What is it about the Silmarillion that people find appealing?

>>8396102
I like history books and fantasy books, the Silmarillion is an historical fantasy book.

It's intricate as fuck.
It lends gravity to beloved characters from LotR.
It's a case study in myth.
Like any other myth, it's easy to get lost in.

It has a cool name
It also already has a "The" before its cool name like it's something important, without even needing to be translated into French

It's The Bible of fantasy storytelling. Instead of aiming for realism to achieve authenticity, Tolkien wanted to develop a mythic narrative to ground all his stories. It has a lot of Catholic influence ; consider his statement that Christianity is the "true myth" that all other historical myths hint at, or the idea that Middle Earth is on a constant state of decline (In particular the Elves cursed with immortality and lacking God's "gift" of mortals).

>>8396123
>>8396173

These, as well as awesome fights.
http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/War_of_Wrath