Unfinished Tales

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

Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West

Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

For those who want/need to know more.

Highly recommend any and all who want or need to know more about the Middle Earth story. This and the Silmarillion are must reads for Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings fans. If your reading this then you’ve likely read other books by Tolkien so prepare yourself for some dry chapters but brace yourself for all the very interesting lore you will learn. Be patient because some of the best info came towards the end with Gandalf’s extra lore & the palantir, and naturally the chapter of Galadriel & Celeborn was a joy as well.

Narrator did not read author's pronunciation guide

I love everything about this but the narrators' frequent mispronunciation of names, clearly having not prepared by reading Tolkien's pronunciation guide. Other Tolkien fanatics may agree.

Great stories for Tolkien lovers

Very dense material but if you love Tolkien’s work you’ll love hearing all the stories that he was creating and there’s lots of lore.

Excellent

Both narrators accomplish a superb job in elocution, accent, and delivery. Very enjoyable, and understandable.

Fantastic telling of fantastic tales.

If you like me have enjoyed returning to Middle Earth after catching The Rings of Power series, I think you’ll enjoy this review of the Unfinished Tales. I really like the use of the two voices, one representing JRR in narration of his works or letters, and the other representing Christopher, his son and the editor providing comments and analysis. This made for an entertaining, engaging and deeper understanding of the lore and stories surrounding the characters and events of Middle Earth. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Gandalf form a few of the different sections. 🧙‍♂️

Thoroughly enjoyed

Great details of such a fantastic story. Brilliant. Fills in so many gaps in the Tolkien world.

what stood out was how many different twists and complete changes Tolkien added or removed and tricked in storylines

I liked the fact that there's not enough paper in the world for him to write what's in his mind, disappointing was some plots and situations had no explanation, whether he had forgotten or just wanted to leave as it is for the reader to use his imagination.

parts of the canon you've probably been wondering about

In terms of format, it reads somewhat like the bible but it contains such things as a more detailed account of the making of the Rings of Power, Galadriel's backstory, etc. It sort of presupposes that you are already familiar with the Silmarilion, but it is must-read if you are a Tolkien fan.

Provides some great insight into the lore

Loved this book. Read it right after the Silmarillion and both were fantastic. Highly recommend

Excellent and informative

Great performances as well! A collection of stories and information, some of which has been since published in other books such as fall of Numenor and The story of Amarion.