The Silmarillion

This book is a precursor to The Lord of the Rings, but at the same time a self-sufficient and complete legendarium. The masterfully thought-out mythological history of the fictional, but surprisingly realistic Middle-earth was collected under one cover by the Author's son, Christopher Tolkien. The reader holds in his hands not just a compilation, but a real epic collection about the struggle between good and evil, described in separate works. Ainulindale is a myth about the Creation of the World, about the emergence of Evil and the causes of the Fall; Valakventa is a description of the hierarchy of divine forces, their nature and role in Creation; Quenta Silmarillion is the story of the Silmarils: from their creation, the rebellion of Feanor and his kind against the gods, the expulsion of the rebels from Valinor and their return to Middle-earth - up to the hopeless, despite sacrificial courage, war with the great Enemy for these perfect jewels; Akalabath tells the story of the fall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, while The Lord of the Rings provides a brief overview of the great events of the Third Age, primarily the course of the War of the Ring.