I do like this syncretic origin myth (in which the ancient gods serve one God, and the fair folk are Over There when Genesis is happening) /also/ taking time to sync up with scientific models of early earth; great fires slowly receding beneath the ground as the continents are pushed into place

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It's interesting that the theme of mortals having greater power to effect change and delve the unknown, that immortal "fae" creatures like elves lack, is here from the beginning; it's a theme you see in insular Otherworld legends, but I'd assumed the LOTR reflection was specific to the elves' fading

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The composite nature of this text is very clear from the beginning; the first two stories and the first chapter of the Silmarillion proper have a lot of overlap, each summarising the one before and foretelling the one after. I do appreciate the compilers not chopping them up to "fit" more

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I'm withholding giving too many thoughts on said intro, which does have a lot of really interesting stuff, but! I feel I'll get a more fair view on seeing them written out fully in the text itself, which a lot of the letter is just kind of summarising

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One Silmarillion years later, we're back Kind of funny to go digging for a JRRT letter to use as an introduction, but I am immediately fascinated by how self-conscious he is about the whole project and his difficulties writing it

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