<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 129</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Keep Going Man
Hope you're not feeling that way because of anything I said. I was just yankin your chain. Actually, sometimes I'm awed at how much these guyse seem to know.
Of all of Tolkien's books, The Silmarillion is THE KEY to understanding Middle Earth. There is a lot of other interesting stuff out there, but it's nothing without the Sil serving as the backbone.
I had to read it like five times before I finally was able to appreciate the flow. In a way it's like studying a history book. Eventually you get it. If you find it hard, flip around to the more interesting chapters. The Darkening of Valinor is probably my favorite, followed by the Voyage of Earendil and the War of Wrath.
Make good use of the geneaology tables in the back. You might find it helpful to keep a handy copy of the one of the descendents of Finwe and the Noldor. I guarantee you that it will help.
If you get desperate, read the appendix on Durin's folk. You don't really have to know anything else to follow it, and it's especially interesting reading for devotees of the Hobbit.
- Maglor
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