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Cirdan
has made 22 posts and is an Elf from Lothlorien and is not online.
Posted Thursday 16th June 2005 (11:14pm)
I've bought all the lotr trilogy, i am buying the hobbit this summer and am wondering if the Unfinished Tales are worth buying.
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Elrose
has made 1472 posts and is a Hobbit from Hobbiton and is not online.
Posted Thursday 16th June 2005 (11:18pm)
BY THEM NOW
also buy the rest of the books concerning Tolk. you won't regret it.
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Cirdan
has made 22 posts and is an Elf from Lothlorien and is not online.
Posted Thursday 16th June 2005 (11:21pm)
thanl you for the quick responseSmile Smiliei shall attempt to buy them as quick as possible
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Grondmaster
has made 25465 posts and is a Dwarf from Glittering Caves and has sailed into the West.
Posted Friday 17th June 2005 (12:23am)
Definitely buy and The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, but don't rush into buying the ten volume History of Middle-earth series, as it is basically a reference set and much that you will find there is apocryphal and doesen't make for a good read, as in a good adventure story. IMHO. Look through the H.O.M.E. threads to find a list of those volumes that you might find interesting.
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Elrose
has made 1472 posts and is a Hobbit from Hobbiton and is not online.
Posted Friday 17th June 2005 (05:14am)
I respect your opinion grondy but mine differs. u be right in that they are not as "exciting" as others but 1-5 are extremely good. 6-11? are good and are about how Tolk wrote the books. by a bio of Tolk and if you see harry potter, BURN THEM So Angry Smilie
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Lady_eowyn_of_rohan
has made 25 posts and is a Rohirrim from Edoras and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 21st June 2005 (08:47pm)
UT is definitly worth it. if you loved LotR and the Hobbit.... UT is sooo worth it. it builds on everything else. i tried to read it before the silmarillion and it just didn't work. if anything... make sure you read it after the others. it will deepen your understanding of tolkien's world.
you'll never regret buying UT.... trust me...

and yes.... burn harry potter...
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Gwaihir
has made 207 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 21st June 2005 (08:49pm)
And lets burn Grimbeldore or whatever the blown up version of Gimli is called...
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Cloveress
has made 2289 posts and is a Hobbit from Buckland and is not online.
Posted Friday 8th July 2005 (09:48am)
Grimbledore? Thta's outrageous!!!!!
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Ithil
has made 1427 posts and is a Hobbit from Buckland and is not online.
Posted Wednesday 27th July 2005 (07:08pm)
I've just finished reading UT and I can only recommend it to you, too. I especially enjoyed the narn i hin hùrin...
really worth reading, don't hesitate and get it (if you haven't already got it...)
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Morambar
has made 1022 posts and is an Elf from Lothlorien and is not online.
Posted Thursday 28th July 2005 (12:02am)
Yes on UT, but let's not get ahead of ourselves: I've said it before and I'll say it again, one CANNOT fully appreciate TLotR without the Silmarillion. Completely ignoring the references to Gil-Galad (which, sadly, is about all we EVER get) and Earendil, the poignancy of what is irrevocably gone and only a shadow fading fast in the Trilogy requires the Silmarillion to understand. To say nothing of the fact that, once again, Feanor could've (and certainly would've) kicked Saurons tail up one side of ME and down the other one.
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Nólatári
has made 10 posts and is an Elf from Lothlorien and is not online.
Posted Thursday 28th July 2005 (08:45pm)
I agree with Ithil- 'narn i hin hùrin' is extremely enjoyable! The UT pad out and fill in missing details from known stories but what for me is great is that they also give other people's perspectives on happenings which enriches the tales invaluably.
Does anyone know what the best book to read is after the UT? I have many to choose from and I don't have enough knowledge of each to choose!
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Tyrhael
has made 1187 posts and is an Elf from Lothlorien and is not online.
Posted Saturday 3rd December 2005 (07:22pm)
If you've read LotR, the Hobbit, and Unfinished Tales, the next I'd recommend would be the Silmarillion; it opens the door to a broad expanse of history that you only saw glimpses of in LotR; after reading it, references in LotR to the Elder Days will make much more sense. The language is beautiful though sometimes hard to get through. I will be honest: it is not as easy to follow as LotR; it is not through one viewpoint, but rather a collection of stories. Rúmil, a Noldo of Tirion, wrote the Ainulindalë, and Pengolodh compiled the Quenta Silmarillion. Dírhaval wrote the Narn i Chîn Húrin, and Elendil wrote the Akallabêth. If I remember correctly, these tales of yore were part of what Bilbo added to the Red Book in his Translations from the Elvish.
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Cloveress
has made 2289 posts and is a Hobbit from Buckland and is not online.
Posted Sunday 4th December 2005 (02:15am)
Of course, reading the Silmarillion before the UT is the best way to understand the books. Many tales in the UT would be hard to understand if you haven't read the Sil. and are still new to places like Beleriand (I don't recall there being any map of Beleriand in the UT). Also the references made in the UT are mostly things from the Silmarillion and if you haven't read the Sil you'll find quite a few unfamiliar names stuck in your head at once.
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Grondmaster
has made 25465 posts and is a Dwarf from Glittering Caves and has sailed into the West.
Posted Wednesday 4th January 2006 (11:14pm)
Quote:
(I don't recall there being any map of Beleriand in the UT).
There wasn't one in my 1988 Del Rey paperback edition, which only had the three 1988 maps of Númenórë, Middle-earth, and Gondor/Mordor by Shelly Shapiro. Nor was there one in my 1980 Houghton Mifflin large paperback edition.
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Mellon
has made 6278 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Saturday 4th March 2006 (12:45pm)
I got The Unfinished Tales today..And I cant wait to read them....
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Morambar
has made 1022 posts and is an Elf from Lothlorien and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 7th March 2006 (11:31am)
I recently reread the UT at the urging of a leggy blonde ('cos I just can't say no, sigh) and was amazed by all the stuff I'd forgotten. UT is the only place of which I know where we learn WHAT the Seven Gates of the City of Seven Gates were, and even see Sindarin archers who followed Turgon from Vinyamar guarding one. I wanted to knock the #@!$ out of Aldarion and Erendis, plus there's the only account (sort of) the formation of the alliance between Gondor and Rohan and some interesting stuff on the mechanics and use of the Palantiri (was Denethor a Warden of the Minas Tirith Palantir even while his father lived? It seems likely.)
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Leelee
has made 2300 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Monday 26th March 2007 (05:54pm)
Although I love LOTR with all my elven heart, if I could only have one book it would be the Unfinished tales, hands down.
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Orome
has made 1 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Friday 18th March 2011 (09:10am)

Try finding this book in Cambodia - not easy.

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Leelee
has made 2300 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Friday 11th November 2011 (06:33pm)

That is too bad. When I think of Cambodia I always think of a highly intelligent artsy and well read people so I never thought it would be a problem to get such books. I hope you have long found a copy by now

 

I would be interest to know how many on our site have actually read the Unfinished tales, which is his or her favorite and when was it read.And to fit into the thread, was the read and if you bought the book worth it?

I only read the the book a couple of years ago, I believe I was given the book at Christmas as a gift. I found it stark and harsh and heartbreaking, awesome and exhilerating and thrilling and a great adventure all in one. Somehow these more serious works remind me of Tolkiens actual life in bits and pieces, the loss of his father just like that a world away after just saying good bye to him and expecting him to join him, his brother and mother; the terrible poverty endured until his motherès death after she became Catholic, the horror and grief at his mothers untimely death and the terrible way she died- sick and all alone.  Just so many things that to me, including the war, shaped these wondrous stories.

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Odette
has made 717 posts and is a Dunedain from Osgiliath and is not online.
Posted Sunday 13th November 2011 (05:48pm)

I agree Leels.I have a strong bias towards the Unfinished Tales.It's just beyond simple words and the power of explaining.I don't have a copy but my cousin does.It's pretty easily available in India. And I have read it many times since I was 15 or 16 I guess.Found it in most libraries,wherever I went.

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Valedhelgwath
has made 4242 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Friday 14th September 2012 (08:34pm)

I picked up The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun today for just £2.99. Has anyone read it?

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Galin
has made 1376 posts and is a Hobbit from Buckland and is not online.
Posted Friday 14th September 2012 (08:50pm)

I have. I enjoyed it very much... but of course one must like poetry (or the type of poetry employed here anyway), and I'm a bit familiar with the 'tale' in various forms already.

But Christopher Tolkien does an outstanding job in my opinion, so one doesn't necessarily have to be familiar with things to enjoy.

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Arwen undómiel
has made 511 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Friday 14th September 2012 (08:51pm)
Hello Val, I have read The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. And I like it. I think you have to like that kind of style. But it's a good book. And I just love the Norse mythology. It's as you can understand a different kind of book than other Tolkien books. So don't think "oh it's a book from Tolkien so than it will be like the other books from Tolkien.". Please let me know if you like it.
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Elbereth
has made 290 posts and is an Elf from Lothlorien and is not online.
Posted Friday 14th September 2012 (08:53pm)

Every Tolkien book I have read at the moment is worthy. You go deeper and deeper in the history and characters of Middle Earth. Right now I have bought "The children of Hurin" but unfortunately, I have left it at home when I have come here. Maybe I'll read it at Christmas...

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Soora
has made 27 posts and is a Rohirrim from Edoras and is not online.
Posted Friday 14th December 2012 (02:30am)

I never knew this book existed. Gonna read it as soon as possible -if only just to understand what everyone is refering to

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