The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkienby J.R.R. Tolkien
Shares rank 20 of 36 fantasy novels by recommenders
Readers call it a great joy and praise Martin Shaw's audiobook; the common caveat is that it is long-winded and name-heavy.
3 people recommended The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 5 comments.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- mixed feelings
- 2
- warn against or regret it
- 1
The record
Recommended in 2 of 12 months
In 3 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 3 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- The biggest thread supplies 33% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 5 of the 6 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Audiobook narration by Martin Shaw
“Martin Shaw's recording of the Silmarillion is similarly wonderful.”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “JRR Tolkien reads from The Hobbit for 30 Minutes (1952)” Deep, lasting reading joy
“the greatest joy I've ever had reading a book”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Butlerian Jihad”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Long-winded, name-heavy, hard to follow
“it's rather long-winded and name-heavy, so it can be hard to follow”
Comment from 11 Dec 2025 in “If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?” “finding it very hard reading”
Comment from 11 Dec 2025 in “If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?” Readers repeatedly bounce off it
“I’ve bounced off this book a dozen times over decades”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 52 | 13 | 10 | 84% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 43 | 4 | 6 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 34 | 6 | 9 | 79% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 15 | 4 | 17 | 47% | 7 | — | — |
| The Silmarillionby J.R.R. TolkienThis page | 3 | 2 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
Also compared with Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
What people said
5 of the 6 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the greatest joy I've ever had reading a book”
“Martin Shaw's recording of the Silmarillion is similarly wonderful.”
“I’ve bounced off this book a dozen times over decades”
“it's rather long-winded and name-heavy, so it can be hard to follow”
“finding it very hard reading”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.