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Title: Early Version of The Silmarillion as told by Tolkien's son
Review: "The Book of Lost Tales 2" includes several tales which will be a classic part of "The Silmarillion", yet all of these are in a cruder, more rudimentary form, than what readers have seen in the latter work. Among the most important changes is depicted in the early version of the tale of Beren and Luthien, here entitled "The Tale of Tinuviel", where Beren was conceived first by Tolkien as a gnome, not a man. There is also an extensive recounting of "The Fall of Gondolin", the Elvish refuge from Morgoth, not seen in "The Silmarillion". This is an important book for both scholars and fans of Tolkien, since his son Christopher provides excellent commentary and related material (e. g. poetry) in which he compares and contrasts the stories in this volume with their later versions in "The Silmarillion". So if you not read "The Silmarillion", I strongly recommend doing so before reading this book.
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