Unfinished Tales

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

Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West

JRR Tolkien’s legacy of short stories which inhabit the realm of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, on audio for the first time.

Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century’s most acclaimed popular author.

The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as Gandalf’s lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End, the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan.

Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were collated and edited by JRR Tolkien’s son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father’s writings.

©1980 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)1980 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Another monument to the incredible imagination of Tolkien." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Moments of mythic grandeur." (Sunday Times)

Shaken to the core!

I am reading this in conjunction with the Silmarillion. I have read Lord of the Rings at least a dozen times. This book made me realize that, no matter how well I know the Lord of the Rings, it is just a long, remarkably detailed tale, just a part of the overall story, on which the Unfinished Tales shed much light.

What I find the most profound is in the cases of revealed motives, predecessors, and previous history which illuminate decisions, characters, and priorities.

I am so thankful that Christopher Tolkien decided to go ahead and published this work.

Enlightening and Entertaining

Not for your average mainstream fans unless they are into this sort of thing. An enjoyable listen that fills in lots of gaps you may want to know more about and fills in some gaps you never knew you wanted filled.

So many extra tidbits for Tolkien fans!

My favorite chapter was the one about the palantiri, very cool to learn exactly where they all were located!

amazing.

the DEPTH Tolkien put into his work is absolutely mind boggling. incredible work. and hats off to Christopher Tolkien for compiling all his notes for clarification.

Excellent revealing storytelling

Loved learning more about the characters familiar and characters heard of the first time. Wonderful