本书为有鬼君关于鬼文化的文章精选。作者读中国古代志怪小说，如做拼图游戏，将幽冥世界的不同元素，视作民族志的材料，整理、分类，拼接出一幅鬼世界的整体图景，并试图解读其背后更广阔的人文和历史脉络。作者考证精当，言必有据，语不妄发。
不同时代对鬼世界的想象，既有共通原则，也受到当时社会思潮的影响。直至今日，人们对那个世界的层累构建，也未停止。
全书分为四部分：鬼的日常、鬼的社会、鬼世界的政治、人鬼之间。

The popular paperback edition with a cover design by Tolkien himself, to complement the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings paperbacks. Includes a special preface by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien's world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. Included in the book are several shorter works. The Ainulindale is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings.