by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The whole of Tolkien's mythology, massively condensed into a single volume.
At school and university, I was addicted to Tolkien. I lost track of how many times I read The Lord of the Rings. I read and re-read his other books too—even the obscure ones.
It's 25 years since I have read any Tolkien. But, when I spotted that The Silmarillion was available on the Kindle, I decided to give it a go, to see if it was as good as I remembered.
It turned out it was.
The Silmarillion is not for the faint-hearted. It's the whole of Tolkien's mythology, massively condensed into a single volume. It starts with the creation of the universe, and ends with the whole of The Lord of the Rings summarised into a few pages. It's a bit like reading the Old Testament: there are gods, and smitings, theeing and thouing, and catastrophes of biblical proportions. And it's all great stuff—if you like that sort of thing, which personally I do. But it's really one for the serious Tolkien fans. If you struggled with The Lord of the Rings or (heaven help you) The Hobbit, The Silmarillion really won't be your cup of tea.