Unfinished Tales is a favorite of mine. The book contains a wealth of lore about Middle Earth, and adds a lot to one's understanding of J.R.R Tolkien's saga. It's much more accesible, and not as dense, as The Silmarillion, which is also in its favor. One of my favorite parts of the book is the section on the Istari- the wizards of Middle Earth, who are really akin to Maiar, a step below the Valar- perhaps almost like angels, in a sense, in that they are sent to guide and protect humanity.
Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and the blue wizards- who went into the East- is fascinating reading. I was always curious what happened to the blue wizards- did they go native like Radagast or become corruped? At any rate the cover here is apparently of a hobbit sitting down with a pipe and some reading material- in a cozy little study no less. And below is another cover, showing the blue wizards- this one is by Ted Nasmith.
I am glad to hear it is not so dense, that was the one thing putting me off reading anymore of his books after my beloved Lord of the Rings. I may have to try this one day as I love Middle Earth and I need a change after twenty odd reads of the LOTR.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like history at times, but there are sections that are just fun to read.
DeleteI don't think I've ever read this one. While I normally like blue covers I prefer the first one. What can I say, I like hobbits.
ReplyDeleteI like that one too, very cozy. :)
DeleteI really need to find a copy of this. I know the lore, but I've never read the actual source material. I love both of these covers a lot! I'm trying to get all the books in the same set (the almost monochromatic covers with the bold colored boxes for the title and spins), before some reason they refuse to publish the side tales in the same bindings.
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