Unfinished Tales

By: J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien - editor

Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West

JRR Tolkien’s legacy of short stories which inhabit the realm of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, on audio for the first time.

Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century’s most acclaimed popular author.

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.

©1980 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)1980 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Another monument to the incredible imagination of Tolkien." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Moments of mythic grandeur." (Sunday Times)

Great Detail for the LOTR Fanatic!

Very interesting narrative and abridgement on a variety of subjects and characters. Well worth your time if love all things Tolkien and I think audio is the perfect medium for this experience.

Classic

All of Tolkien’s work is a work of art. It is full of complexities of plot and in the characters that is rare even his unfinished tales that contradict some of the other texts of his at times are masterful. And with as much detail that he goes into it’s no wonder there are contradictions at times.

What rings of power should have been

Amazon Prime’s Rings of Power is bad fan fiction compared to this delightful collection of tales of Middle-Earth. The Wests prove to be wonderfully adept at creating an audio journey worth taking from season to season an editorial, Christopher Tolkien and his famous father.

Deeper View of the Tolkien World

Unfinished Tales is a great resource if you have already read other Tolkien works. (I would say at least the Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion.) There are so many great stories that shine light on events in the third age.

I love that there are two narrators for this book. One reads Tolkien’s parts and one reads Christopher’s notations, so it is clear when Christopher interjects a note.

Essential Tolkien

Unfinished Tales is essential reading for any true fan of Tolkien. Beautifully read by father and son in the voices of the characters and Tolkien's son, Christopher, who edited and published his notes and incomplete material.