> Anyway, congratulations on your
accomplishment. I burned all copies of the
Silm that I owned long ago out of frustration.

Thanks. The first time I read the Silmarillion, it
took me a long, long time, and I did find parts
of it hard to get through. But, I was fascinated
(and still am) by the background and
"historical" lore of the LOTR. It does read
more like a history text than a novel, but I think
that's the point. Parts of the Sil are quite good,
too. I think it gets more interesting toward the
end as you get closer to the events of the
LOTR. The "Akallabeth" or history of the
Numenoreans was one of my favorite
sections. I also enjoyed reading the full
stories of Beren and Luthien, and Turin
Tarambar, among others.

BTW, I have a question: that game that
everyone around here besides me was into
last year, Angband...doesn't that take place
during the Silmarillion? Angband was the
name of Morgoth's stronghold during the
Silmarillion.

Gri"Angband is a much cooler name than
Utumno"shny