Before I go on, I should say that I will try not to spoil the story. I don’t want to give away too much, or you might not end up reading it at all. And believe me, you want to read this book. With that said, when I first picked up this book (which was a little over 2 years ago) I glanced over it, read a few pages, and gave up on it. I scold myself every time I see this book in my bookshelf for having done that. It must have been because I wasn’t mature enough 2 years ago. Maybe. But it sure does attest to the fact that this book is clearly aimed at experienced readers and adults.

The story starts off with a little boy, around maybe seven (or was it 10?) years of age. The boy is indeed Clothar, and he learns a truth that makes the reader automatically like him. He learns it fairly early too. The king, his father, tells him that he is actually not his father, and that he is his uncle instead. His real father and mother are dead. They died shortly after Clothar was brought into the world. The person that killed them was Clodas who sits on his father’s throne even now. Choking back on the tears and recognizing the situation enough, Clothar, still a young boy, vows to kill Clodas with the help of his uncle and rightfully become king – some day. For now, his uncle, Ban of Benwick, sends him off with Bishop Germanus to a school for young boys.

The real story starts here, I guess. One thing you will notice while reading is that this isn’t your typical story. It doesn’t have the rising action – climax – falling action template that everyone is taught in elementary school. It just kind of goes on. That’s the best way I can describe it. It just goes on. Try to imagine yourself sitting by a camp fire listening to a storyteller. It’s kind of like that.

The most memorable thing from this book (and keeping in mind that I read it almost 3 months ago) is that Clothar is so damn real. He isn’t just a character. He is right there with you while he tells you his story. It’s really quite amazing. All the characters are pretty colourful, and realistic. They are all historically plausible, and the history major in you will squeal with joy at the minor characters in Clothar The Frank that lived once long ago. All in all, if you like Arthurian legends, historic Gaul, the Franks, and just history in general, this book is for you.

This book is a testament that history isn’t boring!

I’ll be honest. I don’t know how I bought this book. I mean, for starters, I haven’t even heard of the author before. It would have been different had someone recommended him to me, but no. I just bought it on a whim. I guess it just looked cool. Probably one of the best cover’s I’ve seen on a book. It’s important to note that the author actually designed the cover too. The mini picture up there really doesn’t do it justice.

But anyways, now when I think about it, I know exactly why I bought this book. The story interested me. God and Lucifer make a bet, the same bet they’ve made in the past. However, this time, creation – you, me and everything else – hang in the balance. Interesting for two reasons, and probably more. Firstly, I always wanted to hear a conversation between God and Lucifer. Secondly, you actually get to see them go at it. Yeah, yeah, I know you can read the bible for that kind of stuff, but this is much more interesting than that 2000 page sleeping pill.

The story starts off with a little boy. And damn, is he full of energy! He kind of reminded me of me. He was all over the place. He never stayed in one place for too long. He climbed trees, pretended he was a knight (something I still do), ran all over the place and had a big grin on his face at all times. It almost made me wish I was a child again. But where we differ is that this boy had an enemy. And not just any enemy! Think about all the kinds of enemies you can have. It couldn’t compare to this boy’s enemy. He, had the devil himself breathing down his neck at all times.

And he did nothing to deserve it! It’s only because God had faith in this boy that he would win the bet for him. Before I go on, I should mention that this boy’s name is Joby. It’s a biblical allusion to the story of Job in the bible. No other apparent connections other than the name. Also, that the bet God and Lucifer had was that God was to choose a candidate, and if Lucifer could make that candidate do something really evil, he would win. Well, Lucifer is given 40 years to do just that.

Needless to say, Joby’s entire journey is very entertaining. The characters are colourful, and God and Lucifer are witty. The angels are awesome too, as are hell’s little helpers. It almost made me wish I wasn’t an atheist, because if God really was this witty, then I would convert like that, just so I can have a conversation with him. The story is just so clever in the way it handles our cosmological friends. But there is a different reason this is in fantasy. Sure, it deals with God, but king Arthur is in it too! You’re probably giving me a “huh?” Well, I don’t want to ruin anything, so I won’t say anything. But it’s quite amazing as to how Arthur, God, Lancelot, Joby, Joby’s friends, angels and normal townsfolk come to together. I love the unity. And I love this book!

The Silmarillion's cover.

The book itself is really a collection of intertwined stories depicting the beginning of Middle Earth (and life), and some of it’s major events. In other words, it’s the kind of story you’d get if you mixed the bible with history. A bible, because it clearly shows how life began, and who it’s creators were. A history book, because it retells the major events that shaped Middle Earth. Sounds pretty boring , huh?

Well, screw what it sounds like! This book is a work of art. I don’t care if you love fantasy or not, there would have to be something wrong with you to deny this book of being anything less than the masterpiece it is. The paperback may be small, but The Silmarillion is HUGE. Tolkien has really created something wonderful. There are vast generations and generations of names, places, and events. In fact, it’s so HUGE that there is an appendix in the back that lists all the names and places in the book (I swear, it must be a good 30 pages, or more). I constantly found myself keeping my bookmark in this appendix while reading. Don’t let that scare you, though. The only thing you need to worry about is if your imagination is big enough to take in Tolkien’s world.

Going back to The Silmarillion itself now. It does not have a single clear-cut story. It does not even have a single engaging plot. Instead it has many stories and many plots. And best of all, they all intermingle in some way or another. If you’re a Lord of The Rings fan, you’ll be interested in the coming of men, how the dwarves came to be, who Sauron was, and who the first dark lord was, to name a few. All of them are great. However, one of my favourite stories is that of between Lúthien and Beren. You want action? Adventure? And for the ladies, love? And I’m not just talking about any love. This is the kind of love story that will bring the burliest man to his knees weeping. Well, the story between Lúthien and Beren is all that, and more. However, this is just one of the many minor stories in The Silmarillion. Hah, I can’t believe I used the word minor. Every story just feels so damn huge and epic. It’s just that The Silmarillion revolves around Fëanor’s silmarills. Those are the three precious (more powerful than the One Ring, for you Lord of The Rings fans) jewels that Fëanor himself crafted. I don’t want to give away anymore, though. You can guess that someone probably either steals them or something else. I won’t give it away. I want you to experience The Silmarillion for yourself.

I could go on and on about this book, but I’ll stop here.

With that, I have a confession. I may have been a Tolkien fan, and a fantasy fan, and I may have gotten to this book eventually, but they aren’t my reasons for reading it. Blind Guardian, my favourite band, has an album entitled Nightfall In Middle Earth, and it’s entirely based on The Silmarillion. In an effort to understand the album’s lyrical content, I read this book. Every song is so much more beautiful now, thanks to that decision.

All in all, you’ll be doing yourself a favour by picking this book up. I don’t give linear reviews (4/5, 5/5, stuff like that), but if I did, there would be no scale to hold my score. Do not listen to anyone who says it’s a dry read. Their imaginations aren’t large enough. And there is a quite of bit of people who think this book is quite boring. Remember, don’t listen to them. I assure you, it’s not. I mean, I don’t often give praise for something unless it’s good. Really good. And I couldn’t have made up all the stuff I just said. In fact, I’ll prove it to you, with this closing sentence:

I look forward to the day that I begin reading it again.

The Dark Tower cover.

Commala-come-come, sang The Dark Tower now just over the horizon. Commala-come-come, gunslinger may ya come. Commala-come-Roland, the journey’s nearly done.

After years and years of travelling with Roland, when I read that I think my heart skipped a beat. Roland was finally going to get to the tower! Oh man.

Unless you’ve read the other six books before this one, this book won’t make much sense to you, I’m afraid. And its a shame too. The characters feel as if though they are real people. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that Roland of Gilead is my favourite character of all time. Yes, thats how much I admire him. He is a real hero. Superman has nothing on him.

I remember when I finished reading The Gunslinger, the first book of the Dark Tower series, it seemed as if though Roland was on this quest of his to reach the Tower on his own. Boy, was I wrong. To make a long story short, Roland becomes dinh of a ka-tet of 5. He wasn’t going to reach the Tower on his own anymore…but with friends! W00t! Roland learns to love them, and becomes a different man altogether. I was really hoping they would come to the Dark Tower together.

So it came to me as a surprise when Eddie, Jake and Oy died. I hope you read the spoilers warning above. If you didn’t, too bad. Next time, read everything. My eyes almost welled up with tears; these characters have been with us since the second and first novels! And they die in the last one…damn. As for Susannah, she leaves Roland on his journey to the Tower by going to a parallel universe where Eddie and Jake exist.

I will skip over some plot points. Not that they aren’t important or anything, believe me, they are. But I want you to figure them out on your own. I want you to cheer for the ka-tet as they save the Beam. Or as they make a narrow escape from the Dixie Pig. Plus, I am too flabbergasted by the ending to write much about this novel anyway. For those of you who have read the Dark Tower series know exactly how I feel. How will his journey be different this time around? Sure, he has the Horn of Eld this time, and the Tower promised it would be different next time, but HOW WILL IT BE DIFFERENT!? IS HE DOOMED TO REPEAT HIS JOURNEY FOR ALL OF ETERNITY?! HOW LONG MUST A MAN STAND TRUE!? Give Roland a break! Who knows how many times he has reached the tower before? Probably hundreds of times! The next time better be the last.

It’s just a shame King won’t be writing about it anymore. I want Roland to enter the room at the top of the Tower (for the last time) and see the whole universe layed out before him. Every parallel world, every soul, everything just simply layed out before him. I want the sight of what he sees to be too powerful for words to describe. So powerful, that Roland begins to cry at the beauty of what he seeing. And as he enters, the door closes after him slowly, and stays closed forever.

That, my friends, would be my ending.

But other than that, this book is a grand read of epic proportions. I don’t like giving ratings like 5/5 or 10/10 stars. That sort of rating system is too linear. Words are much better. Just know that the Dark Tower series has become one of my favourite series of all time. And it’s with good reason too. This book is simply amazing, just like the others in the series. It truly is sai King’s opus maximus.