It has dozens of characters with virtually identical names.

It’s also a profoundly beautiful and rewarding read.

DEVAN COGGAN:I think my first experience withThe Silmarillionwas pretty par for the course.

And, to my surprise, I couldn’t get into it.

(Heavy stuff.)

I zoned out before I even got to the good stuff.

What about you, Christian?

How doesThe Silmarillion’sreputation compare to your own experience reading it?

CHRISTIAN:Aside from the Dwarvish runes (how have you never told me that?

), your experience withThe Silmarillionsounds pretty similar to mine.

In a not-so-surprising twist, my young brain was turned off almost right away.

An intricate, nigh-biblical telling of the origin of the cosmos was not quite the fantasy action I wanted.

So I shelved it away for years.

Then, a few years ago, I finally returned toThe Silmarillion.

But for all that, the imaginative scope ofThe Silmarillionis something to behold.

Tolkien loved to build worlds, and early on he discusses his cosmic pantheon in depth.

My favorite Valar, for instance, is Nienna basically the goddess of grief.

Man, I love that.

Do you have a favorite Valar?

What personalities makeThe Silmarillionand all its mythology actually come alive for you?

DEVAN:Why is introducing your kids to Tolkien such a dad thing?

For me, the Valar are one of the aspects that giveThe Silmarillionits epic scope.

They’re a bit like the Greek gods, sitting high atop Mt.

InThe Silmarillion,the Elves area mess.

That is until Melkor stole them, killed Feanor’s dad, and ran away to Middle-earth.

(He was soon renamed Morgoth because he was so evil he needed an equally evil name.)

Ifanyone, friend or foe, comes between them and a Silmaril, they will show no mercy.

It’s romantic as hell.

Again,romantic as hell.

You know, a normal thing for a father-in-law to ask.

Are you as into Beren and Luthien as I am, or do you have a different favorite?

CHRISTIAN:I agree with you that the Beren and Luthien sequence is the most compelling in the book.

By the way, maybe that’s the answer to your question.

Beren and Luthien is not the only short story woven intoThe Silmarillion.

That brings us to a major aspect ofThe Silmarillion.

On that note, let’s talk about the big man himself.

Devan, what do you make of Morgoth (a.k.a.

What separates him from Sauron?

Why is he compelling in his own right?

DEVAN:Oh man.

Yes, let’s talk about Morgoth.

Morgoth makes Sauron look like a low-level Disney villain.

If Sauron is about dominion, control, and power, Morgoth exists purely to destroy.

It doesn’t get much more hardcore than that.

Which, in essence, is part of what makesThe Silmarillionso fascinating.

In some ways,The Silmarillionis unfilmable…

It’d be a bit like trying to make a complete film adaptation of something like the Bible.

How do you capture all of the stories and all of the complexities within a single filmed version?

These are the tales that have a true narrative arc, which makes them easier to adapt.

This is the stuff my extremely nerdy dreams are made of.

Do you think aSilmarillionadaptation is even possible?

CHRISTIAN:I certainly think an adaptation ofThe Silmarillionis doable.

But in this day and age, the best outlet for that kind of anthology storytelling is obviously television.

They seem to share an attitude towards evil.

What about Feanor, whose pride and arrogance leads to so much devastation and death?

Do the Valar themselves commit evil by abandoning elves and humans to the vagaries of Morgoth for centuries?

But the book’s attitude towards death is very interesting.

It’s not sexy or exciting, as inGame of Thrones.

Instead, death is painful and traumatic and also, in some ways, a gift.

But humans live only a short time, and that is Iluvatar’s great gift to us.