You need these Tolkien books before the Amazon series

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You need these Tolkien books before the Amazon series

Amazon’s fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power opens on September 2, 2022 at Prime and takes us to a time 1000 years before Frodo’s Middle-earth. On which book templates does the fantasy project fall back on this?

We’ll tell you which Tolkien books the series will be based on and even show you specifically which chapters will help you look if you don’t want to read the complete works in full.

Amazon’s big fantasy series: What is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power about?

In the millennia-long history of Middle-earth, Amazon’s series is only a fraction: In Second Age With the help of the godlike Valar, the Elves have finally defeated the all-powerful villain Morgorth (aka Melkor) and it seems after a long time of war finally peace to rule.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – S01 Teaser Trailer 3 (German) HD

the Elven capital Lindon flourishes and the people in the Island Kingdom of Númenor also gain knowledge and wealth. But not all evil has been banished yet: A shadow is stirring. Morgoth’s evil servant Sauron secretly plots his ascension, threatening all races of Middle-earth: elves, dwarves, men and harfeet.

Which books or chapters should you read before Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series?

JRR Tolkien’s work is extensive. Most of his books were published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien. In the mountain of Middle-earth stories relevant to the Amazon series are mainly the following:

1. Series Template: The Lord of the Rings – The Appendices

In 2017 Amazon acquired for $250 million film rights to The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. However, because the Tolkien Estate made the condition for this deal not to continue (or even remake) The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, the series mainly relies on the Attachmentswhich in the various publications of the Lord of the Rings book trilogy* directly follow the end of Book 3, The Return of the King.

©Amazon

Important Númenorean in the Lord of the Rings series: Aragorn’s ancestor Elendil

Impatient readers can confidently skip chapters such as pronunciation aids or the Shire calendar. It is particularly useful to read the following chapters in the Lord of the Rings appendices:

  • I. The Númenorean Kings (including 1. Númenor, 2. The Realms in Exile) – approx. 9 pages to prepare for the island kingdom of Númenor
  • III. Durin’s people (especially the beginning of the Durin Kings) – approx. 3-14 pages in preparation for the dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm
  • Appendix B: The Second Age – Approx. 4 pages with a useful timeline for the entire series plot

    • 2nd series template of the Lord of the Rings series: The Silmarillion

    Even though The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power isn’t officially on the book The Silmarillion Tolkien’s “fictional history” of Middle-earth is not unimportant reading for the series. This was proven not least by the cast of the series, who kept posting pictures of themselves with this book on social media. Even if the work has the reputation of being difficult to digest, the knowledge gained from reading it is enormous.

    ©Amazon

    Important Silmarillion trees in the Lord of the Rings series: Laurelin and Telperion

    The Silmarillion owns as a book different partswhich will have sometimes more (marked in bold), sometimes less weight for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series:

  • Ainulindale = Tolkien’s story of creation and mythology of the gods (approx. 10 pages)
  • Valaquenta = the super beings of the Valar, Maiar and their enemies explained (approx. 8 pages)
  • Quenta Silmarillion: The Story of the Silmaril = the entire story of the Valar, Elven and Human races in the fight against Melkor/Morgoth and for the three Silmaril Gems (approx. 300 pages)
  • Akallabeth = the story of the fall of Númenor (approx. 30 pages)
  • Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age = how the elven, dwarf, human rings and Sauron’s one ring were forged (approx. 30 pages)

    • The last part of the Silmarillion book clearly contains the series title and is therefore logically the most important for Amazon’s fantasy project. But also the immersion in the Elf story worth in advance: It is now known that the series also some Recourse to the First Age as well as the time of the shining trees of Valinor.

    3. Lord of the Rings Series Templates: The Second Age Compilations

    Since from Second Age of Middle-earth not only in one, but in many Tolkien books, the following works, which delve deeper into the epoch, are also available for further reading in preparation for the series:

    ©Amazon

    Lord of the Rings Series Feast with Elves and Dwarf

    especially the new release of the last book as a collective work on the Second Age is extremely conspicuously terminated. Because by the time of publication on November 10th, all 8 episodes of the 1st season of the Lord of the Rings series should have been played and interest in re-reading what has been seen should reach a peak.

    Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series: Will It Be a Fantasy Highlight or a Disappointment?

    Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series will soon tell a story set thousands of years before the events of the films. But what exactly awaits us in it?

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    In the Moviepilot podcast, we talk about what we already know about the Lord of the Rings series, what excites us about it and what might also put us off a bit.

    *The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.

    Which books that serve as the basis for the Lord of the Rings series have you already read?

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