The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two
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- Create Date：2021-04-07 14:54:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：J.R.R. Tolkien
- ISBN：0261102141
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Summary
This second part of The Book of Lost Tales includes the tale of Beren and Lúthien， Túrin and the Dragon， and the only full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves and the Fall of Gondolin。 Each tale is followed by a commentary in the form of a short essay， together with the texts of associated poems， and contains extensive information on names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages。
Reviews
EmmaPorzee
，
Great story; I love how it was given。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top
Kristen （belles_bookshelves）
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RTC
Kimberley
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this was just as fun as the first one！ really enjoyed these early versions of some stories i know really well。 really liked the version of children of hurin （even though its called something different here）， its probably my favourite of all the versions of it
Linda ~ they got the mustard out！ ~
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The big stories from The Silm - "Beren and Lúthien，" "Fall of Gondolin，" "The Children of Húrin，" the Nauglamir， and Eärendel - are all here in their earliest conceptions。 Some of them are barely recognizable from what we're familiar with， but they've all got elements of the stories they would later become。 I adored Tevildo， the wicked kitty cat。 Okay， okay， he was an evil fae in the form of a cat， but still。 Seeing some of the original concepts for these stories was intriguing。 Lúthien， or just The big stories from The Silm - "Beren and Lúthien，" "Fall of Gondolin，" "The Children of Húrin，" the Nauglamir， and Eärendel - are all here in their earliest conceptions。 Some of them are barely recognizable from what we're familiar with， but they've all got elements of the stories they would later become。 I adored Tevildo， the wicked kitty cat。 Okay， okay， he was an evil fae in the form of a cat， but still。 Seeing some of the original concepts for these stories was intriguing。 Lúthien， or just Tinúviel as she was called throughout the earliest writings， originally had an older brother。 Beren was originally intended to be an Elf as well， instead of a man。 Túrin always had an attitude， but he initially didn't keep his past a secret from those he met after exiling himself。 Tolkien's original manuscript of the hijinks caused by the Nauglamir was quite different。 Eärendel's story sadly never got out of the outline stage， and had conflicting outlines at that。 It was as though he couldn't figure out how to wrap up the Lost Tales， which is boggling when you know how important Eärendel's story is， not just for The Silm but for LOTR as well。 But of course， LOTR wasn't even conceived of at this point。 Neither was The Hobbit， for that matter。But the strangest thing was reading about his initial conclusion planned for the Tales。 I've always known that Tolkien originally starting writing his works because he wanted England to have its own mythology， and that Middle-earth was our earth before the current age。 But it's quite another thing for Eriol to turn into Ælfwine of London。 LONDON！ Tol Eressëa was originally going to be what later became England。 Lúthien （as a name） first makes its appearance as the original name for the British Isle。 How it became the name of our fair Elven maid is a mystery。 Then suddenly there were Vikings， and Charlemange possibly， and Warwick， and Eärendel sailing around like Sinbad， and it was all too trippy。 It felt so wrong， and not in the way you want it to be right， lol。 Thank Gandalf， Tolkien changed his mind about all that nonsense。 He was a young man when he wrote the bulk of these Tales。 Many of them were written during the Great War or shortly after during his early years at Oxford。 He was often inspired by his circumstances， and certainly inspired by the books he loved。 While much of this was abandoned （though not necessarily forgotten and discarded）， this provides a wealth of potential AU plot ideas for fanfic writers， if nothing else。 。。。more
Beth Fox
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Combined review for part 1&2。 Overall this was less engaging than the Silmarillion， but I still found it interesting。 At least I found the actual stories interesting。 Personally， I didn’t care much for Christopher’s notes， but I understand why they were included。
Moritz
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A nice introduction to all three great tales for those not familiar with them。 But the highlight is certainly “The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales。” This is arguably where the early conceptions most drastically differed from the later ones， making this a particularly interesting stage of the mythology’s evolution。
Joshua Hart
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As a Tolkien enthusiast I enjoyed this a lot。 Given all of the content to cover and re-cover Christopher did a great job of keeping it interesting。 There was a dip in the final chapter or two where the repetition was a bit much， but it did assist in conveying the information well and clearly。It is both strange and strangely wonderful to see the development of Tolkien's works from earliest drafts to published pieces。 As a Tolkien enthusiast I enjoyed this a lot。 Given all of the content to cover and re-cover Christopher did a great job of keeping it interesting。 There was a dip in the final chapter or two where the repetition was a bit much， but it did assist in conveying the information well and clearly。It is both strange and strangely wonderful to see the development of Tolkien's works from earliest drafts to published pieces。 。。。more
Anna 🐝🍯
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I think much of Christopher Tolkien’s commentary， both in this volume and the previous， is largely irrelevant: it mostly deals with recapping the events of the tale and then highlighting the differences between the unfinished tale and the “finished” version presented in The Silmarillion; however， an astute reader can easily discern these discrepancies for themselves。 Further， Christopher’s commentary， owing to his dense and verbose writing style， is often just as difficult to read as the materia I think much of Christopher Tolkien’s commentary， both in this volume and the previous， is largely irrelevant: it mostly deals with recapping the events of the tale and then highlighting the differences between the unfinished tale and the “finished” version presented in The Silmarillion; however， an astute reader can easily discern these discrepancies for themselves。 Further， Christopher’s commentary， owing to his dense and verbose writing style， is often just as difficult to read as the material presented in the tales。 It is， however， fascinating to have these early legends of Tolkien’s and I believe the tales clearly demonstrate how his writing matured and bettered itself。 。。。more
Susan Ferguson
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Tolkien's early effort and rendering the stories of the Silmarillion in some sort of order for publishing。 His mythology was still being worked out and developed。 Not the final form， but it's interesting to see it in progress。 Tolkien's early effort and rendering the stories of the Silmarillion in some sort of order for publishing。 His mythology was still being worked out and developed。 Not the final form， but it's interesting to see it in progress。 。。。more
Anttoni
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Fantastic work like the previous part yet made somewhat redundant by the publication of all of the "Great Tales" （Beren and Luthien， The Children of Húrin and The Fall of Gondolin） as independent books。 These publications present most of the content in "The Book of Lost Tales" in a more entertaining form and with more commentary。 As such this part two of Lost Tales is more for the diehard fans。 Fantastic work like the previous part yet made somewhat redundant by the publication of all of the "Great Tales" （Beren and Luthien， The Children of Húrin and The Fall of Gondolin） as independent books。 These publications present most of the content in "The Book of Lost Tales" in a more entertaining form and with more commentary。 As such this part two of Lost Tales is more for the diehard fans。 。。。more
Sean
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I don't know that I have anything new to say about Part Two of The Book of Lost Tales that I didn't already say in my review of Part One。 The insights and context that Cristopher Tolkien provides alongside these very early works of J。R。R。 Tolkien are fascinating， and the book as a whole deepens my love and appreciation for everything that The Professor has created。 I would certainly recommend that any devoted fans of Tolkien read these books， especially if they enjoy The Silmarillion， to see dig I don't know that I have anything new to say about Part Two of The Book of Lost Tales that I didn't already say in my review of Part One。 The insights and context that Cristopher Tolkien provides alongside these very early works of J。R。R。 Tolkien are fascinating， and the book as a whole deepens my love and appreciation for everything that The Professor has created。 I would certainly recommend that any devoted fans of Tolkien read these books， especially if they enjoy The Silmarillion， to see dig into the foundations of the entire mythology of Arda。One thing I will make a note of， though， is the version of The Fall of Gondolin contained in this book。 I hadn't read such a fleshed out version of this tale， and I was completely enthralled by it as I read it here。 I would absolutely recommend reading The Book of Lost Tales just to read this version of The Fall of Gondolin， which I found to be gripping and exciting。 。。。more
André Jan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Do not read if you like cats more than dogs
Jason Keel
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If you are Tolkien geek （as I am） then you will find this entertaining and fascinating。 If you are not a Tolkien geek then I'd encourage you to read the other stuff。 Maybe you'll become geeky enough to enjoy this some day。 If you are Tolkien geek （as I am） then you will find this entertaining and fascinating。 If you are not a Tolkien geek then I'd encourage you to read the other stuff。 Maybe you'll become geeky enough to enjoy this some day。 。。。more
Noelle
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There are some really cool story components that make for great reading but just didn't fit into the eventual state of the legendarium （e。g。， the Cool Cats， Turin's afterlife）。 I think I actually liked this version of Beren and Luthien better， but Children of Hurin and Fall of Gondolin less， than the Unfinished Tales versions。 This book also demonstrates Tolkien's gift for imagery， where even his early drafts contain captivating images that stick in the reader's mind （and were often retained in There are some really cool story components that make for great reading but just didn't fit into the eventual state of the legendarium （e。g。， the Cool Cats， Turin's afterlife）。 I think I actually liked this version of Beren and Luthien better， but Children of Hurin and Fall of Gondolin less， than the Unfinished Tales versions。 This book also demonstrates Tolkien's gift for imagery， where even his early drafts contain captivating images that stick in the reader's mind （and were often retained in later versions）。 Also， if you're interested in the Tolkien legendarium as a mythology for England， this is the book for you。 I've always found this idea intriguing， and I appreciate the work Christopher did to synthesize dozens of scraps of paper into a holistic history， even if that does result in reading a lot of Christopher's analysis when I'd rather be reading J。R。R。's prose。 。。。more
Ancillar
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The Fall of Gondolin is something really special。
Neil White
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Many of these lost tales are fragmentary stories。 These volumes are designed for people who really want to understand the development of stories that stand behind the Silmarillion。
K C
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Even more confusing than Lost Tales I as this goes through more of Tolkien's imaginings and starts and stops in coming up with the mythology he was trying to produce for England。 I did get lost in all the different versions and still don't know where hobbits came from， and the musings were much less interesting to a casual reader but probably more interesting to an academic。 Even more confusing than Lost Tales I as this goes through more of Tolkien's imaginings and starts and stops in coming up with the mythology he was trying to produce for England。 I did get lost in all the different versions and still don't know where hobbits came from， and the musings were much less interesting to a casual reader but probably more interesting to an academic。 。。。more
Skylar Phelps
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At about 250 pages in， I packed this one away in a box during a move and forgot about it。。。 for 4 and a half years。Only read this if you are a Tolkien addict with a yearning to become a middle earth scholar。 Otherwise stick to the Silmarillion and you’ll be glad you did。
C。E。
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Wow！ All I can say after completing this volume。。。and the 1st。。。is that Tolkien had an incredible， complex， ultra-creative mind！ "The Book of Lost Tales 2" was interesting in its slowest sections and downright epic in its faster ones！ Indeed， it seemed to have a lot more action than the first volume。 From an alternate telling of Luthien and Beren to the siege of Gondolin to Aelfwine， this is a must-read for any fellow Tolkienite！ Wow！ All I can say after completing this volume。。。and the 1st。。。is that Tolkien had an incredible， complex， ultra-creative mind！ "The Book of Lost Tales 2" was interesting in its slowest sections and downright epic in its faster ones！ Indeed， it seemed to have a lot more action than the first volume。 From an alternate telling of Luthien and Beren to the siege of Gondolin to Aelfwine， this is a must-read for any fellow Tolkienite！ 。。。more
Mitch Milam
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How much would my future son hate me if I named him Ælfwine？
Timothy
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I won't lie。 Christopher Tolkien's literary analysis of the background notes for his father's legendary works is not an easy or quick read。 While the actual tales themselves are enjoyable fantasies from out of faerie land， innumerable end notes and discussion of fine points （such as the state of the hand written notebooks from which the current work is sourced， or his father's biography at the time he wrote in the aforementioned notebooks） is nothing less than a slog。That having been said; Tolki I won't lie。 Christopher Tolkien's literary analysis of the background notes for his father's legendary works is not an easy or quick read。 While the actual tales themselves are enjoyable fantasies from out of faerie land， innumerable end notes and discussion of fine points （such as the state of the hand written notebooks from which the current work is sourced， or his father's biography at the time he wrote in the aforementioned notebooks） is nothing less than a slog。That having been said; Tolkien， to my mind at least， is one of the reigning champions of successful world-building。 I know I may be in the minority with that opinion， but my subsequent re-reads of the Lord of the Rings emphasized to me that there was less of the drier material than I remembered as a child （though it was present in parts）。 More importantly， Tolkien was a professor of the English language and his knowledge of both Old English and the history and of Northern Europe， including his beloved Isles， infused his writing with an authenticity that is， in my opinion， sadly lacking from much of the epic fantasy that has been written since then。So why read it， if it only rates two stars？ Well， as a fan of his other writings （LOTR， The Hobbit， The Silmarillion） I thought it was worth the time to try and understand the amount of work that went into developing this master-craft exemplar of world building。 The most critical lession that I think an aspiring writer can gain from these is that in the preparation of a novel （or any material you want to publish）， more is written， edited， modified， discarded， and re-written than is ever seen by the public。 Look at the long years that went into developing a coherent series of myths， just to form the background for later stories to look back to。 And these were written and re-written two to three times each， and by hand。 Don't expect it to happen overnight。Like him or hate him， every aspiring and successful writer of epic fantasy has been informed by J。R。R。 Tolkien。 But perhaps fewer have had the in-depth grounding that allowed a fantasy world to not only live vividly in our imaginations， but to haunt our hearts with echoes of our own real world。 His syntax， place names， songs， and poems drip with it， offering honey to the soul of the reader。 Do you need to read the History of Middle-Earth to enjoy Middle-Earth？ Not in the slightest。 But if you have the time and patience， you will find jewels here and there to pique your interest。 And if you are either a serious fan （devotee？） of Tolkien's world， or in learning more about the process of developing epic fantasy and world building， then you might consider perusing these notes。 Tolkien was after all the grand-daddy of epic fantasy architects。 。。。more
Andrew
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Here Tolkien gets to his four epics。 These are the stories that will whisper to and haunt him for the rest of his life。 These versions are made to fit his frame story of Eriol being told the Faërie stories of old。 That being said， unfortunately Earendil is only a few competing outlines which makes for an unsatisfying conclusion。 The book tails off into the chaos of the divers notes and poesy Tolkien left behind。We still get the early versions of Beren and Luthien， Turin Turambar， and The Fall of Here Tolkien gets to his four epics。 These are the stories that will whisper to and haunt him for the rest of his life。 These versions are made to fit his frame story of Eriol being told the Faërie stories of old。 That being said， unfortunately Earendil is only a few competing outlines which makes for an unsatisfying conclusion。 The book tails off into the chaos of the divers notes and poesy Tolkien left behind。We still get the early versions of Beren and Luthien， Turin Turambar， and The Fall of Gondolin。 It should be noted if you purchased the recent copies of two of those titles， you will have the versions of the stories found here along with later varieties。 It really remains a tragedy there is no extant form of substantial narrative for Earendil。 Even in its Silmarillion form it is diminished and far less a thing than it should be given its significance。 。。。more
Caleb Jore
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This is the second volume in The History of Middle-earth， covering the same type of Lost Tales as the first volume but at a later stage in the chronology。 I found the stories to be more interesting than in the first volume because they included more elves and dwarves and other created characters， rather than just Valar and Ainur。I would give the same recommendation as the first book。 Read the big three （Silmarillion， Hobbit， LOTR）， and if you enjoyed all of them， try out the stand-alone volumes This is the second volume in The History of Middle-earth， covering the same type of Lost Tales as the first volume but at a later stage in the chronology。 I found the stories to be more interesting than in the first volume because they included more elves and dwarves and other created characters， rather than just Valar and Ainur。I would give the same recommendation as the first book。 Read the big three （Silmarillion， Hobbit， LOTR）， and if you enjoyed all of them， try out the stand-alone volumes for each of the Great Tales of Middle-earth。 If you enjoy those， you might enjoy this。I don't know when I will get on to reading The Lays of Beleriand。 I am also interested in reading The History of the Hobbit， maybe right before I get to the LOTR volumes of HOME for chronological purposes。 。。。more
DS25
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Meglio della prima parte， sia a livello di linguaggio che per i temi presenti - ai 3 racconti classici Beren&Luthien， Gondolin， Tùrin - si aggiunge il bellissimo （anche se non come nella versione finale） Nauglafring e la storia （in fase embrionale e di difficile digestione） di Earendel。La parte finale è una protologia di Tolkien， dove si vedono veramente temi norreni ed antico-inglesi （che saranno superati solo in seguito）。Il testo， come il primo volume， è estremamente specialistico。 Lo consigli Meglio della prima parte， sia a livello di linguaggio che per i temi presenti - ai 3 racconti classici Beren&Luthien， Gondolin， Tùrin - si aggiunge il bellissimo （anche se non come nella versione finale） Nauglafring e la storia （in fase embrionale e di difficile digestione） di Earendel。La parte finale è una protologia di Tolkien， dove si vedono veramente temi norreni ed antico-inglesi （che saranno superati solo in seguito）。Il testo， come il primo volume， è estremamente specialistico。 Lo consiglio solo agli amanti di Tolkien non solo agli "usufruitori"。 。。。more
Matias Cerizola
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El Libro De Los Cuentos Perdidos 2。- J。R。R。 Tolkien"La canción que conozco son trozos de recuerdos de ilusiones doradas que surgen desde el sueño， un cuento susurrado junto a las brasas que se extinguen de historias antiquísimas que muy pocos recuerdan"Segunda y última parte de El Libro De Los Cuentos Perdidos， la antología publicada por Christopher Tolkien， en donde compila y analiza los primeros escritos de su padre John y que luego sirvieron de base para el nacimiento de La Tierra El Libro De Los Cuentos Perdidos 2。- J。R。R。 Tolkien"La canción que conozco son trozos de recuerdos de ilusiones doradas que surgen desde el sueño， un cuento susurrado junto a las brasas que se extinguen de historias antiquísimas que muy pocos recuerdan"Segunda y última parte de El Libro De Los Cuentos Perdidos， la antología publicada por Christopher Tolkien， en donde compila y analiza los primeros escritos de su padre John y que luego sirvieron de base para el nacimiento de La Tierra Media。En este segundo tomo， tenemos algunas de las historias más queridas por los fanáticos de El Silmarillion: El Cuento De Tinúviel （luego convertido en la Balada de Beren y Lúthien）， Turambar y el Foalóke （Los Hijos De Hurin） y La Caída de Gondolin。 El cuarto cuento del libro se llama Nauglafring y trata sobre un collar forjado con oro maldito， una gran historia que no tuvo （creo） casi participación en El Silmarillion y esto la convirtió en una de las sorpresas （para mí al menos） de esta segunda parte de los Cuentos Perdidos。Otro gran trabajo por parte de Christopher （y van…）， con un desarrollo muy detallista， ofreciéndonos después de cada cuento información sobre los cambios en los nombres que se hicieron （para darle coherencia a la historia "grande"）， las distintas versiones de algunos fragmentos y hasta poemas escritos por John relativos al cuento。Totalmente imprescindibles ambos volúmenes para los fanáticos de El Silmarillion y de la Alta Fantasía en general。🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘#tolkienreadalong2019 。。。more
Amanda
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Gets really confusing when these first tales differ from the Silmarillion
Zachariah
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I read as much as I'm going to。 With outlines of the chapters Tolkien never gets to， I gave up。 I enjoyed the Silmarillion， but this is almost too much。 I'm putting these on hold for a while。 Perhaps after the kiss is born。 Way after。 I read as much as I'm going to。 With outlines of the chapters Tolkien never gets to， I gave up。 I enjoyed the Silmarillion， but this is almost too much。 I'm putting these on hold for a while。 Perhaps after the kiss is born。 Way after。 。。。more
Grant
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It's the early draft of the silmarillion， but not as good。 Only reason for 4 stars was the story of Earendil。 It's the early draft of the silmarillion， but not as good。 Only reason for 4 stars was the story of Earendil。 。。。more
Devero
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Forse ho aspettato troppo per rileggere questo volume， dalla prima volta sono trascorsi più di 25 anni e alcune cose le avevo proprio scordate mentre altre probabilmente non le avevo comprese a fondo。Ho riscoperto con notevole gusto la versione di Beren e Luthien di questi racconti， con Tevildo （che verrà sostituito da Sauron nella versione del Silmarillion） come avversario （e io parteggio per i gatti e non per i cani） e quasi mi spiace che sia finita male per il miagoloso sire dei felini。Turin Forse ho aspettato troppo per rileggere questo volume， dalla prima volta sono trascorsi più di 25 anni e alcune cose le avevo proprio scordate mentre altre probabilmente non le avevo comprese a fondo。Ho riscoperto con notevole gusto la versione di Beren e Luthien di questi racconti， con Tevildo （che verrà sostituito da Sauron nella versione del Silmarillion） come avversario （e io parteggio per i gatti e non per i cani） e quasi mi spiace che sia finita male per il miagoloso sire dei felini。Turin nel complesso， pur se differente per episodi， aveva già gli stessi temi， e nel complesso è la storia che， tra quelle della Prima Era del Sole， mi attira meno。 Non ho particolare simpatia per Turin figlio di Hurin o per il drago。La Caduta di Gondolin è stata praticamente una riscoperta: non ricordavo nulla se non la versione del Silmarillion， stringata e priva di praticamente tutti i passaggi epici della battaglia。 Credo che la differenza tra le due versioni sia dovuta al fatto che JRRT nel tempo ha profondamente cambiato la sua opinione sull'eroismo classico， come ben spiegò in Il ritorno di Beorhtnoth figlio di Beorhthelm e nella Caduta， seppur giustificato， ce n'è troppo di questo tipo di eroismo。La Nauglafring è un altro pezzo che ricordavo poco， e salta agli occhi quanto diversi siano alcuni protagonisti， Thingol su tutti。La storia di Earendil è curiosa: so da altri volumi che fu il nucleo originario della costruzione del suo subuniverso mitico， la pietra angolare della sua mitopoiesi。 Eppure qui scopro che non è mai andato oltre quelle quattro poesie scritte addirittura， in un caso， prima della Grande Guerra。 Quindi qui ci restano dei riassunti di trame mai sviluppate， ed anche la versione del Silmarillion è decisamente stringata。Infine ci sono le storie di Eriol e AElfwine， che sono la stessa storia e， nel complesso， il fine originale di queste storie。 JRRT avrebbe voluto ricostruire， ricreare， la mitologia anglosassone della quale effettivamente ci resta poco。 Interessante， ma la mancanza di sviluppo di queste ultime parti rende la lettura un poco pesante。Comunque mi è decisamente piaciuto。4 stelle piene。 。。。more
Dustin Huffman
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