If you are the ultimate Tolkien fan or just want to know more about Middle Earth, this book is for you. A comprehensive guide to Tolkiens enchanting worlx. Its destinations, histories and characters.

This was a great read! I loved the colours and small illustrations throughout, and I thought that the way it was broken up by the Ages made lots of sense and was very easy to understand. As someone familiar with Tolkien’s works, I found myself learning extra information I did not previously know, and the book provided extra clarification for the information I did have. I would recommend this to anyone looking for more knowledge of Tolkien’s world from the very beginning, through to the end of his works.

Thank you for this very understandable and comprehensive guide to JRR Tolkien's writings! I have watched the films by Peter Jackson and not read any of his books or watched the more recent TV shows. My son has read it all and is a huge Tolkien fan and sometimes I think I might try his patience with all of my questions and inability to remember all the interconnections and worlds and characters. Now thanks to this book, I have a clear reference book to help me understand the origins of the stories. It is a great go-to guide for learning about characters and events in the books. The layout is helpful because it is broken into clear sections connected to the books or stories. Within each passage is a bolded headline for example "Bilbo Baggins enters the lonely mountain." The author also lays out what happens in the 60 year period between the events in the Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings -- again extremely helpful! The aim of this book was to outline a chronology of key events and in my view, the author has succeeded.

I did receive an advance copy but plan to buy this book to keep as a reference. I will be able to elevate the types of questions I ask my son and can't wait to surprise him with my new knowledge!

Thank you to Netgalley and Watkins Publishing for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.

This is a great book for someone who loves Tolkien, but doesn't want to delve too deeply into the legendarium either at all, or not yet. tHey may have come to Tolkien through the Peter Jackson movies or through reading The Hobbit and LOTR , but the beginning of the legendarium with all its names etc can be confusing.

It explains the Silmarillion with the creation etc and through the arrival of the Elves, Dwarves, Numenor etc and then goes on chronologically from there.

This is great if you get confused between the different versions of key stories that Tolkien himself never fully reconciled/decided on a definitive version of.

There are some "boxes" with interesting facts/trivia which also offer more to everyone..

A good addition to the Tolkien collection but especially for those who want to extend their Tolkien knowledge.

This is a must read for a fan of any LOTR and other books by JRR Tolkein. I liked the accompanying photos. It is a great reference for those confused by events and/or wanting to know more. I think this was be a good book to have on hand for those new to reading JRR Tolkien because he is big on hard names and places.

I really enjoyed this and it made my understanding of all of his work even more clear.

Thanks to Antony Cummins, Netgalley and Watakins Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

I would like to thank netgalley and Watkins Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Just lost interest.

This was a thorough and interesting summary of all of the Tolkien lore that is so confusing to unravel for anyone who isn't a Tolkien scholar but who loves the world of Lord of the Rings. (I've read the Silmarillion - still baffled) The illustrations weren't great - they broke up the text but didn't really add much else of value to the book and made it seem a bit amateurish, if I'm being harsh.

This is a fantastic refresher guide for those who are familiar with the world of Tolkien but need a little more of a concise guide. Paced in chronological order really helps to understand the plots and further sub plots of the books and the scattered illustrations provide great reference points.
As a whole I really enjoyed this and will be referencing back to this publication when in need of more guides to my Tolkien reading!

If you are a Tolkien fan looking for an easy reference timeline of the world of Middle Earth, then boy do I have the book for you.

Easily laid out in bite sized chunks, this book outlines the entire existence of Middle Earth from the creation of the world as told in the Silmarillion to the ending of the Third Age, and less in depth a bit of the Fourth Age from the Appendices. With a glossary and appendices of its own, this is a welcome addition for any fan who wants a reference book.

One of the things I liked best about this book is how, in addition to the bullet points of the events of Tolkien's books, there are often addendums reminding the readers of connections to other points in history, why a character or an item will be important later, and references to theories that have been developed in the fandom, like the Arkenstone being a lost Silmaril.

This would be a great thing to have on hand for anyone that admires Stephen Colbert's Lord of the Rings Trivia and wants to emulate that. I'll definitely be picking up my own copy.

My thanks to NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for the chance to review this arc.

This book is fabulous! It’s very informative and helps to delve into the world of middle earth! This is a perfect guide to fall alongside reading all of Tolkeins many magnificent stories.
I would highly recommend this book! Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me to ARC read this and for helping me develop a greater understanding of this magical universe.

Anthony Cummins takes on the impressive task of gathering Tolkien’s lore—starting from the creation of everything and ending in the Fourth Age after Frodo and Bilbo leave Middle-Earth. He reframes the gods, demigods, and mortal races with epitaphs and monikers to make each character easily identifiable to the uninitiated reader.

Cummins accomplishes his task well! This book is best read by the casual Tolkien fan or the reader who wants to understand the broad strokes of Tolkien’s profound lore without tackling the detailed (and sometimes confusing) text that is The Silmarillion. With this book, he manages to take thousands of pages of lore and condense them into this 480-page book; while much nuance is lost, he keeps the broad narrative consistent and coherent, which impressed me greatly.

I enjoyed my time with Cummins' The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Tolkien’s World. However, as a long-time Tolkien fan, I skimmed past parts I was intimately familiar with—mainly when I got to the Third Age, which covers the Lord of the Rings trilogy. That said, I recognize the insurmountable task Cummins took on and the skill with which he tackled it. I highly recommend this one for anyone who wants a solid introduction to Tolkien’s world—from Middle-Earth to the Grey Havens and beyond.

A comprehensive overview of the events in the history of Middle Earth presented in chronological order and in an easy to read format. Useful for enthusiasts.

The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Tolkien's World by Antony Cummins was an amazing book especially if you're are fan or a new fan of Tolkien's works and want to wander into and get lost in Tolkien's universe. This new take is the ultimate Unofficial Guide to Tolkien’s World offers something that’s never been attempted before: a single timeline, in chronological order, of all the events in Tolkien’s notorious complex books. Which I loved when I was younger! and still do so this book was a lovely surprise!

This wonderful book answer's most of the questions you quizzed yourself when you read them or watched the Lord of the Ring films!

So, why was it so shocking that Galadriel gave three strands of her golden hair to Gimli the Dwarf?

Why is Sauron afraid of Aragorn’s sword?

Why does a Balrog lurk under a Dwarven underground city and how did the seven lost Seeing Stones come into being?

How did the hobbits manage to have such a peaceful life?

Who were the warriors whose corpse lights hover in the Dead Marshes?

Why? Why? and how? WoW!!

There are many handy lists of characters, places, weapons and types of magic throughout this wonderful book with over 140+ illustrations capturing all the overlooked details such as the armour colours, heraldic signs and crests.
It is also an easy-to-follow guide to Middle Earth will ensure you’re never baffled by alternate character names, confusing mythologies or labyrinthine plots again.

WoW..........This book just gives and gives!......and a great book to have in your Tolkien - Lord of the Ring's collection...........and a great book for old fans and especially for new fans of Tolkien's wonderful works........

A great Christmas or Birthday gift and the cover was basic but was beautiful for this book....

Big Thank you, NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review,

A superb companion to Tolkien's works. This is a great book to have on hand while reading and re-reading books from Middle Earth.

The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Tolkien's World Is an amazing, all encompassing history of Tolkien’s world he created for the Lord of the Rings. It breaks down all of the history in easily digestible pieces and does its best to capture each character in this vast world. It moves through the history and explains wars, name changes of characters, the gods and their doings, and everything you can imagine when first learning about Tolkien’s work. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s EXTREMELY in depth and does not leave a stone unturned. The only down side I feel is there’s A LOT of history that predates the Lord of the Rings that it takes a long time to get to parts that are more familiar and main stream. I loved the layout of the book and it does remind me a bit of history textbooks from school but that gives it a certain appeal I liked. If you’re new to Tolkien or just want a better understanding of all the history and lore in the world, this would be a great book to pick up.

The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Tolkien's World by Antony Cummins is one of the best books for those who want to wander but get lost in Tolkien's universe.
This ultimate guide provides a complex explanation from the beginning of Midle-Earth. If you ever felt lost in Tolkien's outstanding work, the author got yours back.
Simple, clean, and easily understandable. Every fan needs this book on his shelf.

Thank you, NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for this unique opportunity.

Tolkien's world is very complex and there's always something new to learn. This is a well researched and informative book.
Well done, recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

As someone who is slowly becoming a fan of Tolkien and his world, this was a fantastic book to read! It provided such a good level of background that isn't available in the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as a summary of the events in those books. Cummins did a great job for anyone who has already read the original books and wants a refresher, or someone who wants to get into Tolkien's work and doesn't know where to start.

*Projected release date- November 13th 2023*
Thank you to NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for the ARC!

When I saw this title, I was immediately cynical, given the sheer volume of books that have been written about Tolkien's world. Having read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings many times, and Silmarrillion and Children Of Hurin a couple, I nonetheless got VERY lost in trying to read many of the other unfinished works. The maze of names, places and events was overwhelming. As I started to read this book, my cynicism began to fade. Here, at last, was a work where someone took it upon himself to create a Cliff's notes of sorts, but not of a single book but rather an entire world of books and stories written by JRR Tolkien, and to do so in a readable and understandable way, summarizing the complete history of that world from beginning to end, sparing me from wondering which Tolkien volume came next, or which stories overlapped with other stories.

This makes this book priceless for someone who really wants to see the larger story, but cannot piece together the chronology from so many books that are difficult to follow. One particular aspect of Tolkien's work is that many names apply to the same being, be it because they are known differently in different languages, or became known as something else over time. The author tells us about the name change, then lets us know that he will always refer to this being by a particular name so we don't get lost. This is incredibly valuable.

I was, for the first time, to read the entire world history cover to cover in this abbreviated form, and so many things made sense now.

If I were to point out a weakness or missing piece, it would be the absence of maps. The world Tolkien created was not only huge, but it changed and evolved over time, literally. Continents would vanish under the ocean, entire kingdoms would be laid waste and reformed, and it would be nice to see the evolution more visually.

Nonetheless, I believe this title is a great jumping off point for someone who wants to get the birds eye view of the history of Arda, and then later dig into the details by reading Tolkien's own unfinished writings, using this book as a guiding light to help remember who was who, and what happened when.

Highly Recommended!

As a Lord of The Rings fan it was great to be able to learn new information that I didnt know before. Great for Tolkien fans.