmo, Aule, Orome, Mandos, Lórien, Tulkas, Varda, Yavanna, Niennas, Este, Vaire, Vana and Nessa. Their servants were the Maiar, Ilmare, Eonwe, Osse, Uinen, Melian and Olórin to name but a few.
Quite a lot of names for just three eight pages isn’t it?
Reading the Silmarillion for the first time, people always comment on the volume of information hitting you in the space of a couple of chapters. Though the Silmarillion is by no means a lengthy book, the content itself can become almost off-putting at times. It gets to the stage that after completing the book, you find yourself getting mixed up between Beren and Turin only weeks after.
And that is where this week’s Hall of Fire comes in. This week we’re going to discuss, debate and swap tips on the process of reading the Silmarillion. Whether you’re having problems remembering the seven sons of Feanor (there was a guy with a M in his name there….somewhere…) to knowing your Minas Arnor from your Minas Tirith, you should pay a visit to us this weekend on one of our three different chat sessions! From wisened veterans who knows every name from the book backwards to those just discovering Tolkien, everyone is welcome!
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) BST and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) BST and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) BST [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
BST = British Summer Time, GMT +1 hour
AET = Australian Eastern Time, Australia’s East Coast
Questions? Topics? Send ‘em here.
