Get Your Free Audiobook

  • The Silmarillion

  • Written by: J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Narrated by: Martin Shaw
  • Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (45 ratings)

Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Silmarillion cover art

The Silmarillion

Written by: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Martin Shaw
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹683.00

Buy Now for ₹683.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.

Publisher's Summary

A thoroughly enchanting tale that sets the trajectory for the cosmos of J.R.R. Tolkien's magnificent fantasy series Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Like the dark matter at the centre of every origin story, this is a must-listen for fans who want to delve deeper into this mythical world.

The complete unabridged audiobook of J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion.

The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.

Included in the book are several shorter works. 'The Ainulindale' is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. 'The Akallabeth' recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age and 'Of the Rings of Power' tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings.

©1977 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)1977 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?" ( The Guardian)
"Demanding to be compared with English mythologies...at times rises to the greatness of true myth." ( Financial Times)
"A creation of singular beauty...magnificent in its best moments." ( Washington Post)
"A grim, tragic, brooding and beautiful book, shot through with heroism and hope... its power is almost that of mysticism." ( Toronto Globe & Mail)

What listeners say about The Silmarillion

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

difficult read but with focus you can do it and enjoy in the process :)

when a writer is given full freedom to write however he wishes, and allows his mind to run wild, you get silmarillion :) it wasn't an easy read, takes lot of focus and grit to go thru the book. somehow did it cos this is the origins of lotr. JRR Tolkien was definitely a genius of his age and i believe he still is :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Magnificent world, great narration

The Silmarillion is J R R Tolkien's vision for his imagined world, it is a collection of myths in the secondary world he created. An unparalleled feat, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It is not a novel, it is a compendium of myths.
Narration by Martin Shaw was really good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This is a great book.

The story is good. Immersive. The author however drags the plot at some parts. The story is great non the less.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Mythos that demands complete focus

Silmarillion is the story of gods and the creation of the world of the LOTR Universe, but other than that there is very little to connect it with LoTR.

It stands as its own a story of pure imagination and hope. One of the very best. Albeit not written in the most conducive of ways, and many may indeed find it hard to follow, but when you do understand it there's not many more books that would captivate you more. It creates a world of its own from scratch and fills it with mind numbing detail.

As for the audiobook, I encountered no glitches and Martin Shaw delivers very well.

Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent narration , filled the gaps of lotr

the story is slow to begin, throwing alot of names and is unfamiliar. but as the story goes on and few of the familiar names show up , it's easier to follow , more gripping and compelling . alot of history covered in the first age of elves as compared to three books on third age but doesn't diminish depth of narration . I regret not having gotten to it before . makes me love and understand lotr more . maps are a must to follow the story and understand the chain of events . it would be kind if audible attached a map to follow in this narration .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

First in text, now in audio

I had read the Silmarillion many years ago in written text. While the fond memory of that book remained, I had forgotten much of it, and struggled to remember what parts of the Rings of Power show on Amazon Prime was in the book. This audiobook was a perfect re-read of the original. Thank you!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The story is amazing but..

Too many names. Too many characters to keep track of with those weird names. I mean I'm a fan of LOTR and that's what brings me to finish this but it's a lot of hard work at times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!