the silmarillion is my favorite fantasy book ever written! ive never been so enthralled by a book in my entire life

@purefoldnz3070

6 ай бұрын

his best work is in the Silmarillion for sure.

@TheHoneyBadger-yh5vj

Ай бұрын

God bless you 🙏🙏🙏 mine also :)❤❤❤

RoP can be viewd as involuntary metafiction. It is a tv show about the Second Age, the Age in which the central theme is how hubris causes downfall: Elven hubris let Sauron return, decive them and forge the rings. Men's hubris let Numenor fall . Sauron's own hubris let the last alliance win. The hubis of Isildur let the ring survive. And in a way RoP moves along the line. Amazon's hubris let them spend a billion dollars on the false premise that pouring endless money could bring them the best Tv show ever; and showrunners' hubris let them operate careless of lore, fandom and tolkenian themes on the false premise that calling "rose" a pig, or "Galadriel" a awful teenager with anger issues, could decive the pubblic. And doing so, all of them failed miserably. RoP is a metafictional cautionary tale of how hubris could destroy anyone.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Love your interpretation!

@christiansvenjimmiekarlsso1876

Жыл бұрын

they could never hope to make a good series in that setting without the rights to the silmarillion or narn i chin hurin, thats why halbarnd? is called that and not Annatar, as in the trilogy or the hobbit, his name "lord of gifts" isnt mentioned. probably can't mention galadriels kids either if they arent mentioned in the appendices. They should've just had the setting in Rhun or Far Harad, areas we know sparsely about. THAT could actually have been good af

@annafdd

10 ай бұрын

@@christiansvenjimmiekarlsso1876not with two dudes with zero writing credits at the helm it wouldn’t.

@bradwilliams7198

7 ай бұрын

RoP is the latest manifestation of Melkor's corruption of Arda.

@Makkaru112

4 ай бұрын

Except in the books they were never deceived. The 3 Elven Rings are not susceptible to “The One Ring” in any direct way.. They’re only tied by fate to lose their power if Sauron is defeated completely & absolutely. As they were made by the elves and as always they make things for a purpose and pour their literal spirit into things they create. So if Sauron is defeated then the three rings power will fade and basically become almost useless or diminished versions of their original design since by this era magic has bled from the world by a huge degree thanks to Morgoth’s poisoning the world itself with his very essence that he poured into it. Called The Long Defeat By The Elves and The Men Of The West. ​​⁠ Firstly: All 16 rings were meant to go to the elves ( which lead to 300-500years of his infiltration & deception down the drain.) but Mairon of the Maiar(primordial angelic beings in simple terms as they are sort of beyond angels) disguised as a high elf named Annatar when he came to the elves pretending to be an emissary from Valinor on behalf of the Valar so it makes sense how alluring the ring is and how strong it’s pull on people is. (A bit too instant in the movies though) Galadriel soon saw right through him and especially when after speaking with him regarding not remembering him when in Valinor long ago where she learned from all the Valar thanks to being dominantly Vanyar/Teleri side over her Noldorin side where she gleaned from that encounter that she did not study under Aulë the Vala with any elf named Annatar ! But later named Sauron by the elves meaning deceiver! After all of this, The three elven rings were made in secret without Saurons touch upon them thanks to Kelebrimbor! Remember Gandalf before he became Gandalf was the same species of entity Sauron used to be!! Wow hey? The Rings in this case, would have lost their powers eventually due to the lack of the One Ring and possibly because they were designed to defeat evil, & evil in the form of Sauron had been defeated twice already in the past. The Three Elven Rings served their purpose for a long time. Two out of three of them had several different bearers Unlike the other Rings, the main purpose of the Three is to "heal and preserve", as when Galadriel used Nenya to preserve her realm of Lothlórien over long periods. The Elves made the Three Rings to try to halt the passage of time, or as Tolkien had Elrond say, "to preserve all things unstained". I can expand upon this based on any further statements & questions you have for me as a reply to this comment ! ❤ There is problem here with the Rings, the Three were supposed to be never touched by Sauron and that's why they were not corrupting…Sauron had not taken part in their making which made the Three more 'pure' unsullied by his dark power, unlike the Nine and Seven Rings! But Sauron in the show touched the very material they were made of!!! So technically he could have tainted them and corrupted! Even appendices of Lot tell us the order of making the rings, so they didn't even need the righs to more detailed writings in UT or Silmarillion: 1200 Sauron endeavours to seduce the Eldar. Gil-galad refuses to treat with him; but the smiths of Eregion are won over. The Númenoreans begin to make permanent havens. c. 1500 The Elven-smiths instructed by Sauron reach the height of their skill. They begin the forging of the Rings of Power. c. 1590 The Three Rings are completed in Eregion. c. 1600 Sauron forges the One Ring in Orodruin. He completes the Barad-dûr. Kelebrimbor perceives the designs of Sauron. 1693 War of the Elves & Sauron begins. The Three Rings are hidden." 'Did you not hear me, Gloin?' said Elrond. 'The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But of them it is not permitted to speak. So much only in this hour of doubt I may now say. They are not idle. But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow. But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One."

The middle of the book is absolutely necessary. Especially the fight between fingolfin and melkor. Absolutely necessary in allowing the rest of the mythology to branch out.

I couldn't even finish the first episode of rings of power. It didn't feel like I was watching something from the LOTR universe or something that came from Tolkien. It was so stupidddd.

You’ll need to pair The Silmarillion with Lays of Beleriand, Of Beren and Lúthien, Lay Of Leithien and Unfinished tales to get a more complete and fuller story. Children Of Húrin too. ❤

It also happened to me! I was stalling to tackle the Silmarilion, but the absurdity of RoP made me read it

The Silmarilion was published after Tolkien's passing. It is a collection stories that he created for his own personal enjoyment to flesh out the world in which the languages (various dialects of Elvish and such) he created as a hobby existed. He never really expected them to be published. Which I think explains the indulgent and obsessive quality of the writing you described.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Yes, I can definitely get that, and I still think these stories can be appreciated, especially for the imagery and beautiful language.

@VictorDiGiovanni

Жыл бұрын

As many thousands of people are, I'm writing my own fantasy novel, and have hundreds of pages of notes, and histories of nations and kings, and myths and legends, etc etc. I shudder to think what critics and KZreadrs would say about it all if my son were to one day collect and publish all these notes. "What a jumbled mess!! What made him think anyone would want to read these indulgent text!"

@brooksboy78

Жыл бұрын

Tolkien absolutely, 100% wanted The Silmarillion to be published. He attempted to have it published in the 30s but was rejected. It was his life's dream to get it published. Just read The History of Middle-earth to see just how much he wanted it to be out there.

@hardcoredoom5892

11 ай бұрын

Nah, what actually happened was Tolkien wrote the Hobbit for his kids and the world loved it. Publishers asked Tolkien to expand on the world of the Hobbits, so he wrote the Silmarillion. The publishers wouldn’t publish it because during war time, paper was expensive and they also thought Tolkien was crazy for basically writing a bible for his legendarium. They told him to dial it back. In response, Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, which was published. You’re right that The Silmarillion wasn’t published in Tolkien’s lifetime, but it was all fleshed out and ready for Christopher to make easy work of it.

@annafdd

10 ай бұрын

@@hardcoredoom5892I wouldn’t call it easy. The Silmarillion was never finished because Tolkien kept changing his mind and abandoning scripts or restarting them from scratch. He only managed to finish LOTR because the publisher wrestled the final version from his hands. But yes, it was his life’s work and he absolutely wanted it published.

Amazon waited until Christopher Tolkien died early in the production of Amazon’s DumpsterFire, his "demand" was that Amazon could use the Appendices to make the show, but they couldn't change the lore. As soon as Christopher died, Amazon delayed the show for reshoots, fired Tom Shippey who was the lead Tolkien scholar & friend of Tolkien himself; they wanted Jackson on the team. PeterJackson asked for the scripts then they ghosted him. Then later when asked about it he basically told them good luck.. You can blame this garbage show on Simon Tolkien, its stink doesn't reach Christopher. Firstly: they merge events (from thousands of years of history & build up towards several events but puts them all into one moment as if it’s happening in the same few years without time jumps or anything.) Guyladriel the murderous one dimensional girlboss heroine version of Galadriel never met Miriel(one of Aragorn’s ancestors) because, as an elf, she would have been sacrificed to Morgoth by the King's Men. The hobbits and Gandalf never met in the 2nd Age because Gandalf was in Valinor till the 3rd Age. Miriel wasn’t even born yet. She was born 300 years before or after the rings of power era. Also Elendil would never say “forget the past and toss it aside.” That’s the whole thing about the Faithful Númenoreans!!! Faithfulness to what’s good. To their elf friends. To the Valar, to Eru Îlluvatar. The way Galadriel acts like Fëanor when he isn’t seeing straight such as how she threatened bloodshed in the highest court of Númenor! The way she isn’t tall, the way she fights rookies doesn’t make her look strong. Should have had her spar with Elendil who was greater than Miriel in many ways even as far as lineage goes too! Have her spar with those greater Numenoreans and let the rookies laugh at their masters being vested by an elf woman holding back from actually hurting them! Now that’d be cool. (Remember. Their whole mantra was to write the book Tolkien never wrote”. Also watch them fake super fans. And then watch their social media that had nothing Tolkien on it ever. Like…. It’s painfully obvious what’s going on here. Same formula towards other titles. They’re just trying to bank on the brand of which that’s the only reason they did this. Just watch Peter Jackson’s new movie coming out and the war of the Rohirim. You’ll see that Brian Cox is involved In it along with Philipa Boyens as well as Actor for Èowyn named Miranda Otto. Fran Walsh I also believe is Involved as well! Watch George The Giant Slayer’s first video regarding the war of the rohirrim. It was beautiful. And he has a wonderful soul too. When I say first video. I don’t mean very first uploaded video though lol. ) There was also no Adar. No poppy. No Nori. No fake Gandalf who literally didn’t come the way he was supposed to which introduces Círdan. And since they screwed up the themes and lore so badly they have to dig in their heels. And they are also being sued by multiple people and groups and companies actually. The rings were forged last and not first. They were not in his sights or touch nor did he even know about them. And also guyladriel wasn’t a murderous Fëanorean either. But the note of the elven rings. They were made last and without the knowledge of Sauron. His touch never got to them. Made in secret so that whole story is thrown out the window as well. And making them first and having the obvious Sauron figure who wasn’t an elf to just be there when they’re making them and have his eye show up in the forge which wasn’t even the worst of it. The greatest of elven smiths still around which is Celebrimbor doesn’t even know what alloying is. Not to mention all their environmental scandals on top of bad CGI stuff. Full of copy past crowds and plagerisms up the wazoo. It’s also getting sued by several people and groups. I’ll also remind you that they just ran an old sick horse til it died of cardiac arrest and then only had a ten min coffee break to loosely honour this horse. Not to mention Tolkien loved animals in a deep way. They also have been causing environmental damage one of which being King Charles ancient forest to make a set. It’s scandal after scandal. And the fire in studio that took four hours to put out with firemen for yet another example. PS they don’t have the rights to the Silmarillion nor anything much of the second age let alone the first. Only the trilogy books and their appendices…. Remember that they also plagiarized tonnes of films in nontasteful instead of true a homage way… tempest in me but when threatening Fëanorean level bloodshed in the court of Numenor was from Cate Blanchett’s Elizabeth role which was done with grace and poise of a veteran actress(which doesn’t even sound like anything those of the great chill house of Finarfin would even act like. Again it’d be best to put Elrond there due to Elros. But ooook let’s make girlboss do everything. Even if it continues to make zero sense. )😍 ​​⁠ fact they downplayed Elendil, Gil-Galad and Finrod is beyond infuriating and not explaining Elwing, Elronds mother beyond just showing her as a swan was pure LOLism. Like. What’s worse is Grandpabimbor…. Let’s not forget good ol’ Guyladriel either. The LOTR version of Star Wars’ Rey! Guyladriel the Female Fëanor without any of his charms and subtleties and wit… just the bloody violent rages…

Instant subscribe when you said you wanted the characters to die 😂 As a small aside I want to say: be careful not to write off video games entirely, it's a very, very diverse genre these days, like movies or books. There are many story driven worlds, many that aren't about shooting or killing or mindless action. Some are incredible works of art with seminal narratives and atmosphere. There are games that are like interactive books. Games that are abstract explorations of feelings or narrative or even wild things like concepts of non-Euclidian geometry. There are auteur creators and tens of thousands of independent studios and individuals exploring unique and interesting concepts. It's an absolutely immense medium, and is currently the largest media category in the world. The nature of video games' interactivity allows for narratives that could not exist in any other form and some of what people are doing with that edge is truly fascinating. When I hear people say "video games aren't my cup of tea" I feel the statement is akin to saying "reading isn't my cup of tea", or music. It's such a broad medium (effectively an umbrella for "interactive art") that something within there will float your boat. Mostly when people say this they're thinking of the mainstream shooters and such associated with teenaged popular culture, but just like how there's Marvel and there's Fellini, video games aren't easily encapsulated by what's most popular, and the term "game" falls short.

I love the Silmarillion, for its beautiful prose, imagery and atmosphere-but also because the context it gave to The Hobbit and the trilogy blew my mind when I first read it. I'd read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times from a very young age and to have all the songs and poetry and allusions that I'd read again and again transform from misty apparitions in a deep past into fully realized tales was such a unique experience-one I'll never quite get again I don't think because of how ingrained Tolkien was into my youth and early reading (I'm definitely going to keep a lot more books around if I have kids, so they can have all the opportunities to have that kind of experience with many different novels) I tried to give RoP the benefit of the doubt, even after the eyebrow raising first few minutes ... but by the end my god it was a mess, complete miss. Had little to do with any superficial things that people whined about (elves and dwarves of color, a non issue) or anything like that, more that the writing was bad to atrocious and feels like it either misunderstood or just wasn't capable of conveying the themes and spirit of the works it was trying to adapt and add to. I will say some of the imagery was nice, and the dwarven bits were the best. Mostly awful. Will do my best to just forget it.

It hits different in Tolkiens original English. He as reviving ancient knowledge and even bringing back several languages from the dead. Especially old English and epics through a brand new format that is more palatable to the modern world around him whilst letting it be a gateway for people to study the same things he did as a scholar/professor! Many got into martial arts, wilderness survival, topography, and became professional blacksmiths! His works has inspired people to conquer their diseases and thriving in their newfound healthy lives! ❤

The Rings of Power is Tolkien by the way of a department store that makes billions from selling toilet rolls. The Rings of Power did get me to finally read The Children of Hurin which is a masterpiece.

I dont know man, I was like you I knew I wasent getting a cohesive story and I was intimatly familiar with LOTR and the Hobbit and over the years heard bits and pieces of the lore contained in the Silmarillion and historys volumes. I was glued to this book from start to finish and loved learning about the political stuff as you put it as it gave me lots of back story to the characters I love so much. I think its amazing the world he has created.

Oh my God. IT WAS A TRAINWRECK BEFORE IT EVEN CAME OUT. I love your videos even more now. Whatever your gripes with The Hobbit films (and I admit, I have a fair few myself), THIS TRAVESTY makes The Hobbit films look like a masterpiece.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Agree!!

@hobbes1887

Жыл бұрын

The hobbit trilogy is not even that bad, if you cut out all the studio crap that PJ had to add in ( at the cost of his own healt), and forgive the bad CGI. RoP, on the other hand, is a complete failure in each and every frame, plot point, or dialogue.

@ravendarkwell8791

Жыл бұрын

@@hobbes1887 I completely agree with you. The casting is even spot on and PJ was still so humbled at the end of the day. There are moments when the films do shine and flaws aside, I do really enjoy them as a whole. Rings of Power however is the work of idiots, through and through, heartless asswads the lot of them.

a bookshelf like that is life goals

Well spoken. Rings of Power is the definition of soulless corporate media. No heart or emotion, no passion or love, no creativity or artistry, just miserable activists pushing out a miserable product to try and make a quick and easy buck.

These are books one must dive into often. It all makes more sense when you watch GirlNextGondor, MenOfTheWest, PhilospherGames, TheRedBook, CluelessFanGirl and Tolkien Untangled!

This video just perfectly encapsulates why I love your content. Just straight up telling it like it is. 😂

@roddo1955

Ай бұрын

He does take a long time to get to the point.

Interesting opinion about the Silmarilion. I think biblical describes the style pretty well. It reminds me a lot of the old testament, And yes the stories of the 1st age are written like a description of historical events. They have only little dialogue between the characters just like the stories about Alexander the Great or Babylon in our world. Don't expect it to be like the Hobbit or LotR and you might be able to enjoy it. I really love that the universe is created by music. That very first part of that book always resonated with me. Also don't get put off by the many names that you will be confronted with while reading. You do not have to remember them all. Even of the Valar not all are that important.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

I love the part that music plays in the Tolkien world, certainly one of my favorite features!

@silmaril8989

Жыл бұрын

Consulting maps, family trees and other over-views while reading it is also super helpful, it makes it easier to know where the stories take place, see and understand connections between events and not having to remember all of the names to know who is who. Otherwise it's easy to get lost especially the first time :D

It actually doesn’t meander when you notice what’s really happening when it’s occurring. Many don’t understand the language it’s written in. And people who go into this book like it’s going to be a novel end up being confused, bored or overwhelmed.

Bruh, after page 75, the silmarillion started making sense, and it was amazing... Ended up reading it like 2 dozen times 🤣😂🤣😂

Hahah love this so much Juan! I have been trying really hard to not hate the show, but it’s rough. Every scene seems to follow the same dumb formula. Something bad is coming, there is sweeping g big music, then the characters have a talk with music in the background, then there are VERY DEEP THOUGHTS. I haven’t read The Silmarillion yet, but I hope to one of these days.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Very deep thoughts and very serious staring into the horizon……

J.D Payne and Patrick Mccay knew what they were doing.

@Makkaru112

4 ай бұрын

Pain and Decay - GeorgeTheGiantSlayer

Appreciated your thoughts on this. I’m listening to the Silmarillion audiobook and I’m really enjoying the experience.

Valaquenta and Quenta Silmarillion are awesome too.

I loved how you were talking about TROP and The Hobbit, it made me laugh so hard because it was like watching myself 😂 I'm reading The Silmarillion now and knowing that Tolkien's son put it all together makes it more special and gives sense to why it's like an encyclopedia. Anyway, I love it and I think Tolkien was a genius.

@patrickmulligan3101

Жыл бұрын

The Silmarillion is incredible

@flowerpower.

Жыл бұрын

@@patrickmulligan3101 it is !!

That moment Juan remembers his youtube password and posts a video 😆. Loved your video Juan! I finished season 1 today and I simply make your words mine. The only character that I kind of liked was Nori. And I can't understand why they asked Morfrydd to portray a Galadriel who needs to speak without opening her mouth! I love this actress and she is very talented, so i'm pretty sure it was a direction mistake!

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

These characters need to die, all of them. Painfully, if possible. Yuck!

Wow over 20 years is a very long tbr book on a shelf- it is positive you read it. Rings of Power has been soooo disappointing- I haven’t even watched the end yet- but I did truly appreciate the Silmarillion.

⁠The 3 Elven Rings are not susceptible to “The One Ring” in any direct way.. They’re only tied by fate to lose their power if Sauron is defeated completely & absolutely. As they were made by the elves and as always they make things for a purpose and pour their literal spirit into things they create. So if Sauron is defeated then the three rings power will fade and basically become almost useless or diminished versions of their original design since by this era magic has bled from the world by a huge degree thanks to Morgoth’s poisoning the world itself with his very essence that he poured into it. Called The Long Defeat By The Elves and The Men Of The West. ​​⁠ Firstly: All 16 rings were meant to go to the elves ( which lead to 300-500years of his infiltration & deception down the drain.) but Mairon of the Maiar(primordial angelic beings in simple terms as they are sort of beyond angels) disguised as a high elf named Annatar when he came to the elves pretending to be an emissary from Valinor on behalf of the Valar so it makes sense how alluring the ring is and how strong it’s pull on people is. (A bit too instant in the movies though) Galadriel soon saw right through him and especially when after speaking with him regarding not remembering him when in Valinor long ago where she learned from all the Valar thanks to being dominantly Vanyar/Teleri side over her Noldorin side where she gleaned from that encounter that she did not study under Aulë the Vala with any elf named Annatar ! But later named Sauron by the elves meaning deceiver! After all of this, The three elven rings were made in secret without Saurons touch upon them thanks to Kelebrimbor! Remember Gandalf before he became Gandalf was the same species of entity Sauron used to be!! Wow hey? The Rings in this case, would have lost their powers eventually due to the lack of the One Ring and possibly because they were designed to defeat evil, & evil in the form of Sauron had been defeated twice already in the past. The Three Elven Rings served their purpose for a long time. Two out of three of them had several different bearers Unlike the other Rings, the main purpose of the Three is to "heal and preserve", as when Galadriel used Nenya to preserve her realm of Lothlórien over long periods. The Elves made the Three Rings to try to halt the passage of time, or as Tolkien had Elrond say, "to preserve all things unstained". I can expand upon this based on any further statements & questions you have for me as a reply to this comment ! ❤ There is problem here with the Rings, the Three were supposed to be never touched by Sauron and that's why they were not corrupting…Sauron had not taken part in their making which made the Three more 'pure' unsullied by his dark power, unlike the Nine and Seven Rings! But Sauron in the show touched the very material they were made of!!! So technically he could have tainted them and corrupted! Even appendices of Lot tell us the order of making the rings, so they didn't even need the righs to more detailed writings in UT or Silmarillion: 1200 Sauron endeavours to seduce the Eldar. Gil-galad refuses to treat with him; but the smiths of Eregion are won over. The Númenoreans begin to make permanent havens. c. 1500 The Elven-smiths instructed by Sauron reach the height of their skill. They begin the forging of the Rings of Power. c. 1590 The Three Rings are completed in Eregion. c. 1600 Sauron forges the One Ring in Orodruin. He completes the Barad-dûr. Kelebrimbor perceives the designs of Sauron. 1693 War of the Elves & Sauron begins. The Three Rings are hidden." 'Did you not hear me, Gloin?' said Elrond. 'The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But of them it is not permitted to speak. So much only in this hour of doubt I may now say. They are not idle. But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow. But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One."

The Silmarillion is great. But it takes a certain mindset to truly 'get it'.

This was so entertaining 😂 I've only read The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien so I don't know a whole lot about Middle Earth, it's history, Tolkien's other works, etc. I'm really looking forward to finishing the LOTR trilogy and trying out the Silmarillion along with other middle earth stories!

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Hope you enjoy getting into the lore! 😃

@Makkaru112

4 ай бұрын

Pair all that with GirlNextGondor, MenOfTheWest, CluelessFangirl, TheRedBook, and Tolkien Untangled! ❤

The children of Hurin is a great read

I am a long time Tolkien fan, reading The Hobbit for the first time in 4th grade, and The Lord of the Rings in 7th grade. I later obtained a copy of the Silmarillion but had trouble getting into it; at some point my copy was lost. I've read The Hobbit and LotR at least once every year for the past 20 years....but never went back to the Silmarillion. Yesterday I received a new copy of the book, to also to help wash away the memories of Rings of Power (what I watched of it, anyway).

to build on the critique of the middle section when it comes to the lord of the rings the middle section is relatively pointless but the middle section is more meant to be as foundations built for his earlier stories which are full narratives such as the children of hurin and beren and luthien. this also lends itself to tolkien himself because he was not a "writer" he was a "builder" he was creating a world for himself and for others to tell stories within. a modern mythology if you will

I agree with everything you said about RoP, and my hope has been that it's only potential value would be if it got people to read Tolkien - exactly like it did with you! So maybe that'll happen and more people will realize how it is NOT Tolkien and is beyond horrific on every level and RoP will be cancelled. And The Silmarillion is my favorite book; it's complicated but so incredibly beautiful it blows my mind every time I read it.

Of all of the books in the Tolkien Legendarium, I enjoyed the Unfinished Tales the most. Some great stories in there. It's important to realize that Tolkien never published any of these in his lifetime, so they were all just gleaned together from his notes by his son. Loved your Rings of Power rant; I haven't seen the finale yet, but it's been mostly a disappointment so bad that it's made season 1 of Wheel of Time look good to me!

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for recommending the Unfinished Tales!!

I've got the exact copy like you 😉👍 thank you for the video, freeing from Poland 🇵🇱😊

Funny thing is they actually bought the story, they had the backbone, but chose not to take advantage of that fact and instead create whatever this was. Pure garbage television.

The Silmarillion; to shock those that think that all Tolkien's books ends happily. And then you show them the Narn...

09:04 Start of his Silmarillion review.

@justjuanreader

7 ай бұрын

This video is not really a review; I mean, it’s not written or structured with the purpose of a review in mind. But thank you!

The silmarillion reads like the bible

I have commitment issues. If I don't like the first one, I don't watch it.

I have started thrice and the farthest I got to was 1/3rd of total and had all but given up now after watching rings of power I am embarking on the adventure once again

Haha! I didn’t mind the show, it was about as good as I expected, basically just hoping it’d be better than the hobbit movies, and it was (to me). I have the Silmarillion but haven’t gotten to it yet. I like LotR and the Hobbit too, but didn’t have any compunction to pick it up yet. This makes it more enticing though! It’s nice to hear a take that isn’t the super fans too-much-information hah :)

Totally AGREE!!!!!! FALSE is the correct best word.

Thank you very much, now such words as "rancid, schizoid and superlative" became an active part of my vocabulary:) Excellent!:) so glad that I found your channel:)

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

This show is both trying to be a slow burn, while trying to be like the movies at the same time. Causing a weird thing were nothing is happening for 80% of the show while everything is happening all at once.

Everytime they try to, reinvent these stories for modern audiences, it does the actual story no justice at all. Haven't read Silmarillion its on my list but I'm working on great tales of middle earth Beren and Luthien. The Hobbit and LOTR were great reads. I'm getting the vibe without reading these Silmarillion stories that they are Middle Earth history/reference books. Still fairly interesting though.

Actually Arda is our Midgard

"It feels like it was written by illiterate people, for illiterate people" Well that is how I feel about Peter Jackson's movies.

...perhaps he was processing war trauma. 12:05 -13:00

Yes, reading any Tolkien in the original language is a basic requirement. As soon as you read a translated text, you get what has been filtered through the translator's own language skills. And that might not always be of the utmost quality. Language itself was Tolkien's basic craft, after all.

good... but sad... u found a positive for ROP ..blade of grass in desert

This might be the only video in existence that calls Tolkien's Silmarillion "anal" without being disrespectful! 😅

@justjuanreader

7 ай бұрын

I’m a psychoanalyst! 🤓😎

Thank you for suffering for us 😂

I never bothered watching RoP. It was a joke. Read the Silmarillion (in less than a month no less, and now reading Unfinished Tales as i write this), and I LOVED THE BOOK. Tolkien knew what he was doing. Amazon Prime just saw $$, and its really disheartening

If you loved HOTD i hope you read fire and blood one day but beware it reads like a history book do not read it thinking like a normal book do some research before reading like silmarilian otherwise it will be miserable experience

Hope that felt good to get out lol. Now what chair is that? Looks comfy and cool.

Jar-jar haha that is the best comparison lol. IMO it is a deeper problem if you can not as a person of any ethnicity or color identify with the OG lotr characters or any other simply because your skin color is not on screen. Identity politics is making everything new into flaming garbage, they have largely abandoned true story telling in our modern times. Personally I am delving back into books after these screen propagandas have been so persistent and bad. If they start coming for the books we will stand that is the last straw, no nazi welcome here in our modern world.

Walter Mercado! 😂 I always appreciate your honesty, Juan.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Just look at Celebrimbor!! For crying out loud!! Looks like one of my Mexican aunts!!

We aplaud you sir and it's tragic, Mor"mazon" has equavalently sacked the literary Osgiliath equivalent of Professor Tolkien's lore and story with season one, it is a descration of "history of the elvish speaking tongues..Shall we now sit around the fire and muse sadly on Rings of Power? Our position, "Exsurge Tolkien" (published 25 March 22, and available for review on our channel), remains the most comprehensive analysis (and foreshadowed) of the Anti-Tolkien agenda of the ROP enterprise as declared by the showrunner's own words. We now see what the corporate machine theyocracy has wrought on Professor Tolkien's legacy: heresy, catastrophe, and disaster. Even the most ardent ROP supporters have weighed the show on the scales and found it wanting, "Auta i lóme" and "Aurë entuluva."

To be fair I did not watch this clip… I just find that t hilarious that the title is how you hated a show based on a book that you haven’t read…. Interesting. Yeah it would be great if the Tolkien estate would sell the rights to this masterpiece so we could see some of it on film. Sadly they didn’t…. But it is impossible for me to take your criticism seriously when you start out this way.

I do not like to watch movies or series based in books because it is the interpretation of the directors and screenwriters.

The Rings of Power isn’t an adaptation of The Silmarillion.

If the Rings of Power was so bad, you'd rather read the Silmarillion, you know there's a problem.

It’s hilarious how this video isn’t even about The Silmarillion. 🤣

I don't know why, but there is one scene in that show that had me literally crying from laughter. It's when Galadriel and Howbland wake up on the ship being taken to Numenor, and we get a few close ups of the crew on the ship and they just zoom in on the only VERY CLEARLY East Asian man in the entire island. Like, how in the hell did they actually do this and not see how awful it is? Every character in this show looks like they live in New York City attending a SAG/AFTRA event. 😂😂😂

Adoro escutar voce!! Queria poder falar ingles desse jeito.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇺🇸🇺🇸

Damn boy, you cute as hell. Love the blue shirt 😊😘

Oh my, I have never heard someone calling Tolkien or his works ”schizoid”. And using ”anal” when you are not talking about the end of the digestive system is a no-no from a professional point of view. Now I would really like to watch a video where you explain, as a psychologist, why do you think Tolkien and his works are ”schizoid”.

Why did you read it in Spanish instead of getting the English version?

Thanks to this video I now know of Walter Mercado. Well worth Bezos losing half a billion, I'd say!

Wait why do you say everyones gay and elronds gay there wasnt any gay person on the show. and i liked Galadriel's portrayal at least she reminds me of Xena and Halrond and Elrond werent wimpy at all but i agree there were some wimpy male characters and headstrong female characters that maybe couldve had another personality instead of copy pasting galadriels. looking back i enjoyed the adventure and journey but the ending wasnt good enough and the world didnt feel that much lived in like GOT/HOTD did

@saraeissa4954

Жыл бұрын

Nevermind I rewatched it and it wasn’t that good and they made isildors dad cry but I really thought he was going to be a Ned stark character

Good on ya.

The book also wasn't the final version of what Tolkien probably wanted. Wonder what it could have been like if he lived longer and properly finished it

Tenemos gustos parecidos, jajaja, es buen libro, no grandioso pero más que decente.

The Silmarillion is intentionally evoking the style of real-world mythologies (most notably the Prose Edda of Norse mythology). It's dense, lofty, grand, detached, and complex, but that's also just the nature of works like the Prose Edda.

@ryancruz1876

11 ай бұрын

The Silmarillion is not inspired by the Prose Eddas.

I really wasnt fussed about the actual content - we all knew they didnt have “proper” rights etc etc etc , and alot of this particular age in RoP is kind of messy and not prominent etc etc , Even being fine with that, some of the acting and the way the show somehow looks awful - sometimes amazing true - but sometimes not just bad but cheap , “The king that was promised????” Yes, king of these 27 stinking grey peasants🤷‍♂️ it was weird. The writing was incredibly poor. Dialogue aswell - we see Gandalf being confused but sort of nice about 5 times🤷‍♂️ Inguess my point was even if i didnt care about the reeeeal lore, it was still crap. 🤷‍♂️ is my reaction to it. I will hope for a better season🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

You haven’t read the silmarillion if you haven’t read it in english

@justjuanreader

Ай бұрын

Oh sorry kind sir I humbly apologize.

I liked it more than you, but enjoyed your rant. I don't think ALL the Elves are gay, particularly not Elrond. There's a noticeable aesthetic gap between Tolkien's world and this one, absolutely.

Much as I hated RoP, and I hated it a lot, I don’t think the problem was that the two people in charge or the writers didn’t read. They clearly do, or we wouldn’t have random cameos of Huan or the Helm of Dor-lomin. And I don’t feel that the Elves are gay - in fact, I am very irritated by how gender essentialist the show is (freaking short hairs! Celebrimbor! CELEBRIMBOR!!). I also think Adar was a very good character, because Joseph Mawle can make actual hay with any script. But the script was so bad, the plot so nonsensical, that it felt like it was generated by AI. Sadly, I don’t think it was. However if it pushes people to read The Silmarillion, I would call it a win.

RoP was an abomination. No S2 for me. I take personal offence at the poor copies of the iconic scenes from the beloved LOTR movies and this insult to Tolkien's vision. 💯 the showrunners didn't read the books. Stay away from Hobb Amazon, am I right? 😄 I'm currently on my fifth attempt to finish The Silmarillion. Fingers crossed. But this is not going to be an all-time favourite like LOTR or The Hobbit. I just want to read it for completeness. It was really illuminating knowing about your Silmarillion reading experience. I wonder how much of the inconsistent tone you mention is due to it being completed posthumously by his son. Happy reading!

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

It’s funny that such a “woke” show ended up being absolutely offensive!

@Paromita_M

Жыл бұрын

@@justjuanreader 💯. That's because their diversity policies are also poorly thought through. Why not adapt an IP where diversity is part of the worldbuilding e.g. Earthsea? Or adapt IPs by women authors e.g. Robin Hobb who is a contemporary of GRRM? But no they will put their pointless spin on beloved high fantasy IPs and compete with HoD for no reason, then fail miserably but we viewers are the bad ones 🤦🏽‍♀️.

@hardcoredoom5892

11 ай бұрын

The writers of Rings and Power were clearly too illiterate to actually get through the Silmarillion. They went through the Cliffnotes. Schools don’t even teach people how to read anymore and it shows in the writing of these posers. They’re indoctrinated, confused activists. They don’t even know who they themselves are.

I loved the season. I loved the Silmarillion, but it's an unfilmable collection of loosely-connected stories. The book continues to exist unaltered, and this show is a fascinating reconfiguring of the "Greatest Hits of the Silmarillion" into a single narrative. It's a lot of fun seeing what is the same and what has been changed. Can't wait for season two.

I thought The Rings of Power was flawed but consistently solid and intermittently wonderful, even spectacular. Vastly better than House of the Dragon, which I stopped watching after episode three. Looking forward to season two. The Silmarillion, on the other hand - from which the series drew almost nothing - is one of the five worst books I’ve ever read. Nice to see your shelves in the background, my friend.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

It’s nice to be able to disagree with a friend. I’m adoring House of the Dragon like you have no idea! What really drove me nuts about the Silmarillion was how pointless it all felt by the end - although don’t get me wrong; some of the imagery I really loved.

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Also I need to say I was very underwhelmed by the first episodes of House of the Dragon, but by now holy shit I am IN LOVE

@OldBluesChapterandVerse

Жыл бұрын

@@justjuanreader Disagreeing with friends can be very, very difficult, especially given the climate we live in with respect to judgment and canceling and tie-cutting and such, but to be able to do it - civilly, respectfully, with humility - is imperative, even when it feels impossible. You and I have pretty radically different tastes in films, even within the artsy stuff that we both prefer, so it’s little wonder that we feel so diametrically opposed where these two shows are concerned. I’m also just habitually inclined to side with underdogs, and as soon as people started piling on The Rings of Power, I became increasingly curious and predisposed to look for the good in it. Never at the expense of ignoring the bad - there were scenes and moments in season one that had me wanting to tear my ears off - but because so few people seemed to be acknowledging the craft and depth of feeling in much of it. There were shots in it I’d happily frame and put on my wall, moments that brought me to tears, scenes that left me exhilarated. Can’t ask for much more than that, as far as I’m concerned.

@OldBluesChapterandVerse

Жыл бұрын

@@BooksRebound Let’s just say there’s far more to a show than its writing. Episode three was when the muddy lighting began to feel obnoxious to me. And when the crab-man’s team of archers, who had been so skillful as to have the upper hand in the conflict for months, all of a sudden couldn’t hit the broad side of a chartreuse barn, and Daemon - all because he couldn’t bear the humiliation of being lent a hand by his brother after months of having his ass handed to him - becomes, in an instant, the most cool-temperatured emo douche-warrior of all-time, give me a break. I was done. There were / have been moments of great writing in both HOTD and ROP, and moments of dreck. But in the end, I find the craftsmanship in ROP far outstrips that in HOTD. The Rings of Power, at its best, is a deepening of Jackson’s vision. House of the Dragon doesn’t hold a candle to even the weakest episodes of Game of Thrones.

@hobbes1887

Жыл бұрын

@@OldBluesChapterandVerse there is nothing more in a show than it's writing, while maybe acting and directing are on the same level. And in no shape or form RoP acting, writing and directing was remotly acceptable. it was a Shannara type of show, with 10-20x the Shannara's budget.

you just spent like 5 minutes talking about how bad the show is without telling us why... repeating "it's bad" doesn't count as a review, to quote you "it's a nothing review"...

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

Lovely! It’s not a review, though. Thank you

In a funny way that garbage show ended up honoring tolkiens legacy by making alot of people be intrested what tolkien actually wrote

At hearing how much you hated the show, I wanted to slam the Like button. Good thing I didn't, because then I got to the bit about "horrible deaths" for the characters and I *REALLY* wanted to slam the Like button. But, darn, then I heard "these people don't read books" and *what do you want from me sir there are only so many times I can hit the Like button* Although hey, the Jar Jar character redeemed himself when we see how he was nothing but Palpatine's tool and his very foolishness was part of the vulnerability Palpatine used... I grew up reading Foundation and Dune, I never read Tolkien as a child. Rings Of Power (even though I have it, I watched it through the online reviewers) is what pushed me to finally read from The Hobbit to Return. For me, The Silmarillion is next.

what’s wrong with things being diverse….

@justjuanreader

Жыл бұрын

That it was diverse purely for the sake of being diverse, pushing an agenda and ideology, with no characterization or storytelling behind it. So it was very evident it was just for ideology’s sake. I don’t like being spoon fed anything.

@uglystupidloser

Жыл бұрын

@@justjuanreader oh, my god. thank you. people not being able to see that they are pandered to by such insincerity is mind blowing. maybe all people need is diversity splashed onto a screen to keep them fueled on their moral righteousness. I'M writing a fantasy show with diversity. not to pander. minorities, lgbt, and women are being USED. this is exploitation. not progress. seeing people unable to distinguish it is painful. what's wrong with diversity? SUCH a low level comment. juan doesn't even seem to be slamming the topic of diversity. this is a bait comment. and, if it was sincere, it speaks volume about your intellectual capacity. HAVE DIVERSITY. but NOT cheap exploitation. i'm so triggered.

@samfaris313

Жыл бұрын

@@justjuanreader if they really wanted diversity they could have easily explored the story of harad/umbar, the easterlings etc. They even made those witches from Rhun white women lol disgraceful

@hobbes1887

Жыл бұрын

in Tolkien there is a lot of diversity. ME is the entire world, you know. you have black, brown, yellow, white people from the 4 corners of the earth, and each of them is well characterized. instead the RoP all societies are multicultural and indentical.

@nikkivenable3700

Жыл бұрын

In our desperate thirst for diversity we’ve lost our decency. 99% of people are fine with people of different sizes and colors and no one bats an eye but the minute they shove it down our throats is when most of us are like, nope. These writers, directors are so busy trying to fit in every demographic that they fail to write a good story. That’s the problem.