spoltz
11/12/2020
This is the tenth installment in the History of Middle Earth series edited by Christopher Tolkien. This volume features different revisions of the creation of Middle Earth. Like most of its predecessors, it's for the hardcore fans who want to see the evolution of the Tolkien Legendarium. I found this volume tougher to read than some of the others, mainly because it contained essays and fictional ruminations on the nature of the Elves, Men, and Orcs; good and evil; and life and death. While it may sound interesting at first, one must remember that Tolkien was an Oxford professor, so his philosophical writing is very detailed and academic, even the fictional pieces. He was exploring the deeper nature of his Legendarium as he was trying to develop The Silmarillion for publication. I got bogged down in it as it seems Tolkien did himself.
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