The Silmarillion – Leatherbound Collector’s Edition Book Replica

Obviously, I am an obsessive fan of Tolkien. I couldn't have purchased this otherwise. So are you, otherwise you wouldn't be here considering the purchase of a $300+ edition of the book. I won't therefore review the contents: you should already have read the Silmarillion and fully believe that it is a book worthy of the prestige treatment. If not, please go buy yourself a mass-market copy and read it as fast as you can. When you're done, and if you love the book, come back here. I'll wait. ;) Now then, if you are one of us, (and by "us" I mean, "people crazy enough to spend $329 on a prestige-edition of a book they revere") then this review is for you: Just do it. The pictures, and everything Geekify says about this book, is true. In fact, the pictures can't do it justice. The steel-blue leather they used on this is extremely high quality and just beautiful. The craftsmanship is simply Noldorin. I have a personal quest to always have the "best" available versions of the core Middle-Earth texts on my bookshelf. And I have always been dismayed that The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales never got the kind of special treatment that The Hobbit (green-leather slipcase) of the Lord of the Rings (red-leather slipcase, and later, the blue faux-leather 50th anniversary edition) received. When I stumbled on this, I was practically intoxicated. The price tag made me think twice. More than twice. But the product more than justifies it. Be advised, you would be receiving a custom, hand-crafted item - made to order! They used the 2004 Ted Nasmith-illustrated edition, which was previously my favorite version of the book, making this just the perfect edition of The Silmarillion. I want to add that Geekify were incredibly good to work with on this. The leather they had recently procured was a different shade then the one shown in the image. Rather than simply send me a book with an alternate color scheme, they got in touch with me and sent a picture of the alternate leather. It was considerably brighter and bluer - almost a turquoise - and not at all what I had hoped. The Silmarillion is a bleak tale, full of tragedy. That bright blue was out of character with the story. Whereas the steel blue shown in the thumbnail fits the mood of the book perfectly in my opinion. I asked them to hold the order until they could acquire some leather more in line with original picture, and they were happy to do so for me. They provided fairly regular updates on progress and the resulting book is beyond anything I could have hoped for. If you are on the fence about this - Just do it!

I ordered the The Silmarillion - Leatherbound Collector's Edition Book Replica because the photos were dazzling and the reviews were all 5-star, and I wanted a special copy of my favorite book of all time. The photos in the product description showed a cover bound in dark green, almost black, genuine leather, with gold writing and design. It was a perfect match for the ancient tale of the Silmarillion and I was actually willing to shell out over $300 to get my hands on it. Unfortunately, what I received was quite different. The cover material was a bright, almost royal blue, and was so perfectly smooth and flawless that it made me question it's authenticity. Genuine leather is supposed to be rough, grainy, stretchy, and imperfect, and the version I received was none of those things. The writing was also silver instead of gold. The brighter colors just don't line up with the story of the Silmarillion, which is dark and full of tragedy. This may have just been a trick of the light when the original photo was taken, but it was definitely not what I expected or wanted. I reached out to the seller (Geekify) in the hopes that they'd get in touch with me to see if I could get a product that matches the original photos, but I didn't hear back from them. Which is a shame, because I am a big fan of Geekify and have had good experiences with them thus far. Now, if this were a $20 paperback none of this would matter and I'd just cut my losses and keep it, since it's still pretty nice, but since the price point here is over $300 I should certainly have received what is pictured in the photos. Hopefully Geekify will contact me and arrange a replacement, because I would really love to have this in my collection and don't mind waiting for a new copy... provided that it's the same as the product photo!

Bought this as a gift for a relative who is very big on Tolkien. She loved it.

A bit of a wait (which is made clear before purchasing) and some confusion with shipping. Customer service took a little longer than I would have liked to respond but were always friendly and professional. The item itself is everything you expect and more. It’s sturdy, expertly crafted and absolutely breathtaking. Very pricey. Absolutely worth it.

"It shall be an heirloom of my Kingdom. All those who follow in my bloodline shall be bound to its fate, for I shall risk no hurt to the it. It is precious to me, though I buy it with a great pain." This is well worth the cost. The quality and craftsmanship are exquisite. This is how books should be bound.

Highly recommend the Silmarillion and also The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion. The reader’s companion helps you understand what’s going on in the Silmarillion and the trilogy a lot better. This copy of the Silmarillion looks amazing! I personally don’t have this particular copy of the Silmarillion. I own the first UK 1977 edition of the Silmarillion in pristine condition. 🙂 But not everyone has an amazing sister that goes to a Tolkien book seller. Lol