[Suzerain of Sheol]

To go off of what Kotetsu mentioned, when you read the Silmarillion, you have to sort of fill in the story either as you read it, or upon reflection. It's all very "this happened, then that happened," but the actual tales themselves are nothing short of powerful -- if anything, they're similar to ancient myths in that way, you need to assume the emotion that the text glosses over. It's just part of that narrative style.

That said, I actually found the Silm's stories more emotionally compelling than those in LotR, but maybe I'm odd for that.