The Silmarillion

By: J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien

Narrated by: Andy Serkis

Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion tells the earlier history of Middle-earth, recounting the events of the First and Second Ages, and introducing some of the key characters, such as Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil and the Dark Lord, Sauron.

The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.

Included on the recording are several shorter works. The Ainulindalë is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabêth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings.

This brand-new unabridged recording is read by the acclaimed actor, director and author, Andy Serkis.

©1977 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

‘How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?’ The Guardian

‘Demanding to be compared with English mythologies… at times rises to the greatness of true myth’ Financial Times

‘A creation of singular beauty… magnificent in its best moments’ Washington Post

Andy knocks it out of the park

I had previously listened to the Martin Shaw narrated version and there is no comparison. Andy Serkis breathes new life into this tough to read book and makes it approachable, exciting and fresh. Highly recommended.

Don’t expect the hobbit or lord of the rings style

The beginning is hard to get through because it is all new names and places that are rattled off, the story jumps around through time so it can be hard to follow. Don’t expect the same level of detail in the writing as the hobbit or lord of the rings, it is nice if you just want more of the lore or background to the stories.

Not the LOTR

Be advised that this book is not the LOTR series. It constantly has many, many names and places. And is a great history up to the third age. But due to it being a history book, it jumps around A LOT. Like a lot, a lot.

Amazing

I love this book and the narration just makes it that much better to listen to

A Masterwork Narration

This will have concluded my listening of the entire Tolkien storyline that is narrated by Andy Serkis. Although I’ve had to trudge through this last few chapters - not because of lack of interest or dull writing/story, but because of an irritating ear infection - it has been an amazing, enthralling and overall an enlightening journey. The land of Middle-Earth has always been my favorite escape from the stresses and ills of life. Reading Middle-Earth allows me to escape, as does listening to Middle Earth and Mr. Serkis performs and brings to life the entirety of this secondary world in a way that is almost incomprehensible. So, thank you. Thank you Mr. Serkis, and thank you Audible, and above all, thank you J. R. R. tolkien for again allowing me to experience this world in a new light. Please, if you haven’t already, read these books. Enjoy this effort of so many. Happy Listening, everyone.

What a legend

Serkis' narration is AWESOME! Way better listening to this vs reading, imo. Only other thing I would have preferred to have is a narration of the lineages and other info from the back of the actual book. 10/10 no matter what though

Helps you understand LOTR

This book helps lend context to the events and style of the more well-known movies and books. The LOTR is one of a collection of stories in a much longer timeline, in a much larger world, with a much richer history and lore, all of which helps explain the events of Arda. The writing and the performance are both excellent.

Perfection

Thank you Andy Serkis
It was a pleasure to hear you read this book.
Tolkien’s work was and still is one of the greatest books of our times.

The flow was a bit dry

As a number of others have mentioned in their reviews across multiple platforms, this book is full of information & back story & I love it for that & allowing better understanding of the universe Tolkien created. However, as a number of those reviews also say, this book is dry to read & even a bit dry to listen to. Andy Serkis’ reading was definitely helpful indeed as I don’t believe I would’ve made it thru on my own. 4/5 for being dry, & 5/5 for Andy.

Amazing

Andy Serkis is the absolute best and needs to do audio recordings for everything Tolkien