Reading order
New Tolkien fans are usually puzzled with the complexity of the works and the reading order. The most famous works take place lately in the legendarium's history, with hints to the backstory. The stories that comprise the background are relatively complex and have no obvious links to the most famous works. Furthemore, the stories-chapters-essays overlap each another, or take place simultaneously, differing only in the extensiveness of the details.
Hardcore fans read the works more than once. For example one can read the Lord of the Rings first, then The Hobbit and sometime later, again the LotR, in light of the backstory seen in The Hobbit.
There can be various approaches:
Publication history
This can be one of the most famous approaches.
- The Hobbit
People can start with The Hobbit, as an easy and lighthearted fantasy story, which Tolkien wrote first, without having much backstory and historical details in mind.
- The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is the natural sequel of The Hobbit and completes the story. However it has many allusions to the greater world and ancient history of Arda.
- The Silmarillion
Published after Tolkien's death, it provides the cosmogony and earlier stories of Arda. It can give the reader insight about the world they already know.
- Unfinished Tales / The Children of Húrin
These books provide additional and extensive details about several aspects of the greater History
Rough chronological order
A less common approach is to read the saga in chronologically accurate order
- The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion can be a complex and tedious reading for someone not already acquainted with Tolkien, however it describes the beginnings of his world.
- The Children of Húrin
This book gives an extended version of the story of Túrin, featured as a part of the Silmarillion
- Unfinished Tales
Parts of this book give insight about Númenor, the Second Age (mentioned in the Silmarillion) and early Third Age, with elements that will play their role in the Lord of the Rings.
- The Hobbit
Althought directly unrelated to the Silmarillion, it is the next big story.
- The Lord of the Rings
The conclusion of the story of the Hobbit as well as things mentioned in the Silmarillion (like Sauron and the Line of Númenorean Kings).
External links
- Chronological Tolkien discusses the issue and also provides a calculator to find the exact reading order.
- http://home.earthlink.net/~dbratman/tolkien_order.html The order to read Tolkien's books]
