Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth Mass Market Paperback – August 12, 1988

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.

Contains answers to many questions arising from the trilogy.

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.

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.

This truly is a collection of "Unfinished Tales" from the early times of middle earth. Going even further than the reaches of the Silmarillion. This book contains many great stories, some complete, and some abrubtly incomplete. You will hear of Tuor and Veronwe' only to leave off at the height of the tale. You will here of the Isle of Numinore and is great ( and perhaps not so great) kings. The rise and fall of the Eldar and the hidden city. You will hear the tragic story of Turin (this is the complete story by the way. So if you read it here, you can skip reading Children of Hurin, it is the exact same tale). You will be enchanted by the story of Beren and Luthien, and mourn with Nimrodel.Only get into this book if you know what you are getting into. As I said, some of the stories are incomplete. The timeline is not linear... as some of the stories are not told in a historical order.Do get into this book if you love Tolkien's works and his world and have an unquenchable thirst for more of his wonderful and sometimes dark imagination.

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.

This book is a must for any serious Tolkien fan. Like the name suggests, it's a host of 'unfinished tales' that flesh-out the history of Middle-Earth. The 20th anniversary edition has a beautiful dust jacket (illustration by J. R. R. Tolkien), a fold-out map in the back which is easy to access, and the binding and paper quality seem quite solid to me. Nicely done!One warning I'll give to any novice Tolkien readers is that you should have already read the Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings before attempting to read this if you really want to understand it and at the same time not spoil the other said books. Again, a must for the truly die-hard Tolkien fan!

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!