Naturally people read The Silmarillion first, but I must say that I prefer this book. It includes a selection of very different writings and while they have the disadvantage that most of them are not finished, to me they are fascinating and they show the scope both of J.R.R. Tolkien's and Christopher Tolkien's work.

The texts cover all the three ages and are often rooted in stories from The Silmarillion, but while that book includes stories that are mostly more like retellings or summaries, in this one they are broadened and told more in the style of a novel or novella, by which I mean a slower pace and more direct speech among other aspects.
The stories from the First Age are about the hidden elvish city of Gondolin and about the children of Húrin, humans who became entangled in the fight against Morgoth, a super evil being (Sauron once was his lieutenant), while those of the Second Age are mostly concerned with the island of Númenor (which is kind of the Tolkien version of Atlantis). The stories from the Third Age provide a lot of background information about the characters and events of The Lord of the Rings, such as the original alliance between Gondor and Rohan, an account of how and why Gandalf planned the events of The Hobbit and persuaded Thorin to take a hobbit with him, and more information of what happened to Gollum after Sauron let him go, and how he ended up in Moria where he came across the fellowship. To me, reading the book would be worth it because of those texts alone.

Each text features an introduction by Christopher Tolkien and extensive notes, and these enable the reader to learn a lot about how both father and son worked, and how gigantic this work - and the project of creating Middle-earth - actually was. I am endlessly fascinated by the energy, knowledge, and painstaking labour that went into it, and still does by those who inherited the work from Christopher after his death in 2020. ( )

This book includes some background and clarification of information that relates to the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Some of the content is notes and I did not read this information. Some of the stories were interesting and rivaled those in the published books. The new TV series on the Rings of Power relates to some information about Numenor. This book is better than The Simarillion but not as good as the earlier published works. ( )

Tolkien's unfinished stories are better than most people's finished ones. ( )

Um pouco confuso a relação de tudo que é dito nas primeiras eras. ( )

Finalmente, mais uma obra nascida da prodigiosa imaginação de Tolkien e publicada por seu filho, Christopher Tolkien.
"Contos Inacabados de Númenor e da Terra Média" é um conjunto de narrativas que vão dos tempos mais antigos da Terra Média até ao fim da Guerra do Anel, incluindo elementos como o relato vivo de Gandalf sobre o modo como enviou os duendes a Bag- End, a aparição de Ulmo, deus do mar, ante os olhos de Tuor na costa de Belerind, e uma descrição rigorosa da organização militar dos Cavaleiros de Rohan.
Indispensável a professores e estudantes de Estudos Anglísticos, de Literatura inglesa e todos os leitores de Tolkien, de Fantasia e de Ficção Científica.
J. R. R. Tolkien o autor que deu origem à literatura de fantasia, aos jogos de estratégia e que criou todo um universo de raiz... a Terra Média. Autor da magnífica trilogia "O Senhor dos Anéis" (obra que desencadeou uma espécie de culto nas faculdades e escolas superiores americanas) de "O Hobbit", "O Silmarillion", "As Aventuras de Tom Bombadil", todas publicadas nesta colecção.