The Silmarillion cover art

The Silmarillion

Preview

Audible Standard 1-month free trial

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo + applicable tax after 30-day trial. Cancel Anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

The Silmarillion

Written by: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Martin Shaw
Try for $0.00

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.53

Buy Now for $33.53

The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion tells the earlier history of Middle-earth, recounting the events of the First and Second Ages, and introducing some of the key characters, such as Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil and the Dark Lord, Sauron.

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
Dark Fantasy Epic Fantasy Military
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

What the critics say

"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)

Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks like The Witcher For Dark Fantasy Fans to Explore


For fans of dark fantasy looking for collections of short stories and epics like Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher, finding a new adventure to get swept up in once again can be challenging. Whether you binge-watched the Netflix series or devoured every incredible book in Andrzej Sapkowski’s series, we’ve compiled a fantastic list of audiobooks that will return you to the world of The Witcher and keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

All stars
Most Relevant
Great narration, much better than when I read it as a kid. I found it more interesting and easier to understand this time around.

Enjoyed it

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

A must listen for any Tolkien fanatic, even if you have read the text. A narration worthy of the Elder Days…

Masterful narration.

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

I have been trying to read the Silmarillion for many years, but I kept leaving the book after a few pages. This time, with the aid of Martin Shaw, I did it! And in such a wonderful way. This book... it takes you places... places of wonder, of infinite beauty and of deep sorrow. It takes you high up and so down. All that happiness and misery, all that beauty and destruction. Is one of those books in which you raise your head and wonder for a few seconds where and what you are. That moment that those who read a lot love, that moment that you wish happened to all your students. That magical moment in which you get transported by words to a where and a when imagined by another human. And thus transported.

What a reading!

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

Found the beginning a tad boring for I knew not about the history of Middle Earth and the know Ea, but I was delightfully filled in by the end. Now I believe there needs to be a movie about Morgoth but don't tell Jeff Bezos.

Very great story arch and history.

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

It reads like the book of Genesis - the creation of the world and the epic stories of the first ages.

The "Genesis" of Tolkein's world

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

See more reviews