Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth

I am enjoying this book. Thank goodness Christopher Tolkien is willing to go through his father's notes, and make these treasures available to us.

Contains answers to many questions arising from the trilogy.

This book explains so much about the background of Middle Earth and it's peoples. Lord of the Rings makes more sense and is more interesting when you know who exactly Ghan-Buri-Ghan was, why the elves and dwarves hate each other, and where the wizards came from. There's a huge section devoted to Numenor, including a tragic story about one of its kings, who loved seafaring more than his wife (one thing he did right was to get his people interested in ship building and exploring for other lands). You get a detailed description of what the Palantiri were, and how and why they were used. You don't hate Denethor QUITE as much when you read about the history of the Stewards of Gondor, and you realize what emotions and dreams he had for his country (although I still hate him a lot..). You get the whole story of Isildur and how he kept the ring and then lost it. You find out that Smeagol was indeed a type of hobbit. There is simply way too much information in this book to even give a fraction of it here. Be warned though, it takes more concentration to read than LOTR, or you will find yourself rereading the same page over and over. I will recommend this book only to those who really want to learn all they can about Tolkien's world, for they will find many gems in this book. Other more casual fans will find this book tedious because of its readability (or lack). I personally found it fascinating. Warning: I have not yet read The Silmarillion, and I should have read that first, as there are countless references to it in the notes.

Lo compre de regalo para mi esposo y le encantó

Got my copy even quicker than other orders. Book came in without plastic covering, and after a few reads unnoticed the spine giving out a bit at the middle, and some pages I just taped to be safe because 1 was already trying to tear out. The cover also had a slight fold meaning could have been folded before Some of the text print was off, with print on one page bleeding to the next or prior. In other words the content is great, but the book itself physically could be better

Harper Collins did a great job with this one. The Blue Wizards slipcase and blue clothbound hardcover work well together, and for me, Ted's artwork is always a pleasure to look at. As expected, the book is a bit heavy with the paper quality and over 500 pages, so the book doesn't have a problem staying flat on a desk after a bit of use.

The Unfinished Tales (Deluxe Slipcase Edition) is a great addition to the HarperCollins deluxe line. While most copies are now printed in China, including the one I received, they maintain the above-average quality you can expect for a deluxe edition. However, I recommend looking for copies printed in Italy as they have an even greater quality and feel. Shipping was cheap considering it was to the US. Handling was surprisingly exceptional since the slipcases on the deluxe line can easily be damaged. Finally, the price was satisfactory ($18 less than MRP). The only downside to this edition is the lack of illustrations – being one of the few deluxe edition publications (besides The LOTR, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion) to have alternate HarperCollins illustrative versions.

A great book that fills in the gaps from the rest of the Tolkien legendarium. Ties up loose ends while still being an entertaining read. It reads like the Silmarillion in that it's a series of short stories instead of one long story arc, but if you've read the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion, you'll have no problem figuring out what's going on. That said, you definitely need to have read at least those two or this book won't make any sense!