The title is somewhat deceptive if you miss the subtitle: "And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle Earth." While the climax of the tale is indeed the fall, this is more a chronicle of the world of Middle Earth as it pertains to the people of the island kingdom of Numenor. In this way, there is no confusion as to what the Elves and Sauron have been up to in Middle Earth when Numenoreans finally interact with them and why.

Very little in this book is new information that has not already been published elsewhere, i.e. The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, the Lord of the Rings, etc.. However, it is wonderful to have a more concise accounting of the history pertaining to Numenor in one collection, and the artwork by Alan Lee is absolutely stunning!

I believe this is the second book to have been published since Christopher Tolkien's passing, and while I enjoyed the more relaxed style of the writing, I did miss the academic language used by the Tolkiens.

In the end, while I did develop a better understanding about the timeline of events in Middle Earth, I don't feel like I learned anything new. A must-have for the die-hard completionist, otherwise an unnecessary cash grab for the publisher.

*Edit: For people who are new to Middle Earth, or have only read The Lord of the Rings, this is very good and a much easier and more approachable read than the Silmarillion.