The Silmarillion Deluxe Illustrated by the Author: Special Edition (Tolkien Illustrated Editions)

This is a review of the design and production quality of this book, not of the literary work itself. Overall I'm thrilled with this edition of The Silmarillion, and it pairs well (as intended) with the Illustrated Deluxe Edition of The Lord of the Rings (red slipcase version).1) Shipping and Packaging:I was pleased to receive this book in pristine condition, with no damage from packing or shipping. I made sure both the seller and shipper was Amazon. Inside the shipping box, the book was well-protected from corner and surface damage by a snug-fitting, unmarked cardboard box. I did miss the beautiful printing that was on the protective box of the correspondingly styled LOTR book, but it still did its job. The book was shink-wrapped inside of the box and everything looks great.2) Slipcase and Book Exterior:I really enjoy the design, although there's a lot going on. The foil stamping is crisp and looks great, on both the slipcase and the cover. The clothbound slipcase is a deep blue that is significantly less saturated than the vibrant blue of the quarter-bound, leather spine (and also much less saturated than shown in the product photo). Both are of similar tonality, and both showcase the foil stamping beautifully. The blue foil stamping visible through the hole in the slipcase introduces a third, slightly cooler blue. That's a lot of variance, but the overall effect is a rich combination of three blues that still works quite well due to the differing reflectivity of each material.The silver gilding on the paper edges is a very nice touch and complements the silver foil well. I did find myself brushing tiny specs of silver off the book cover from the gilt edges. Did one of my nieces leave a glitter bomb in the box?My only disappointment was seeing a faint bit of discoloration on the front of the slipcase, probably from some glue residue. Not enough to really bother me, but it's certainly not perfect.3) Binding:The binding feels reasonably flexible for a brand new book, and pages open evenly and easily as I turn through the book. It will certainly free up more once I start a reading. It should last, but only time will tell. There are no obvious defects, though. A dark blue ribbon marker is an appreciated inclusion.4) Paper:The end sheets are a light, warm grey that serves as a lovely transition between the dark tones of the exterior and the warm whites of the paper throughout the book. The weight of the uncoated paper throughout the book feels almost perfect for the dimensions, and printing on the reverse side can only be seen if you intentionally back-light a page. Illustration plates are printed on a paper of equivalent weight but with a slightly higher brightness, to good, subtle effect. The overall impression I have is that the exterior hues are very cool (silvers, blues, even the green foil is cool) while the interior hues are warm (warm grey endpaper, warm white pages, predominantly warm illustrations). An interesting contrast. Not necessarily a complaint, especially since I personally find it easier on my eyes when reading from warmer papers — as long as there's enough contrast.5) Interior Design and Printing:Printing is crisp and detailed, with reasonably dark blacks that produce solid, if not excellent, contrast. The printing of text is subtly heavier in some signatures than in others, but it's only barely noticeable if you're looking for it. Text always clean and easy to read, though, and I'll definitely enjoy reading this edition!Precious little illustrations adorn the top of chapter pages, while full-page illustrations appear throughout the book on brighter paper. All are beautifully presented in full color. Colors are rich, and while some are vibrant, most have a slightly muted palette — I suspect some of that is likely due to the age of the artwork being reproduced here. I love having them here, and I think they did a great job. Also, a minor observation: Unlike the matching LOTR deluxe edition, however, page titles are not printed in color.6) Inserts:A folded poster of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Silmarillion' map is nicely printed in color on uncoated paper, as is a second poster of Christopher Tolkien's colored version of the 'Belariand and the Lands to the North' map. Both are loose, unattached to the endpapers. The color card of the 'Halls of Manwë' is printed on a coated (either dull or satin) card stock, and the artwork is more vibrant here than on uncoated page 66 of the book. No complaints. I generally don't care about inserts like these, but in this case I like having both maps to compare.Final Thoughts:I love this edition of The Silmarillion. It's gorgeous, printed well, and feels like it will hold up. I'm going to be careful handling it so as to not put too much stress on the foils, but overall I'm very glad to have it in my collection. Given that printing and quality control for Tolkien books under the William Morrow imprint seems to sometimes be hit or miss, I recommend taking a very close look when you get it to make sure you have a good copy. But I highly recommend giving it a go!

Bought this as a gift for my wife. Absolutely stunning illustrations and great quality. If you are a Tolkien fan, this is a great addition for any collection. The book's cover is beautiful, sound craftmanship, great details.

No clue what I'm looking for in these to review but they books feel nice and my wife absolutely loved them so good job lol.

This book has been a fantastic addition to my Lord of the Rings shelves. The color is striking and the quality of the print is fantastic.

I bought this and The Hobbit for the wife, I will not go in to the details of how it's made.Plenty have already done that, but if you have Tolkien fan in your life, they will love it!

This is the first of all three books for me and it's very impressive! By far the best version of the Silmarillion that I own! If you were looking for a rendition of the Silmarillion to own that looks absolutely stunning then this is the one for you!

Excellent finish. Great book to have on the shelf.

I want to preface this review by saying this is a really beautiful book and has all sorts of neat stuff included with it. I love the aesthetics and it feels really nice. The outside of the book (the black part) is covered with a soft fabric and the silver accents on the outside of the pages is absolutely freaking gorgeous and the book itself is hopefully something I will have for a long time and maybe even pass down to my kids.Now for a few criticisms…- The size. It is not 11 inches. It’s just about 9 as shown in my photos. It’s not even 11 with the outside cover on. From edge to edge diagonally it’s 11 inches, but not straight up and down. That kind of threw me off since the book is a bit smaller than I expected and hoped. I have large hands and like large hardback books to go with them and the edge to edge measurement for length seems pretty disingenuous. I wish it was the same size as my “The Hobbit” special edition which IS 11 inches straight down so it would match in my book case when put away.- The accents. The silver accents on the pages, while beautiful, act very similar to glitter. They rub off and stick to your fingers which in turn gets it all over everything else. Just be prepared for that.- The maps. The maps probably should have been printed on better material. The paper feels cheap and you can definitely tell where holes will appear in the creases if you opened and folded them maybe a dozen or so times. Either keep them open or keep them folded or they won’t last.- Font size. It’s a bit on the smaller size. I get it’d increase page count, but I’d much rather have a 500+ page count book that’s easier on the eyes than a 292 (Actually story length in pages excluding the index and the 47 page intro before the story) page book that hurts the eyes to read after about an hour. This issue would likely be fixed if it was… You know… Actually 11 inches long too. Just sayin’.Anyway, that’s all the criticism I have. Otherwise it’s a beautiful book and is an awesome edition to have in anyone’s Tolkien collection. I’m still pretty happy with the product and can’t wait to dive more in to some more nostalgia with it.