This book was awe-inspiring in its rich detail, place descriptions, cultural elements, and short stories. I did enjoy reading about how Numeror came to be and how it happened to fall. The way the book is organized made the quest of reading it seem less daunting. The lore of Tolkien's works is immense!
One element that I particularly liked was the plentiful details about the unique flora and fauna that are found in and around Numenor. From dolphins and bears to the great eagles, and even eleven trees. The story and history of how such plants and animals arrived on Numenor's shores was interesting, and as an individual who enjoys nature, I did enjoy these sections.
As I kept reading and learning about Numenorian practices and ways, it started to make sense what the purpose of all these descriptions were about and for. Although the book can justly be called a lore book, it is more than that. It is the story of Numenor. Numenor is its character. And as the title suggests, eventually Numenor falls. But this is already known before I even open the book. So why open the book? Why read it? What is all this lore dumping for? Well, as I see it coming away after reading (as well as during reading) it is for falling in love. The lore is there to make you fall in love with the main character, Numenor. An author must first make the reader love the character before they can kill them off - that is what will give the death impact and make it memorable.
Regarding the structure of the book, it was like reading a collection of short stories and I liked how the sections varied in length. This aspect made the book that much easier, and a bit lighter, for me to read. That said, there is still a lot of lore to digest when one reads it and so there were times where I needed to put it down to avoid scrambling my brain. Once I gave it enough time to digest, it was always a fun book to pick up again and continue where I left off. The red bookmark made this all the more fun.
The lore was fun to read through as well, and many of the stories were indeed stories while others were more like background information. However, each section had and was able to hold its own level of intrigue on my mind. After I would finish one section I was always expecting the next to be just as interesting. Thus, the book delivered on my lore expectations. In fact, while reading I quickly reached the conclusion that there is so much lore that I do and did not know about regarding the history of Middle Earth, and Arda as a whole.
Although the focus of the book is on Numenor, other areas were covered as well, such as Valinor and Middle Earth. The book only gave brief glimpses but the glimpses it gave were spectacular. If only I could visit these places. Mostly, these locations were brought up in relevance to Numenor and the Numenoreans. For instance, when the Numenoreans first colonize the western shores of Middle Earth. The tales of the vast journeys, and the building of grand harbors for their ships (which often involved the felling of entire forests) only helped to show just how powerful Numenor was becoming.
But Numenor was not the only power covered. There were also a few sections that provided a glimpse into Sauron and his motivations in the East. He was described as the "king" or "lord" of Middle Earth at one time - a time when men were wild - before the landing of the Numenoreans. I want to tell of more but I do not want to spoil it, but I will leave this thought with the thought that was left with me. Any one of us, in our pursuit to be good, could easily become like Sauron.
On that thought, another area that caused a similar reflection was when reading about the long line of Numenorean kings slowly falling into corruption during their timespan as their power only grew. The way the book showed this inevitability inspired me to reflect on my homeland, the United States of America. My thought was this - are our presidents our long line of kings that will inevitable fall into darkness and ruin? Does a system where individuals are elected only hasten this inevitable fall into darkness? I'm 100% sure that Tolkien did not intend for this connection (as he was no fan of allegory), but it still connected within my mind, nonetheless. I could not help but think while reading that - America is Numenor. A world power, with a line of rulers, speeding up our decent into darkness.
Needless to say, the inspiration from the legend and tale of Atlantis was plain to see, and it definitely shined through. The concept of a beautiful place slowly turning into a corrupt political agent while growing in power to the point that they become so proud of themselves that they declare war against the gods, or the God, and utterly end up paying for it - is a very deep and thought provoking one. Honestly, it was satisfying (yet simultaneously sad) to see Numenor sink into the ocean!
In summary, I enjoyed this read. It was very detailed and deep, and I like that. It inspired me to think not just of one's individual purpose in the grand narrative but also of a land's purpose in the grand narrative. I do think it would be a great read for anyone dabbling in worldbuilding, and I would highly recommend reading it.