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submitted 4 months ago by The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world to c/lotrmemes@midwest.social

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[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I don’t think that would work very well. Without reading the LOTR, the Silmarillion is a rebel without a cause. It’s a pointless creation myth. The reader has no investment in the characters or their development as there’s no real story or arc to them.

Read the LOTR and The Hobbit, and if the reader loves Middle Earth, they can dig deeper into the world building of it all.

[-] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 10 points 4 months ago

Children of Hurin is an interesting read. Reading the Silmarillion felt a bit like a chore to me but Children of Hurin is well put together as a story that hold up on his own.

PS: For those that don't know Children of Hurin is part of the Silmarillion. J.R.R Tolkien's son (Christopher Tolkien) took this story, filled up the blank using his dad notes to turn this story into a full novel.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

I liked Children of Hurin, but it’s more of a dark tale like old, old stories and legends where nobody ends up having a good life. It’s almost all tragedy.

[-] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 4 points 4 months ago

It is definitely a tragedy, not a light read for sure

[-] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 months ago

Read the LOTR and The Hobbit

Hobbit first though, right?

[-] Comment105@lemm.ee 8 points 4 months ago

That's not how a modernist consumes.

It goes "core fandom", prequel, pre-prequel (creation myth), then inevitably sequels if they didn't arrive before or in between the prequels.

We're going to get some random actor one day playing Aragorn's son and it'll be indistinguishable from a PG-13 version of Game of Thrones by a writing team where two of them skimmed the books and most of them have seen one or more of the movies at some point, and they kind of love the setting but don't love the lack of grey morals. There will be a tribe of orcs that are totally good guys now. (they will be basically the exact same as the sharks from finding Nemo, because that will be the writing team's inspiration and they will be very hyped about it)

[-] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 2 points 4 months ago

Man, somebody gazed into Hollywood's palantir. This is scary believable lol 😮

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

Whichever you prefer, but chronologically…yes. That would be the better choice.

[-] Comment105@lemm.ee -2 points 4 months ago

I mean, creation myths are pointless anyways.

[-] ZarkleFarkle@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 months ago

They are stories that can easily help writers write more stories, and many find them entertaining.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

We’re talking fantasy storyland here. How many times have you finished a good set of books and just wished maybe there were more even though the author ended the series? If you’re a fan of Tolkien’s world building then the Silmarillion is a lovely addition to the mythos of the land and adds to the magic of it all.

I’ve read it twice and quite enjoyed the introductions of the characters we meet in the rest of the books. It really adds a lot of sense to how old some of the characters are, and most of all (imo) it lends strongly to the sadness of the passing of magic from the land that is intimated by Tolkien.