Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) I’m a massive Tolkien geek. Literally a member of the Tolkien Society. So I’ve been kind of wetting myself about this for a while. But I’ve also been fearful. Will it maintain any fidelity to Tolks’ legendarium or will it be some sad wokefest or a GoT rip off? Season 1 has now wrapped and they move into post-production. Now a year of anticipation. Many people think this is a remake of the LotR movies, it is not. The series takes place thousands of years previous and is based on content from the Akallabeth and Of The Rings Of Power from the Silmarillion. The first image has dropped and I am beyond happy with what I see. I suspect this is from a flashback or prologue scene as this looks to have very, very exciting and unlooked for First Age content. Here is the image: Edited August 5, 2021 by Thorongil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) here is my reaction to said image. https://youtu.be/o0q5_zRSQ3s Edited August 5, 2021 by Thorongil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuraiJock Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Should i finally read the Silmarillion this year then before the show comes out? Have always feared it was just a dull history book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) 6 minutes ago, SamuraiJock said: Should i finally read the Silmarillion this year then before the show comes out? Have always feared it was just a dull history book. I first read the Silmarillion when I was about 16. Have probably read it 6 or 7 times in total. It’s my favourite of all books. It’s not dull. Some of the earlier chapters are a bit meta and cosmology but they are literally the origin story of the world, origins of Elves and Men, and Dwarves and Ents and Orcs etc. Then it gets into epic tales about the heroes Aragorn Boromir and even Gandalf reference in LOTR. you will learn about Elrond’s father and his somewhat unique fate among many othe things. The richness and texture of lore is unlike anything else. so yes, read it ahead of this. You will understand Sauron and Galadriel and their histories and origins much better for it and these 2 are central in this Amazon series. Edited August 5, 2021 by Thorongil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 There is one chapter that people often struggle with; “Of Beleriand and its realms.” It’s basically a whole chapter describing a map. First time round it won’t mean much but it comes to life once you have a good grip of who lives where and why it matters. I would also recommend the audiobook read by Martin Shaw. I got through it recently in the car and walking the dog. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuraiJock Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Just googled if others recommend reading it, and it clearly splits opinion. Some describing it as like the Old Testament for Middle Earth (which seems to match your description quite well), others saying it reads like a phonebook. Will give it a go i think. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 1 minute ago, SamuraiJock said: Just googled if others recommend reading it, and it clearly splits opinion. Some describing it as like the Old Testament for Middle Earth (which seems to match your description quite well), others saying it reads like a phonebook. Will give it a go i think. Thickos and those without souls don’t like it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 One other thing to hear in mind is the written perspective. LotR is written in the 3rd person by Bilbo and finishied by Frodo as the Red Book of Westmarch. The Silmarillion has a different tone as it has a different in-universe narrator. It is a direct translation of elvish lore. It is an elvish lore master in Tol Erresea explaining the history to a man, who translates it into English. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) It'll be interesting to see how successful The Silmarillion will be as it is far less widely read than The Hobbitt or LotR... Quote It (The Silmarillion) has sold over a million copies, far less than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings which have each sold over 100 million copies. Edited August 5, 2021 by btb 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I'm mildly interested in what the OP thinks might be cut from the book as part of a "sad wokefest", whatever that is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 7 minutes ago, BFTD said: I'm mildly interested in what the OP thinks might be cut from the book as part of a "sad wokefest", whatever that is. I think I was more concerned about what they might add in but I’m not too worried about that now. Thanks for posting! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 No elves wearing "Orc Lives Matter" T-shirts? Pity. (absolutely flailing, it seems to mean different things to different people) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 54 minutes ago, btb said: It'll be interesting to see how successful The Silmarillion will be as it is far less widely read than The Hobbitt or LotR... I think the Amazon show buzz if already driving new sales of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. The new series isn’t an adaptation of Quenta Silmarillion as such, just a few fragments from the wider book. I recently got my special editions to replace the old worn ones. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 1 minute ago, BFTD said: No elves wearing "Orc Lives Matter" T-shirts? Pity. (absolutely flailing, it seems to mean different things to different people) You ok? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Just hoping you'd share some of what was going through your mind. Understandable if you don't want to. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorongil Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 28 minutes ago, BFTD said: Just hoping you'd share some of what was going through your mind. Understandable if you don't want to. Well, as much as I love Game of Thrones, I don’t want it to have the same tone. There could well be a place for the violence and debauchery in Numenor and with the killing of Celebrimbor. There will be a need to flesh out some of it and create characters. I don’t want to see, for example, transgender elves or bi curious Balrogs. In the recent cultural climate these things are a fear when movie and film creators take artistic licence too far, such as with the Hobbit movies. The creation of Tauriel simply to have a love triangle involving a dwarf is just wholly inconsistent with the entire legendarium. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Is the sexuality of Balrogs discussed in the Silmarillion? It's been a long time since I read it, but I don't recall. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I've read The Hobbit and LotR quite a few times, but I've never got round to The Silmarillion. I've ordered a copy and figure I've got a year to work my way through it now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I wonder how much it will be adapted because most Tolkien experts reckon it is unfilmable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Well, as much as I love Game of Thrones, I don’t want it to have the same tone. There could well be a place for the violence and debauchery in Numenor and with the killing of Celebrimbor. There will be a need to flesh out some of it and create characters. I don’t want to see, for example, transgender elves or bi curious Balrogs. In the recent cultural climate these things are a fear when movie and film creators take artistic licence too far, such as with the Hobbit movies. The creation of Tauriel simply to have a love triangle involving a dwarf is just wholly inconsistent with the entire legendarium. Flesh out is an understatement - The Silmarillion is more creation myth than story, in that it lacks complete characters. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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