Whats your fave Sil. story

[Thranduil]

Mine has to be either Maeglin or Turin. I read them again and again - ad nausiem while growing up. (if i did indeed ever really grow up!)

The Lays of Hurin and Luthien respectfully were also greats and so deliciously tragic!
The words of Morgoth were so terible and poetic it was catatonic dispear all the way!

Go on r.s.v.p. innit

[Lady Arwen]

Blah, I got through like 100 pages of the book and stopped. I couldn't get through it, too dry for me. Then again, I was like 10, so I might just be due for another shot at it.

;D

[Thranduil]

True its not continuous narative, bit scrappy; but then again thats exactly what C. Tolkien composed it from: Scraps.

Have another read its worth it for the history and the stories are great. Start with a later more recognisable story; the beginnings a bit biblical, why not skip to Maeglin? Thats a doozy trust me!


The first time I read LOTRs I got 50 pages in and gave up. Then 100... Only then two years later i read it all the way through and visited it time and time again ever since. (must have gone cover to cover at least 4 times)

[Lady Arwen]

lol. I love the Trilogy, don't get me wrong, and yeah, it was hard to get through the first few times around, but I like to read books from the beginning to the end. I will just have to get me a copy of the Sil and try again is all.

[mythriel]

I tried to read the Sil. stories, but I was more in the mood for reading a more exciting book, not that it wasn't exciting. I love the trilogy, though, technically, I haven't read the entire thing yet, but hey, they're cool. I'm reading them again.

[curandir]

read the later stories and Maeglin, Tale of Hurin their exciting.
or better still read unfinnished tales...

Can't believe that so many of ya aint read the sil thing

[Lady Arwen]

I have tried to read it. Believe me. And I have read the Unfinished Tales, amoung other things, so

But yeah, I am surprised too. It answers a lot of questions.

[curandir]

such as; poor geography?

I'll shut up now before i put my foot in it!

I'd love to rp one of those early stories that Tolkien never went into detail about. Much more satisfying than rping the third age which is on the whole detailed already. (exept for non-canon characters obviously)

Anyway my humdrum existence is calling me...

[estelarana]

uhoh...

Yeah, honestly, I've never read further than the trilogy, 'cept I had the third part of Unfinished Tales for a short time, but never read it...so...yeah, I'm still uneducated about most of everything else that happened in Middle-Earth before The Third Age...

[naur]

Oh how I love the Sil...
Contrary to belief based on my character(s) my favorite race would have to be the Noldor and the story of the Feanorion, I absolutely adore their story.
Many times me and some friends will get into discussions about the question - "If Tolkien had written more about any one character, who would you want it to be?"
My answers are:
Tom Bombadil - He always intrigues me.. It was a shame he wasn't in the movies =(
Glorfindel - What's up with this? Is Glorfindel of Rivendell the reincarnated form of Glorfindel of Gondolin? Once Tolkien said yes, but in a letter he wrote he said that it wasn't, apparently he had forgotten that he had said yes before. So this remains unsolved.
I am also curious about Maglor - What happened to him? Elves life forever, surely he didn't spend eternity walking along the shores singing his sorrow without ever being found or seen?

[aurora]

I always think that insisting that there are two different Glorfindel's can complicate things that don’t need to be, and he was in the trilogy so little that it was the prefect opportunity to bring in a legendary character from his pervious writing, and its always more exciting if not everyone (people who haven’t read the sil) don’t really know who they are, and it makes it doubly exciting to read about him, and then to have those brief mentioning of him later again in the Fellowship.

I would have loved it if that had used Glorfindel instead of Arwen in the Flight to the Ford, with Arwen I always feel they are trying to pad out a character that has no real substance to start with, all we know about her is that she is a beautiful woman, who gave her love to Aragorn, but we never really know how she feels, or what she’s about, its almost as if she’s an after thought to encourage Aragorn on the quest a bit more.

But if they HAD given Glorfindel his own role (and his own horse back!) in the film, no doubt they would have got some ok looking tall thin guy the part, they would have had a hard job finding someone who looks (even in makeup and wardrobe) as impressive as Glorfindel should, just as with Elrond, who to me was just very... bleh, when he should have been magnificent.

[naur]

*gasp* I liked Elrond!... Well It could of been a little bit better and portrayed by a different actor. I just personally am a fan of Hugo Weaving

They should of had Glorfindel instead of Arwen in the Flight to the Ford.. I agree on that. *sigh* That's made so many funny pictures though of Arwen beating up Glorfindel and stealing his horse to go see the one she loved

Anyways, they really should of put Tom in the movies, as he was a sort of important part. I can understand how it wouldn't of made much sense to people who've never read the books, but Tom is an important character.
A lot of people believe that Tom was Tolkien, so to speak. Tom Bombadil was the character that Tolkien made as a figure of himself in the books.
Some insist that this role is Gandalf, but Tolkien was a religious man and Gandalf more along the lines fits the role of a 'Jesus'.

[phoenixbyrd]

Maeglin and the fall of Gondolin... It inspired my dark elves for sure. Tolkien never really went to town with his evil side of the elves, but Maeglin did it for me. He reminds me of Mordred for some reason, its been a while since I read the Sil, but he definitely had that feel about him... Personally I am in love with FR's drow and Maeglin is as close to that kind of elf as LotR's gets. When we see the less glamorous and righteous side of them in Mirkwood in the Hobbit I thought we'd see more.

I love Glaurung as well, and the arrogance of the elves, when will they learn? Nargothrond and Gondolin are awesome places though... *needs to frame and put up the artwork she has in her new house*

[Thranduil]

It was Maeglin's father who inspires Drow type images... He was an Elf of the Darkness (or more correctly the star-light). He was reclusive and found friendship in the Dwarves more readilly than his own kin...
Remember that he was a member of 'Sindar' Doriathrin aristocracy(for want of a better word)

Meglin on the other hand (whoes mother was a Noldorin High-Elf) craved the light and to reveal himself from the shadows of Elmoth and meet his mother's kin. His only 'dark side' was to fall in love with someone (his cousin) whom by Noldorin law he could never have... and led eventually to his death.

The Dark-Elves are not evil, they are different and often have aspirations and priorities quite at odds with the rest of the Middle-earth elves and the Amanyan elves also...
for instance their resentment of the sun...

Great story though... perhaps unique in the mythos.

[phoenixbyrd]

Indeed, that's what I love about it. Its been a while since I read the Sil but as it was the story that stuck out in my mind I figured it was my fave. I love Doriath and all the stories linked to Melian and Thingol, ties we see in the Rings trilogy. I hope as they are doing two Hobbit movies they spend a little time in Mirkwood and have Thranduil at least make an appearance, and show the Mirkwood elves how they really are. I love Amroth and Nimrodel's [sp?) story as well though, and I also always craved more on Valinor before Feanor went 'astray'. Its one of the reasons I love PJ so much, his references to the Sil, particularly Shelob and Ungoliant. He said he wants to do the Sil stories, but I dunno how such a mythology could be done... they are so unfinished.