This five-book collection is the perfect preparation for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In 1917, long before he wrote The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien laid the groundwork for his legendarium. These myths and legends were woven into The Lord of the Rings to evoke a deep history. His son Christopher Tolkien edited and published these tales of Middle-earth for its legions of fans and admirers. This collection starts with The Silmarillion (1977). The first section is a creation narrative, and the second describes the Valar and the main enemy, Melkor. The third and largest section, Quenta Silmarillion, tells of the First Age of Middle-Earth and the tragic saga of the Silmarils, three jewels containing the light of creation. The fourth section, Akallabêth, details the fall of the great island kingdom Numenor in the Second Age, and the fifth and final section places the events of The Lord of the Rings into this narrative. Unfinished Tales (1980) contains new text alongside alternate versions of tales in The Silmarillion, presented as Tolkien left them before his death. After completing the ambitious and comprehensive The History of Middle-earth in 12 volumes, Christopher Tolkien returned to the First Age to present three of its stories as standalone novels: The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien and The Fall of Gondolin. This set is perfect for the fantasy obsessive who wants to explore the narratives behind its greatest work. Grab this great value collection today, and learn of the dignity of elves, the frailty of man, and the rising of great evil. Titles in This Set: The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales The Children of Hurin Beren and Luthien The Fall of Gondolin Description: 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. Unfinished Tales The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as Gandalf’s lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End, the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan. Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were collated and edited by JRR Tolkien’s son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father’s writings. The Children of Hurin It is a legendary time long before The Lord of the Rings, and Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwells in the vast fortress of Angband in the North; and within the shadow of the fear of Angband, and the war waged by Morgoth against the Elves, the fates of Túrin and his sister Niënor will be tragically entwined. Beren and Luthien Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Lúthien: Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien: to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril. The Fall of Gondolin Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable, is central to the enmity of two of the greatest powers in the world. Morgoth of the uttermost evil seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city of his Elven enemies, while the gods in Valinor refuse to support Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, and his designs to protect it. Into this world comes Tuor, who sets out on the fearful journey to Gondolin to warn them of their coming doom.