One of the earliest examples of Tolkien scholarship. Randel Helms’ short but illuminating volume on “The Silmarillion” approaches the work from a literary & theological perspective, Helms reminds the reader of Tolkien’s lifelong devotion to his Catholic faith, which informs every page of his work, as well as his deep love of myth. Helms’ comparisons to Milton’s “Paradise Lost” are apt & not at all out of place — Tolkien was not only attempting to write in a very old & largely abandoned form (the Romance), he was also exploring & expounding the roots of his own religious belief.