When The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts in September, it brings a different time in Middle-earth to the screen. The upcoming series will explore the Second Age. It’s the time of the forging of the Rings and the Last Alliance against Sauron. Númenor fell during this era. And now, a new J.R.R. Tolkien collection will bring together the author’s writings about that time (via IGN). The Fall of Númenor collects Tolkien’s various thoughts and documentation about this time in Middle-earth’s history. Tolkien expert Brian Sibley edited the collection, while the amazing Alan Lee provided new artwork.
How much new Middle-earth artwork will we get in The Fall of Númenor? Eleven full color images total (including the cover). Sibley told The Tolkien Society those images include the building of Barad-dûr and Galadriel leading the Elves through Khazad-dûm. The book also includes dozens of pencil sketches from Lee.
The synopsis details:
J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a “dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told.” And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron…Now, adhering to the timeline of “The Tale of Years” in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, editor Brian Sibley has assembled into one comprehensive volume a new chronicle of the Second Age of Middle-earth, told substantially in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien from the various published texts, with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by the doyen of Tolkien art, Alan Lee.
It doesn’t seem coincidental this book will arrive shortly after The Rings of Power series. This is an age many readers were already curious about. And we imagine that curiosity will increase after the upcoming show starts airing. I, for one, would love to have it all in one place instead of consulting several books.
The Fall of Númenor arrives on November 10, 2022. You can place a pre-order now.
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy, The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, The Jedi Mind, and more Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
