The Children of Hurin

With the rising of the sun, I finished this tale of woe. Such a tangle skein of woven fable and loose yarn reflect the tragedies of myth. Ah, so well done. The tale lingers in memory as should only the best. I am filled with triumphant sadness at the way foulness grows, steadily, beyond the reach of light. Yet, the story builds the strength of endurance, a will to carry on; a belief in the value of individual contributions having great merit; and that the greatest failure is not striking out at injustice but failure to even try.
I would recommend this book to anyone feeling perplexed by today's headlines - young or old - or to anyone who wishes to build faith in the future.

If you are looking for additional tales of Middle-Earth lore to enjoy, the Children of Húrin, or, Narn Î Chîn Húrin, is the perfect book to read. It's perfectly comprehensible with no bothersome footnotes or commentaries inbetween chapters. This is a REAL book, not one of Tolkien's diaries. And it is a very well-written, enthralling and incredibly action-packed package. (Warning: spoilers are involved!)

The Children of Húrin is a classic tale of tragedy. It chronicles the lives of Húrin, a Captain of the Men of Brethil, his wife Morwen Edhelwen, and their children Túrin, Lalaith, and Níenor. Regardless of its title, this book is really about Túrin mostly. Morgoth placed a curse upon the entire line of Húrin, and the end results make up the most of this book. Húrin is captured by Morgoth and left to die on top of a tower. The women and children of Brethil (including Morwen) are left to fend off a dangerous band of warrior theives after no word of their husbands come (This is post-Nírnaeth Arnoedíad). That year Lalaith dies of the Evil Breath, and Túrin, (now eighteen) leaves to seek his fortune abroad with (ironically) a different club of the same warrior theives who pillaged his home. For the most part he wanders around, causes bad fortune to anyone he comes in contact with, (accidentally killed his best friend who was trying to save his life, etc.) and meets a bunch of rather interesting characters, as well as his future wife. At the dramatic climax, Túrin slays the dragon Glaurung, makes a horrifying discovery about his wife Níniel, and commits suicide. It's really a terrifying and mournful story and would have made an excellent movie. Although it would be very depressing, because it ends awfully.
Overall this was the best tragedy I have ever read in my life.

The Silmarillion is a great but very tragic work of literature, but the most tragic episode in this whole amazing mythology is the story of Turin. So strong was the emotion that I had to stop reading at certain points to deal with it. In "The Children of Hurin" Tolkien has taken this 14 000 word story (which itself was based on an epic poem of over 2000 lines) and fleshed it out to a book of around 80 000 words - and in doing so he has wrought a tragedy of truly immense proportions.

I could not claim that Tolkien was as great a writer as Shakespeare, but I believe this work to be at least equal in power to the greatest Shakespearian tragedies. Certainly it affected me more deeply than Hamlet or King Lear. While I would not recommend it to inveterate lovers of happy endings, but for those who love great storytelling and haunting tales, there is little that can beat this book.

The Children of Hurin contains a great deal of material already featured in The Silmarillion, including all of the major events of the life of Turin Turambar and his family, and the most memorable scenes. I found myself covering a lot of familiar ground. However, it also has enough additional detail about many of these events, the enchanting landscape of Beleriand, and of Turin's personality to make for compelling reading for diehard Tolkien fans like myself. New passages concerning all of Turin's family members and other characters associated with his life, including his heretofore unmentioned sister Urwen, are mostly brief but poignant.

Tolkien's villains are generally too otherworldly or removed to be truly repugnant, but Morgoth's utter depravity is more personal here than elsewhere and those who have not read The Silmarillion may wish to do so in order to find out the eventual fate of Turin's relentless demonic adversary. Glaurung the dragon similarly bears little resemblance to Tolkien's other famous dragon, Smaug, in that he is not villainous in a charming way but jarringly evil.

The illustrations by John Howe are of a characteristically superb quality and communicate the pathos of the story very well.

The Children of Hurin is a tragic yet deeply moving tale, and even after many years I still marvel at the sheer power of Tolkien's storytelling and his vast and complex mythology. A worthy final entry in the career of an author whose powers of creation remain unparalleled in fantasy and a monument in world literature.

One of Tolkein’s many unpublished works completed by his son and literary executor Christopher, The Children of Húrin is a dark, bleak tale of loyalty, family, and prophecy that takes place over 6,000 years before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, captures Húrin at the end of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. When Húrin defies the Dark Lord, Morgoth curses Húrin’s children, son Túrin and unborn daughter Niënor. The novel mostly follows Túrin’s life from adolescence through adulthood, as he eludes Orcs, the dragon Glaurung, and other Dark creatures for years. What proves to be his downfall, though, are the choices he makes that often result in pain and suffering for those around him. It’s interesting to read a Tolkein novel after reading so many works by contemporary fantasy authors. Tolkein’s mythic style of storytelling is simple and lacks the expressiveness and suspense that I’ve grown accustomed to. But that doesn’t lessen The Children of Húrin’s impact on the reader: What happens after Túrin and Niënor finally meet will haunt you for days.

Don't go into this book expecting The Hobbit, or even Lord of the Rings. The Children of Hurin is basically a modern classical tragedy. It's dreary, grim, and depressing. It's only slightly easier to read than The Silmarillion - there's a single story arc with a clear main character here, but dialogue is still sparse and it's pretty hard to get through, as there's not an ounce of mirth throughout. A friend described this book as "dark fantasy before dark fantasy was invented" and that suits it pretty well, with the way Morgoth's shadow hangs over everything. It's a lot like a Greek tragedy, with Morgoth as Fate - very reminiscent of the story of Oedipus, especially near the end. The mythology is rich and deep, but ultimately I'd only recommend it to diehard Tolkien fans.

The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien is a work of fantasy that will not be, and perhaps is not capable of being, appreciated by all who read it. In a time when novels cater to the masses by being immediately accessible, both thematically and linguistically, an expertly crafted tale such as the one J.R.R. Tolkien has constructed here is going to suffer from the opinions of those who are expecting lighter fare from their books. This includes the wrath of critics who may have been assigned a book that they have absolutely no interest in reading. After all, high fantasy of this nature is not a mainstream genre and is not universally accepted even among some fans of the genre.

It is not an easy book to read. Professor Tolkien's prose and vocabulary lean toward the archaic, much more so than The Lord of the Rings. The words do not flow smoothly across the page and the reader must put forth more effort than is normal compared to reading books containing modern prose, or books not penned by authors known to invent their own languages. Tolkien's penchant for using elaborate and cumbersome names (e.g. Haudh-en-Ndengin) can be a stumbling block for some readers, but for others it breathes life in to lifeless pages and helps create a fully realized world for his characters. The words are not made up but are based on languages he created for his setting.

The Children of Húrin is not filled with characters you want to necessarily love...or even like. It's populated with dark, flawed, and morally lost characters. Yet in the end you can sympathize with nearly all of them. This is not a happy tale. The themes and circumstances are dark and unforgiving. The reader will not put this book down with a smile on his/her face.

These are the reasons The Children of Húrin is not an easy book to read. These are the reasons why some critics have railed against it. Depressing books are sometimes hard to read and unpopular. But for some, mostly hardcore fans of Tolkien who enjoy the histories of Middle-earth, The Children of Húrin is a feast of tragic fantasy.

This is a Shakepearean level tragedy set in Beleriand, a land to the far west of the Middle-earth most casual Tolkien fans are familiar with. You will find no Hobbit parties in this land. It was a land so besieged by war that the final defeat of Morgoth (Sauron's master) sank it in to the sea approximately 6500 years before Frodo tosses the One Ring in to Mt. Doom.

How did this tragedy unfold? I will not spoil it except to say that Húrin (a human) visits the hidden Elvish city of Gondolin. Morgoth captures Húrin after an epic battle but he refuses to reveal the location of Gondolin. Morgoth places a curse upon his family and with his power binds Húrin to a stone chair near the summit of Thangorodrim. Húrin could not move from the chair or die until released. Morgoth then used his power to allow Húrin to see and hear all that he did, and he kept Húrin shackled to the chair for 28 years under his curse and control as he watch the fate of his family unfold. That is the tale of The Children of Húrin and I'll leave it to the reader to discover the rest.

The tale is significantly shorter than The Lord of the Rings, weighing in close to the length of The Hobbit. It is beautifully illustrated throughout by the talented Alan Lee, and includes an appendix, a list of names (I recommend not referencing this while reading), family trees, and a full fold out map of Beleriand.

A version of The Children of Húrin appeared in Unfinished Tales, but it is greatly expanded here by J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher. The main protagonist in the story is Túrin Turambar who wanders Beleriand in search of himself after his family is torn asunder when his father is taken captive by Morgoth on the battlefield. Túrin's adventure spans many years and is a full of betrayal, suicide, murder, treachery, incest, creatures, battles...and over it all looms Morgoth and his curse.

I loved this book. Writing this review is giving me the yearning to read it again. The combination of Tolkien's prose and Alan Lee's art immerses the reader in a fantasy world that truly feels vast and ancient. For me the feel of the book resides somewhere between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. It's a Tolkien "history" told in a more traditional form than that of The Silmarillion. The Children of Húrin is not for the casual fantasy fan, or even the casual Tolkien fan. But if you're a fan of gut wrenchingly depressing tragedies...you should love it.

One final word of warning: Do not scan the table of contents unless you want to be spoiled. You can guess how it all ends, but if you want to save the details for the reading...don't do it!

As a standalone tale, it's quite good, following the life of a doomed man whose fate follows him and destroys his life regardless of his attempt to do the right thing and have a positive effect on the world around him. It often demonstrates the point that Tolkien's characters often end up doing ill even when the motives are good because their place in the grand scheme has been preordained by powers greater than themselves. Tolkien geeks will be pleased with the essays by Christopher denoting the evolution of the tale and its place in the Tolkienverse.

Just when you think they can't find another draft, note, poem or shopping list written by J.R.R. Tolkien, something new pops up.

But in the case of "The Children of Húrin," the result is a surprisingly solid and lucid story, full of familiar characters from other books about the history of Middle-Earth. Tolkien's timeless, formal prose and richly-imagined world make this novella pop from the pages, especially without his son's stuffier footnotes.

It opens with the story of Huon and Hurin, heroic brothers who lived back in the first age. But when battling the terrible Morgoth (the Middle-Earth Satan), Huor is slain and Hurin is taken prisoner by Morgoth, who torments and curses him. The Easterlings overrun his lands, and in fear for her son and unborn baby, Hurin's wife Morwen sends her son away to be fostered in Doriath.

And so Turin grows up in Doriath, until the day when he feels the need to go out and defend his distant family. His adventures take him through Middle-Earth, encountering great elves, orcs, lives with outlaws, and Mim the petty-dwarf. But his life is cursed by Morgoth -- as is the mysterious girl he falls in love with -- and his downfall will be one of horror and disgrace, even as he slays the most terrible dragon in Middle-Earth, Glaurung.

This book is actually a jigsaw puzzle -- Tolkien worked on the interrelated stories and poetry throughout his lifetime, but he never quite finished a solid cohesive story. So Christopher Tolkien cobbled together these various stories with Tolkien's unfinished works, pasted them together, and the result was "The Children of Húrin."

Surprisingly, the resulting story is very solid and strong, with a darker finale than "Lord of the Rings." While the main storyline is about Hurin and his son, it's sprinkled with familiar characters, such as Melian and Morgoth. And the rich, tragic storyline is full of noble elves, great human heroes, ancient lost cities and even a vengeful, talking sword.

And Tolkien's writing is somewhere between his "Silmarillion" style and his "Lord of the Rings" style -- it's formal and archaic, but he includes strong descriptions ("A flash of white swallowed in the dark chasm, a cry lost in the roaring of the river") and dialogue ("You are one of the fools that spring would not mourn if you perished in winter". One of the best scenes is when Morgoth and Hurin argue about theology and the "circles of the world" on a tower.

Despite the formality of his writing, the characters really pop out of their stories -- Turin is fierce, passionate and tragic, and his last scenes are absolutely stunning. His noble father and moody mother also come across well, and we get plenty of other colourful characters, from snitty elves to the evil Morgoth himself, who torments Hurin by forcing him to see everything Morgoth sees.

Since the actual story is only about two hundred pages long, it's fleshed out considerably by Christopher Tolkien's introduction and appendices, which explain about the writing and construction of the stories and poems, as well as a pronunciation guide, and a series of family trees.

And Alan Lee provides several beautiful drawings (both black-and-white and color), including Doriath's forests, eagles carrying Hurin and Huor, elven smiths, the dragon, Elf warriors, and finally the death of Turin, over a grey river under some burned trees.

Despite its brevity, "The Children of Húrin" is a stunning, brilliant piece of work, full of Tolkien's vibrant storytelling and memorable characters. Definitely a must-read.

This is a great story; however, I was a little disappointed in the style of the text. I'm not sure if its because the story itself was published some ago. It reflects on an older form of writing fiction or perhaps the publishing firm trying to make a simpler edition. I found, The Hobbit more descriptive and captivating than this book. I will keep it as a reference but it would be nice to find a better edition out there.

This book is hard going. Compare the writing here with Tolkien's masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings" or with his wonderfully accessible "The Hobbit" and you will be very disappointed. This is not surprising as this is not a book Tolkien published. Instead, as detailed in the preface, the book has been brought together from Tolkiens noted with a minimum of editorial input, rewriting etc. long after the author's death. This hands off approach was clearly adopted after the complaints over the editorial input into the tales of the equally impenetrable "Silmarillion". But the problem here is that whilst the tale is clearly Tolkien's, it is not at all clear that this was a tale he would ever have published in this form - and had he done so, it would not have read like this.

Tolkien fans will care not a wit though. This is still a wonderfully imagined tale based on some folk literature that the author acknowledges. It reads like an epic tragedy - and that is exactly what it is, but set in the mythology that Tolkien was creating for his Middle Earth.

Set 6,500 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, this book provides some wonderful insights and background material - and it is an essential book for Tolkien completists.

But that will be the only group who should read this. It is not an entry point into the Lord of the Rings. It is not the book you would buy first - it is the one you would buy last after reading the others.

read as a standalone story I feel it is stilted, unpolished, long and pondering on places and not by any means the best example of Tolkien's work. Still, for its imagination, background material, and the very different character of story which - being based on actual mythologies from several cultures - is intellectually stimulating, I feel I can in good conscience give it three stars.

THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is a story written by J.R.R. Tolkien and edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. The story takes place thousands of years before the events of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Sauron is only a servant to an even greater Dark Lord of evil, Morgoth. As Morgoth rises to power, one man dares to defy the Dark Lord, Hurin. However, Hurin attacks too soon and is defeated and captured. The Dark Lord does not kill Hurin, but instead curses his children and keeps Hurin captive until the curse has be completed. Thus the tragic tale of Turin and his sister Nienor. The two are separated during childhood and Turin travels far and wide, under many different names, winning allegiances, and destroying the forces of evil. But, Turin is also a very emotional person and instead of listening to reason and logic, chooses to live according to his feelings. His choices bring heartbreak, destruction, and sometimes death. The story mostly follows Turin during his adventures cumulating in the showdown between Turin and the great dragon and servant of Morgoth, Glaurung.

I enjoyed reading THE CHILDREN OF HURIN. I have enjoyed all the stories that I have ever read by Tolkien and was very excited when I first learned about this new book. The book is written in beautiful elegiac prose, but reads like a Greek tragedy. The story isn't as long as Tolkien's other novels, but compliments those works nicely by filling in a story that hitherto had only been heard in snippets of song and verse scattered through the various works of Middle Earth.

Tokien has sometimes been criticized for making his stories end too "happily". THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is not a happy story. Turin and Nienor's lives are full of tragedy. They are cursed, but the truly tragic thing is that many times they are presented with choices that would allow them to rise above the curse. However, being the emotional people they are, they ignore reason, logic, traditions, and courtesies and end up making the decision that everyone knows will only lead to folly. It's a great lesson in how to make good choices and avoid making bad ones. If that's not tragic enough, THE CHILDREN OF HURIN also has the extinction of an entire race of dwarves: the petty dwarves.

I recommend CHILDREN OF HURIN for people enjoy the writings of Tolkien, people who enjoy reading Greek-like tragedies, and anyone who just likes reading epic and elegiac tales.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

Unfortunately, I'm not crazy about this audiobook version for two reasons. First, there are a lot of names in this book and easy to get confused. Turin himself gives himself a new name almost every chapter. The print version of the book is easier to flip through in case you forget a page or need to reread a section. Second, I have mixed feelings about Christopher Lee reading the book. Having the Voice of Saruman reading it is great - it fits the tragic and dark mood of the story perfectly. However, he also has a calming voice, which is dangerous for an audiobook and could put you to sleep. Overall, if you can, I recommend reading the print version of the book.

This sad tale of Turin, the anti-hero, matches the best of any great literary mythology both in its scope and style. Beware though, this is no children's bedtime story.

The central theme of the book is that of fate and destiny versus Man's free will.

Tolkien presents us a dismal Middle-Earth in the grips of formidable evil: Morgoth, one of the original beings present long before the Earth's creation and whose unimaginable powers turned to pure hatred. The heroes of the age are no more, vanquished by evil and dispersed. The "good" forces of this period remain fractured and isolated with a foreboding of their impending doom. These are the times and circumstances during which Turin, fatherless, grows to manhood. More details are plentiful, and will not be repeated.

Tolkien's genius in telling this story lies in his controlled narration and skillful character development. Let's face it, Turin is a most unlikable fellow, but he is not altogether despicable either. At some point in the book he almost ceases to be a credible character and we realize just how expertly Tolkien transformed him into a symbol of man's failures. He thus avoids portraying Turin as a ridiculous caricature of failure, especially in the latter part of his story.

Understanding the "curse" cast by Morgoth on Hurin and all his kin represents the crux of this tragic tale. As Chris Tolkien states in his introduction, Morgoth's true power lies in his ability to create specific confrontations and circumstances and *not* through direct control of any man's actions. He can easily discern a person's innate character and weakness, and through treachery and lies bend his future. Ultimately however, it is Man's free will, his strength of character and the wisdom of his decisions and actions which determine the outcome. Morgoth merely casts a net to entwine the unsuspecting but there is always the distant chance and hope that escape is possible.

Think of it as a chess game against a true master who foresees every possible move based on his opponent's ability. He does not control the other player's moves, but anticipates and plans for them precisely. And Turin was a very poor chess player indeed: each move he made brought him closer to an inevitable check-mate.

Just one brief and easily overlooked passage in the book illustrates the frailty of Morgoth's scheme. When Turin seemingly settled down and for once heeded wise counsel Morgoth fears for the first time that his plan may not bear fruition.

And so Turin in his life stumbles through many catastrophes brought on by his own carelessness, impetuousness, obstinance and pride. He rarely learns, and what little he does learn is quickly forgotten. To some degree Turin's mother and sister share these same traits; their decisions in the face of choices essentially clinch their own doom.

In Turin, Tolkien concentrated all of humanity's tragic flaws portrayed in all the great mythologies and literary works, and which, sadly, remain within all of us to this day.

This review is based on the audio version.

I went ahead and took a chance at listening to this instead of reading it because I have read other reviews that say having the maps to look at as well as an index of characters, events, and places is essential to being able to read this book. I know that maps and an index certainly wouldn't hurt but I disagree that they are necessary to enjoying the book. This is an epic tale and there are a lot of characters, histories, etc. to keep up with but I found that it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The story flows very well and though it gets off to a fairly slow start it picks up quite nicely and by time you get to the middle of the story you will find it hard to stop listening until you get to the end. It was good to go back to Middle Earth for another tale with elves, a couple of dwarfs and a dragon - but as has been pointed out this one is on the dark side and doesn't end well for the main characters which are human. I really feel like there were a few lessons that Tolkien wanted to get across with this book not the least of was the futility of impetuous youth - as the main character Turin seems to display time and time again throughout the course of the story. Despite his imperfections I couldn't help but grow to like the character of Turin as the story progressed - Tolkien does a great job of showing that down deep Turin had a good heart and ultimately wanted to do the right thing. You couldn't help but feel bad for him either because nothing ever seemed to go right for him.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

Unfortunately, I'm not crazy about this audiobook version for two reasons. First, there are a lot of names in this book and easy to get confused. Turin himself gives himself a new name almost every chapter. The print version of the book is easier to flip through in case you forget a page or need to reread a section. Second, I have mixed feelings about Christopher Lee reading the book. Having the Voice of Saruman reading it is great - it fits the tragic and dark mood of the story perfectly. However, he also has a calming voice, which is dangerous for an audiobook and could put you to sleep. Overall, if you can, I recommend reading the print version of the book.

J.R.R. Tolkien exploded to new heights of popularity in the mainstream with the release of the film translations of his famed THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Sales of the series soared, and interest in all things Tolkien knew no bounds. Now, a few years removed from that mass media frenzy, Christopher Tolkien has decided it's time to return the focus of the Tolkien legacy where it belongs: on the printed word.

Christopher opens THE CHILDREN OF HURIN with his own commentary; he says he did as little as possible to insert his own ideas or inferences into the piece, pulled together from extensive but scattered notes left by his late father. The tale of Túrin has been mentioned in minor variations in more than one previous work, but this marks the first time that the full story has been told and likely will be the last full-length journey to Middle Earth.

THE CHILDREN OF HURIN does not read as straightforward as THE LORD OF THE RINGS and by no means should it. This tale, which is older than the Middle Earth of the War of the Ring and older than the power of the dark lord Sauron, tells of lands long since drowned by the rising of the sea. It is mythological, mythic in size and scope, and thus told with reverence, as all stories of long-ago heroes are told.

However, this does not keep the story from accessibility. Previously, the posthumous works such as UNFINISHED TALES or THE SILMARILLION were criticized heavily for the dry and near-religious presentation, so drastically different from THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS as to be unreadable by the masses. Initially, names will come fast and furious, but once you become accustomed to the various places and characters, the reading will progress quite smoothly. Included in the book is a map that comes in handy and an index of names to help you keep things straight.

This is a tale worthy of the telling, and one that was intensely important to Tolkien. Beren and Lúthien were oft-spoken of in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and Túrin was mentioned only in passing, but his legend and curse were vital to Tolkien's world.

THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is a tragedy and a tale of great sorrow, and its sadness begins early on for the child Túrin, whose younger sister, Urwen, dies from the illness that comes from the Evil Breath. Her death is a great blow to the melancholy Túrin. Their father, Húrin --- the lord of Dor-lómin --- marches with his men against the forces of Morgoth, the original Dark Lord. His men are slain by the orcs, and he is taken as a prisoner to the Dark King's sanctuary. There, Morgoth lays a curse upon his children, Túrin and Niënor, saying, "Upon all whom you love my thought shall weigh as a cloud of Doom, and it shall bring them into darkness and despair."

And so the doom of Man is set. Túrin is sent to Doriath, where he lives as the foster-child of the elven king Thingol (the father of Lúthien the Fair), long an ally of Húrin. There he grows to manhood but longs to take up arms against Morgoth. Fleeing Doriath, as he fears a punishment from the king (which never comes), Túrin takes up with brigands, eventually coming to see that more is needed of him --- and of the men who would follow him --- if he truly is to take after his father. Thus he begins to show his quality, and starts his rise in the legendarium of Middle Earth.

Part ancient epic (such as "The Kalevala"), part Oedipus, part Romeo and Juliet, and even part Beowulf, THE CHILDREN OF HURIN draws from a deeper well than most fantasy fiction and will move you on multiple levels. It is horrendously tragic and yet at the same time a wholly beautiful work that only deepens further the legend and legacy of Middle Earth.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

I'm not a "Ring" guy. Oh, I liked "Lord of the Rings," but to some extent I always felt the Hobbits were a bit too precious. Seriously, did a single one die during the three volume effort? (Gollum doesn't count.) On the other hand, I really liked the "Similarion." Difficult, but rewarding and Epic. What an imagination Tolkien had! And in fairness to the Ring comments above, I should probably go back and read the Ring books after now absorbing all the history of the "Similarion." What Tolkien achieved, with the "Similarion," was to create a complex history and mythology of a world that is as textured as "Genesis" and as tragic as "King Lear."

The "Children of Hurin" is more of the same. It's too bad that Tolkien didn't have time to expand upon other bits and pieces of the "Similarion," because "Children of Hurin" is first class stuff. It is also tragic in a top drawer English survey kind of way. For example, the idea of having the captured Hurin condemned to a chair from which he must view the fate of his family is grim but also pretty inspired. And what unfolds is right up there with the last act of "King Lear," with some grim moments from Oedipus's story to leaven things a bit. There is nothing precious here in this version of Middle Earth, no furry feet and comfortable shires in sight. One warning however, this is not a light read. Compounding this is Christopher Tolkien's introduction, which is off-putting and dizzying as he bombards you with names, places and history that will blow the uninitiated away. I wonder if the reader might be better off just turning to the story first. Still, the Introduction and Appendix are useful and important tools for a book that probably demands more than one reading. Yeah, it's Fantasy, but it's also Literature.

Long before Bilbo Baggins left his hobbit hole, the Men and Elves of Middle Earth struggled valiantly against the Great Enemy, Morgoth (the fallen Valar and master of Sauron, the eventual "Lord of the Rings"). One man in particular, Húrin, brazenly defied Morgoth, who imprisoned him and laid a dire curse upon his children. First told--in a lesser form--in The Silmarillion, this tale chronicles their efforts, especially those of Húrin's son, Túrin, to defy the curse--driven largely by the malicious dragon Glaurung--and, perhaps, to escape it.

In this instance, it is worth reviewing both the story and the form in which it is published. With regard to the former, the tragedy of Túrin is a beautiful and powerful tale, told as by a master-bard in a classical, omniscient voice well-suited to descriptions of nature and events that span decades. Although the language is often archaic, and the myriad names of characters and places almost overwhelming, the tale steadily moves forward and is relatively short. (Túrin's many aliases are also fine artistic touches.) Ultimately, it earns its shadowed place on the vast, rich, and poignant tapestry that is the history of Middle Earth.

And, as a rare achievement, the physical presentation--the book itself--is equal to the story. Beginning with a gorgeous cover painting of Túrin, standing alone beneath a leaden sky and armed with his black sword and dragon-helm, that captures the grandeur and solemnity of the tale, illustrations--both color and black-and-white--abound. A particularly useful feature is a map that can be unfolded from within the back cover so as to be visible during reading. Finally, introductions and appendices provide information which should satisfy all but Middle Earth's most ravenous fans. (In short, this is a book one should not buy as a mass market paperback, if ever released as such.)

Together, the tale and book constitute a beautiful work that should be a fine gift to fans of epic, medieval fantasy. Recommended for all fantasy readers (of sixth grade age or older), except those frustrated by archaic language or numerous, fictitious names. Four stars, ancient but bright.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was the greatest fantasy author to ever live, author of the 2nd and 4th bestselling books ever written: The Lord of the Rings,The Hobbit,The Silmarillion, and thousands of pages of appendixes and additional mythologies, creator of a dozen languages, a thousand characters, and a thousand thousand mythical places, and the basis for one of the most successful, brilliant, and loved film series in history.

He was very much influenced by old Norse epics and sagas like Beowulf, the Kalavela, The Nibelungenleid. Many of them are tragic, and in many of the characters die in the end. Most were written in heroic, old English prose, featuring words such as "fell" meaning dangerous, "hight" meaning his name is, and "thus" meaning then or therefore. Their characters fought incalculable evil, and often met bitter ends.

The Children of Hurin, published posthumously, is Tolkien's response to those epic sagas. It is his own Song of the Nibelungs. It is his glorious and authentic tragedy of "heroes worthy of praise, of hardships dire, of joy and feasting, of the fighting of bold warriors, of weeping and of wailing."

It is very sad, it is very heroic, it is very fantastic. The old English is wonderfully authentic. While this may be a problem to others, I love the "olde" English feel, which made the reading all the more immersive for me. Check out this prose: "Then he sent forth a blast, so that all the ravine was filled with a red light, and black shadows flying among the rocks; but the trees before him withered and went forth in smoke, and stones crashed down into the river."

The Children of Hurin is filled with Tolkien's typically immersive, almost impossible detail. There are family trees and "sons of" and "daughters of", and Huor's and Tuor's and Fingolfin's and Feanor's and Moriquendi and Taliquendi. There is just too much detail to remember. It really makes Middle Earth seem like a real and historical place, and I just love it (though oft am I befuddled by it), but it might not be for everyone.

Let's talk CONS: You will not like The Children of Hurin if you are not a fan of Tolkien or high fantasy (epic fantasy). You will not like this book if you are looking for a breezy page-turner, or an action book, or a simple or happy book. Do NOT read this book if you have not read The Silmarillion or The Lord of the Rings. This book is NOT for everyone, and I _totally_ understand that viewpoint.

Having said that, if you are a giant Tolkien/fantasy/epic fan, and you have never read The Children of Hurin, you are going to have a field day! The prose is beautiful and epic and haunting, the story is the classic hero's journey with some twists thrown in, the characters are not just good OR evil; Turin seems to me a real "grey" character. The Children of Hurin really has it all: a fantastic world, noble heroes, evil villains, a frikkin DRAGON, giant battles, Elves, Orcs, Men, Dwarves, Balrogs, trolls, swords, axes, fire, foes, betrayal, friendship, and a glouriously tragic ending.

I give The Children of Hurin 4.9 Stars, since it's lack of humour and complex, dense structure may put off non Tolkien fans. But FOR Tolkien fans, this will be a proud and brilliant addition to the shelf!

The Song of the Nibelungs, a tale of the great warrior Siegfried and his daring deeds, clearly influenced Tolkien. It's first line is very relevant here, I feel. Thanks to Christopher Tolkien, who waded through a mountain of notes and sketches and rough drafts, so that "now ye may hear wonders told!"

P.S. Alan Lee's artwork is positively MAGICAL! It perfectly captures the fantastical, mythical, almost ethereal world or Middle Earth. No other artist has captured the scenery so well, though John Howe and Ted Nasmith also depict Tolkien's work marvellously well!

There’s a reason why I keep going back to Tolkien when I end up discussing the fantasy genre or even just how to approach the creation of epic worlds. Not to say that Tolkien was the first (because he had precursors who’re rarely, if ever mentioned), but he was most definitely the first in the genre to gain legendary status (and now has JK Rowling snapping on his heels).

Though by contemporary standards, I argue that Tolkien is not for everyone – his style is rather dry, patriarchal even – and it’s clear that this is a man who was obsessed with world-building rather than characterisation. While The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings appear to be perennial favourites with legions of new readers each generation, Tolkien’s other works are perhaps left for the die-hard fans.

The Silmarillion is a prime example. I butted heads with it during my teens when I’d just finished my first immersion into The Lord of the Rings. I hated it. Didn’t finish it. I went back to it years later, and was absolutely blown away – not by the writing so much – but by the sheer mass of imagination. The scary thing was realising that the events that transpired in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were only a thin sliver of Tolkien’s entire creation, now that was astounding.

And I found myself wishing that he had gone on to write more, because what we’re left with is but a skeleton.

It’s taken me years to read The Children of Húrin. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I knew it wouldn’t be an easy path to tread. Tolkien makes you work for it – the language usage is more akin to sitting at the fireside listening to an old storyteller recount a saga than the immersiveness of current authors such as Mark Lawrence, George RR Martin or Robin Hobb.

Having recently completed a university course on Greek mythology, I can draw parallels between that and how Tolkien approached The Children of Húrin. This is not a comfortable story. The heroes are tragic, flawed. Túrin’s hubris results in his inevitable downfall, and his victory against Glaurung is pyrrhic. The dragon itself is but a dark mirror, reflecting a twisted truth that paralyses heroes. Ophelia-like, Niënor is flotsam, cast adrift in a dark tide; though her love is pure, it is misdirected. I saw the greater tragedy approach from a distance, and could do little more than wait for the ultimate wrapping up of cruelties.

There is little that is noble about any of the characters in this story. Even the elves are cast in such a way to show that they too suffer through their excessive pride – something that the dread Morgoth isn’t afraid to exploit. The antagonist is but the catalyst around which the others trip and fall, however for those who have distance from the situation, it is easy to make a judgment call.

If you’re a die-hard Tolkien fan, like me, and you’re yet to read The Children of Húrin, I’ll fully recommend it. It’s not quite as heavy going as The Silmarillion, and it’s going to fill in a good few gaps in your fantasy geekdom. As a template of epic tragedy, this one’s got it all. At time of writing (a week since completing my read-through), I’m still smarting and bruised. And feeling as dissatisfied and annoyed as I was at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition. And I’ll read this one again. And again. Because: elves, dragons, beautiful worlds, sadness and tragedy.

PS, if you’re emotionally correct and easily upset by bad stuff that happens to good people, go read about unicorns pooping rainbows. This book will make you very, very angry and you’ll probably ask for it to be banned from your library.

WARNING: There will be a lot of spoilers mixed throughout this. Here's the quick, spoiler-free review for those who haven't read it:
This is an amazing, if rather dark, tale. I highly recommend it.

So, The Children of Hurin. First of all, the pictures are great. I love a book that has good pictures; conversely, a book with ugly pictures puts me off and kind of lessens the enjoyment I have in reading it. The paintings have a very ethereal quality to them that matches the distant tone of the writing, and I also like the black and white drawings.
As for the story, well, I really like it. But it's hard to say WHY I like it, because it's so tragic. I mean, who wants to read a book where all the main characters die at the end, right? Firstly, the writing is excellent; not so immediate as in LotR, but not quite as distant as The Silmarillion. The characters felt very real to me, despite the tone of the writing. I suppose also that tragedy has a way of holding our attention; it certainly held mine in this book. In a way, it reminded me of Hamlet; not the story itself, but the tragedy of it all, and sort of the frustration (not a bad kind of frustration) of, "Why can't you break the cycle? Why can't you change the course of this story so that there's a happy ending?"
So I would definitely say that I love this story, but not in the usual way of loving a story; it's engaging and dark and tragic and, well, fantastic. Five stars, definitely.

Quick mostly spoilerless summary :
Túrin Turambar is a young lad who never quite met his father due to the horrors of war. Túrin was sent to live with the elves of Doriath and was taken in as a son but misfortunate events leads him to flee and end up joining a wild gang of outcasts and bandits. He eventually leads this gang to a mountain in which their shared a home with Mîm the dwarf. But again, unfortunate events occurs leading Túrin to flee, and do some regretful things in the proccess. He ends up at a separate elves city, which is soon massacred. Túrin is once more fleeing until he arrives at a small mostly hidden town of men, where he seeks refuge after helping rescue them and they take him in. He meets the love of his life there, and later discovers the sad truth of her identity. He is forced to defend his new home later on, under the name Turambar and to slay a great worm. When he takes the beast down though... well some ,ore unfortunate events occurs leading to a tragic end.

Okay, so overall I loved this book. It was recommended to me by a friend, and we had talked about it for a while and I always have LOVED middle earth, I was literally obsessed with it sense I was about the age of 7 or 8. So, eventually I find out I have to do a report for school and think "why not finally read the Children of Húrin?". And I will tell you what, it was certainly a gand adventure, every page was intriguing, the beautiful landscapes that were so well painted into your mind, the characters and their personalities became almost real, and the shocking turn of events gives a great surprise to anyone seeking one. I would recommend this book to anyone who is either a. In love with Tolkien's works, B. Looking for a great adventure story or C. Just wanting a new world to dive into. I would suggest around high school level reading, not necessarily for content but for the reading itself. I also don't believe you have to really know too much about Middle Earth to understand this, yes you should probably read Hobbit to Return of the King before this so you know what the world is like and if you want a great understanding the silmarillion, but otherwise, this story could be possibly understood as a stand alone book. (Note that this book takes place in a separate land and MUCH earlier time then the Hobbit - Return of the King but it is still middle earth).

With the rising of the sun, I finished this tale of woe. Such a tangle skein of woven fable and loose yarn reflect the tragedies of myth. Ah, so well done. The tale lingers in memory as should only the best. I am filled with triumphant sadness at the way foulness grows, steadily, beyond the reach of light. Yet, the story builds the strength of endurance, a will to carry on; a belief in the value of individual contributions having great merit; and that the greatest failure is not striking out at injustice but failure to even try.
I would recommend this book to anyone feeling perplexed by today's headlines - young or old - or to anyone who wishes to build faith in the future.

If you are looking for additional tales of Middle-Earth lore to enjoy, the Children of Húrin, or, Narn Î Chîn Húrin, is the perfect book to read. It's perfectly comprehensible with no bothersome footnotes or commentaries inbetween chapters. This is a REAL book, not one of Tolkien's diaries. And it is a very well-written, enthralling and incredibly action-packed package. (Warning: spoilers are involved!)

The Children of Húrin is a classic tale of tragedy. It chronicles the lives of Húrin, a Captain of the Men of Brethil, his wife Morwen Edhelwen, and their children Túrin, Lalaith, and Níenor. Regardless of its title, this book is really about Túrin mostly. Morgoth placed a curse upon the entire line of Húrin, and the end results make up the most of this book. Húrin is captured by Morgoth and left to die on top of a tower. The women and children of Brethil (including Morwen) are left to fend off a dangerous band of warrior theives after no word of their husbands come (This is post-Nírnaeth Arnoedíad). That year Lalaith dies of the Evil Breath, and Túrin, (now eighteen) leaves to seek his fortune abroad with (ironically) a different club of the same warrior theives who pillaged his home. For the most part he wanders around, causes bad fortune to anyone he comes in contact with, (accidentally killed his best friend who was trying to save his life, etc.) and meets a bunch of rather interesting characters, as well as his future wife. At the dramatic climax, Túrin slays the dragon Glaurung, makes a horrifying discovery about his wife Níniel, and commits suicide. It's really a terrifying and mournful story and would have made an excellent movie. Although it would be very depressing, because it ends awfully.
Overall this was the best tragedy I have ever read in my life.

I'll say up front that Tolkien is my all-time favorite author. I've read pretty much all his published works, including the History of Middle Earth series and some of the translations of ancient tales. This stands up with the best of them, but may not be for casual fans who only know The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. There is great depth and tragedy here. If you like the Silmarillion, then definitely read this. If you're more in the group of people who like J.K. Rowling, you may want to skip this.

The Silmarillion is a great but very tragic work of literature, but the most tragic episode in this whole amazing mythology is the story of Turin. So strong was the emotion that I had to stop reading at certain points to deal with it. In "The Children of Hurin" Tolkien has taken this 14 000 word story (which itself was based on an epic poem of over 2000 lines) and fleshed it out to a book of around 80 000 words - and in doing so he has wrought a tragedy of truly immense proportions.

I could not claim that Tolkien was as great a writer as Shakespeare, but I believe this work to be at least equal in power to the greatest Shakespearian tragedies. Certainly it affected me more deeply than Hamlet or King Lear. While I would not recommend it to inveterate lovers of happy endings, but for those who love great storytelling and haunting tales, there is little that can beat this book.

The Children of Hurin contains a great deal of material already featured in The Silmarillion, including all of the major events of the life of Turin Turambar and his family, and the most memorable scenes. I found myself covering a lot of familiar ground. However, it also has enough additional detail about many of these events, the enchanting landscape of Beleriand, and of Turin's personality to make for compelling reading for diehard Tolkien fans like myself. New passages concerning all of Turin's family members and other characters associated with his life, including his heretofore unmentioned sister Urwen, are mostly brief but poignant.

Tolkien's villains are generally too otherworldly or removed to be truly repugnant, but Morgoth's utter depravity is more personal here than elsewhere and those who have not read The Silmarillion may wish to do so in order to find out the eventual fate of Turin's relentless demonic adversary. Glaurung the dragon similarly bears little resemblance to Tolkien's other famous dragon, Smaug, in that he is not villainous in a charming way but jarringly evil.

The illustrations by John Howe are of a characteristically superb quality and communicate the pathos of the story very well.

The Children of Hurin is a tragic yet deeply moving tale, and even after many years I still marvel at the sheer power of Tolkien's storytelling and his vast and complex mythology. A worthy final entry in the career of an author whose powers of creation remain unparalleled in fantasy and a monument in world literature.

One of Tolkein’s many unpublished works completed by his son and literary executor Christopher, The Children of Húrin is a dark, bleak tale of loyalty, family, and prophecy that takes place over 6,000 years before the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, captures Húrin at the end of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. When Húrin defies the Dark Lord, Morgoth curses Húrin’s children, son Túrin and unborn daughter Niënor. The novel mostly follows Túrin’s life from adolescence through adulthood, as he eludes Orcs, the dragon Glaurung, and other Dark creatures for years. What proves to be his downfall, though, are the choices he makes that often result in pain and suffering for those around him. It’s interesting to read a Tolkein novel after reading so many works by contemporary fantasy authors. Tolkein’s mythic style of storytelling is simple and lacks the expressiveness and suspense that I’ve grown accustomed to. But that doesn’t lessen The Children of Húrin’s impact on the reader: What happens after Túrin and Niënor finally meet will haunt you for days.

Don't go into this book expecting The Hobbit, or even Lord of the Rings. The Children of Hurin is basically a modern classical tragedy. It's dreary, grim, and depressing. It's only slightly easier to read than The Silmarillion - there's a single story arc with a clear main character here, but dialogue is still sparse and it's pretty hard to get through, as there's not an ounce of mirth throughout. A friend described this book as "dark fantasy before dark fantasy was invented" and that suits it pretty well, with the way Morgoth's shadow hangs over everything. It's a lot like a Greek tragedy, with Morgoth as Fate - very reminiscent of the story of Oedipus, especially near the end. The mythology is rich and deep, but ultimately I'd only recommend it to diehard Tolkien fans.

The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien is a work of fantasy that will not be, and perhaps is not capable of being, appreciated by all who read it. In a time when novels cater to the masses by being immediately accessible, both thematically and linguistically, an expertly crafted tale such as the one J.R.R. Tolkien has constructed here is going to suffer from the opinions of those who are expecting lighter fare from their books. This includes the wrath of critics who may have been assigned a book that they have absolutely no interest in reading. After all, high fantasy of this nature is not a mainstream genre and is not universally accepted even among some fans of the genre.

It is not an easy book to read. Professor Tolkien's prose and vocabulary lean toward the archaic, much more so than The Lord of the Rings. The words do not flow smoothly across the page and the reader must put forth more effort than is normal compared to reading books containing modern prose, or books not penned by authors known to invent their own languages. Tolkien's penchant for using elaborate and cumbersome names (e.g. Haudh-en-Ndengin) can be a stumbling block for some readers, but for others it breathes life in to lifeless pages and helps create a fully realized world for his characters. The words are not made up but are based on languages he created for his setting.

The Children of Húrin is not filled with characters you want to necessarily love...or even like. It's populated with dark, flawed, and morally lost characters. Yet in the end you can sympathize with nearly all of them. This is not a happy tale. The themes and circumstances are dark and unforgiving. The reader will not put this book down with a smile on his/her face.

These are the reasons The Children of Húrin is not an easy book to read. These are the reasons why some critics have railed against it. Depressing books are sometimes hard to read and unpopular. But for some, mostly hardcore fans of Tolkien who enjoy the histories of Middle-earth, The Children of Húrin is a feast of tragic fantasy.

This is a Shakepearean level tragedy set in Beleriand, a land to the far west of the Middle-earth most casual Tolkien fans are familiar with. You will find no Hobbit parties in this land. It was a land so besieged by war that the final defeat of Morgoth (Sauron's master) sank it in to the sea approximately 6500 years before Frodo tosses the One Ring in to Mt. Doom.

How did this tragedy unfold? I will not spoil it except to say that Húrin (a human) visits the hidden Elvish city of Gondolin. Morgoth captures Húrin after an epic battle but he refuses to reveal the location of Gondolin. Morgoth places a curse upon his family and with his power binds Húrin to a stone chair near the summit of Thangorodrim. Húrin could not move from the chair or die until released. Morgoth then used his power to allow Húrin to see and hear all that he did, and he kept Húrin shackled to the chair for 28 years under his curse and control as he watch the fate of his family unfold. That is the tale of The Children of Húrin and I'll leave it to the reader to discover the rest.

The tale is significantly shorter than The Lord of the Rings, weighing in close to the length of The Hobbit. It is beautifully illustrated throughout by the talented Alan Lee, and includes an appendix, a list of names (I recommend not referencing this while reading), family trees, and a full fold out map of Beleriand.

A version of The Children of Húrin appeared in Unfinished Tales, but it is greatly expanded here by J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher. The main protagonist in the story is Túrin Turambar who wanders Beleriand in search of himself after his family is torn asunder when his father is taken captive by Morgoth on the battlefield. Túrin's adventure spans many years and is a full of betrayal, suicide, murder, treachery, incest, creatures, battles...and over it all looms Morgoth and his curse.

I loved this book. Writing this review is giving me the yearning to read it again. The combination of Tolkien's prose and Alan Lee's art immerses the reader in a fantasy world that truly feels vast and ancient. For me the feel of the book resides somewhere between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. It's a Tolkien "history" told in a more traditional form than that of The Silmarillion. The Children of Húrin is not for the casual fantasy fan, or even the casual Tolkien fan. But if you're a fan of gut wrenchingly depressing tragedies...you should love it.

One final word of warning: Do not scan the table of contents unless you want to be spoiled. You can guess how it all ends, but if you want to save the details for the reading...don't do it!

As a standalone tale, it's quite good, following the life of a doomed man whose fate follows him and destroys his life regardless of his attempt to do the right thing and have a positive effect on the world around him. It often demonstrates the point that Tolkien's characters often end up doing ill even when the motives are good because their place in the grand scheme has been preordained by powers greater than themselves. Tolkien geeks will be pleased with the essays by Christopher denoting the evolution of the tale and its place in the Tolkienverse.

Just when you think they can't find another draft, note, poem or shopping list written by J.R.R. Tolkien, something new pops up.

But in the case of "The Children of Húrin," the result is a surprisingly solid and lucid story, full of familiar characters from other books about the history of Middle-Earth. Tolkien's timeless, formal prose and richly-imagined world make this novella pop from the pages, especially without his son's stuffier footnotes.

It opens with the story of Huon and Hurin, heroic brothers who lived back in the first age. But when battling the terrible Morgoth (the Middle-Earth Satan), Huor is slain and Hurin is taken prisoner by Morgoth, who torments and curses him. The Easterlings overrun his lands, and in fear for her son and unborn baby, Hurin's wife Morwen sends her son away to be fostered in Doriath.

And so Turin grows up in Doriath, until the day when he feels the need to go out and defend his distant family. His adventures take him through Middle-Earth, encountering great elves, orcs, lives with outlaws, and Mim the petty-dwarf. But his life is cursed by Morgoth -- as is the mysterious girl he falls in love with -- and his downfall will be one of horror and disgrace, even as he slays the most terrible dragon in Middle-Earth, Glaurung.

This book is actually a jigsaw puzzle -- Tolkien worked on the interrelated stories and poetry throughout his lifetime, but he never quite finished a solid cohesive story. So Christopher Tolkien cobbled together these various stories with Tolkien's unfinished works, pasted them together, and the result was "The Children of Húrin."

Surprisingly, the resulting story is very solid and strong, with a darker finale than "Lord of the Rings." While the main storyline is about Hurin and his son, it's sprinkled with familiar characters, such as Melian and Morgoth. And the rich, tragic storyline is full of noble elves, great human heroes, ancient lost cities and even a vengeful, talking sword.

And Tolkien's writing is somewhere between his "Silmarillion" style and his "Lord of the Rings" style -- it's formal and archaic, but he includes strong descriptions ("A flash of white swallowed in the dark chasm, a cry lost in the roaring of the river") and dialogue ("You are one of the fools that spring would not mourn if you perished in winter". One of the best scenes is when Morgoth and Hurin argue about theology and the "circles of the world" on a tower.

Despite the formality of his writing, the characters really pop out of their stories -- Turin is fierce, passionate and tragic, and his last scenes are absolutely stunning. His noble father and moody mother also come across well, and we get plenty of other colourful characters, from snitty elves to the evil Morgoth himself, who torments Hurin by forcing him to see everything Morgoth sees.

Since the actual story is only about two hundred pages long, it's fleshed out considerably by Christopher Tolkien's introduction and appendices, which explain about the writing and construction of the stories and poems, as well as a pronunciation guide, and a series of family trees.

And Alan Lee provides several beautiful drawings (both black-and-white and color), including Doriath's forests, eagles carrying Hurin and Huor, elven smiths, the dragon, Elf warriors, and finally the death of Turin, over a grey river under some burned trees.

Despite its brevity, "The Children of Húrin" is a stunning, brilliant piece of work, full of Tolkien's vibrant storytelling and memorable characters. Definitely a must-read.

This book is hard going. Compare the writing here with Tolkien's masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings" or with his wonderfully accessible "The Hobbit" and you will be very disappointed. This is not surprising as this is not a book Tolkien published. Instead, as detailed in the preface, the book has been brought together from Tolkiens noted with a minimum of editorial input, rewriting etc. long after the author's death. This hands off approach was clearly adopted after the complaints over the editorial input into the tales of the equally impenetrable "Silmarillion". But the problem here is that whilst the tale is clearly Tolkien's, it is not at all clear that this was a tale he would ever have published in this form - and had he done so, it would not have read like this.

Tolkien fans will care not a wit though. This is still a wonderfully imagined tale based on some folk literature that the author acknowledges. It reads like an epic tragedy - and that is exactly what it is, but set in the mythology that Tolkien was creating for his Middle Earth.

Set 6,500 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, this book provides some wonderful insights and background material - and it is an essential book for Tolkien completists.

But that will be the only group who should read this. It is not an entry point into the Lord of the Rings. It is not the book you would buy first - it is the one you would buy last after reading the others.

read as a standalone story I feel it is stilted, unpolished, long and pondering on places and not by any means the best example of Tolkien's work. Still, for its imagination, background material, and the very different character of story which - being based on actual mythologies from several cultures - is intellectually stimulating, I feel I can in good conscience give it three stars.

THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is a story written by J.R.R. Tolkien and edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. The story takes place thousands of years before the events of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Sauron is only a servant to an even greater Dark Lord of evil, Morgoth. As Morgoth rises to power, one man dares to defy the Dark Lord, Hurin. However, Hurin attacks too soon and is defeated and captured. The Dark Lord does not kill Hurin, but instead curses his children and keeps Hurin captive until the curse has be completed. Thus the tragic tale of Turin and his sister Nienor. The two are separated during childhood and Turin travels far and wide, under many different names, winning allegiances, and destroying the forces of evil. But, Turin is also a very emotional person and instead of listening to reason and logic, chooses to live according to his feelings. His choices bring heartbreak, destruction, and sometimes death. The story mostly follows Turin during his adventures cumulating in the showdown between Turin and the great dragon and servant of Morgoth, Glaurung.

I enjoyed reading THE CHILDREN OF HURIN. I have enjoyed all the stories that I have ever read by Tolkien and was very excited when I first learned about this new book. The book is written in beautiful elegiac prose, but reads like a Greek tragedy. The story isn't as long as Tolkien's other novels, but compliments those works nicely by filling in a story that hitherto had only been heard in snippets of song and verse scattered through the various works of Middle Earth.

Tokien has sometimes been criticized for making his stories end too "happily". THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is not a happy story. Turin and Nienor's lives are full of tragedy. They are cursed, but the truly tragic thing is that many times they are presented with choices that would allow them to rise above the curse. However, being the emotional people they are, they ignore reason, logic, traditions, and courtesies and end up making the decision that everyone knows will only lead to folly. It's a great lesson in how to make good choices and avoid making bad ones. If that's not tragic enough, THE CHILDREN OF HURIN also has the extinction of an entire race of dwarves: the petty dwarves.

I recommend CHILDREN OF HURIN for people enjoy the writings of Tolkien, people who enjoy reading Greek-like tragedies, and anyone who just likes reading epic and elegiac tales.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

This sad tale of Turin, the anti-hero, matches the best of any great literary mythology both in its scope and style. Beware though, this is no children's bedtime story.

The central theme of the book is that of fate and destiny versus Man's free will.

Tolkien presents us a dismal Middle-Earth in the grips of formidable evil: Morgoth, one of the original beings present long before the Earth's creation and whose unimaginable powers turned to pure hatred. The heroes of the age are no more, vanquished by evil and dispersed. The "good" forces of this period remain fractured and isolated with a foreboding of their impending doom. These are the times and circumstances during which Turin, fatherless, grows to manhood. More details are plentiful, and will not be repeated.

Tolkien's genius in telling this story lies in his controlled narration and skillful character development. Let's face it, Turin is a most unlikable fellow, but he is not altogether despicable either. At some point in the book he almost ceases to be a credible character and we realize just how expertly Tolkien transformed him into a symbol of man's failures. He thus avoids portraying Turin as a ridiculous caricature of failure, especially in the latter part of his story.

Understanding the "curse" cast by Morgoth on Hurin and all his kin represents the crux of this tragic tale. As Chris Tolkien states in his introduction, Morgoth's true power lies in his ability to create specific confrontations and circumstances and *not* through direct control of any man's actions. He can easily discern a person's innate character and weakness, and through treachery and lies bend his future. Ultimately however, it is Man's free will, his strength of character and the wisdom of his decisions and actions which determine the outcome. Morgoth merely casts a net to entwine the unsuspecting but there is always the distant chance and hope that escape is possible.

Think of it as a chess game against a true master who foresees every possible move based on his opponent's ability. He does not control the other player's moves, but anticipates and plans for them precisely. And Turin was a very poor chess player indeed: each move he made brought him closer to an inevitable check-mate.

Just one brief and easily overlooked passage in the book illustrates the frailty of Morgoth's scheme. When Turin seemingly settled down and for once heeded wise counsel Morgoth fears for the first time that his plan may not bear fruition.

And so Turin in his life stumbles through many catastrophes brought on by his own carelessness, impetuousness, obstinance and pride. He rarely learns, and what little he does learn is quickly forgotten. To some degree Turin's mother and sister share these same traits; their decisions in the face of choices essentially clinch their own doom.

In Turin, Tolkien concentrated all of humanity's tragic flaws portrayed in all the great mythologies and literary works, and which, sadly, remain within all of us to this day.

This review is based on the audio version.

I went ahead and took a chance at listening to this instead of reading it because I have read other reviews that say having the maps to look at as well as an index of characters, events, and places is essential to being able to read this book. I know that maps and an index certainly wouldn't hurt but I disagree that they are necessary to enjoying the book. This is an epic tale and there are a lot of characters, histories, etc. to keep up with but I found that it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The story flows very well and though it gets off to a fairly slow start it picks up quite nicely and by time you get to the middle of the story you will find it hard to stop listening until you get to the end. It was good to go back to Middle Earth for another tale with elves, a couple of dwarfs and a dragon - but as has been pointed out this one is on the dark side and doesn't end well for the main characters which are human. I really feel like there were a few lessons that Tolkien wanted to get across with this book not the least of was the futility of impetuous youth - as the main character Turin seems to display time and time again throughout the course of the story. Despite his imperfections I couldn't help but grow to like the character of Turin as the story progressed - Tolkien does a great job of showing that down deep Turin had a good heart and ultimately wanted to do the right thing. You couldn't help but feel bad for him either because nothing ever seemed to go right for him.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

J.R.R. Tolkien exploded to new heights of popularity in the mainstream with the release of the film translations of his famed THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Sales of the series soared, and interest in all things Tolkien knew no bounds. Now, a few years removed from that mass media frenzy, Christopher Tolkien has decided it's time to return the focus of the Tolkien legacy where it belongs: on the printed word.

Christopher opens THE CHILDREN OF HURIN with his own commentary; he says he did as little as possible to insert his own ideas or inferences into the piece, pulled together from extensive but scattered notes left by his late father. The tale of Túrin has been mentioned in minor variations in more than one previous work, but this marks the first time that the full story has been told and likely will be the last full-length journey to Middle Earth.

THE CHILDREN OF HURIN does not read as straightforward as THE LORD OF THE RINGS and by no means should it. This tale, which is older than the Middle Earth of the War of the Ring and older than the power of the dark lord Sauron, tells of lands long since drowned by the rising of the sea. It is mythological, mythic in size and scope, and thus told with reverence, as all stories of long-ago heroes are told.

However, this does not keep the story from accessibility. Previously, the posthumous works such as UNFINISHED TALES or THE SILMARILLION were criticized heavily for the dry and near-religious presentation, so drastically different from THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS as to be unreadable by the masses. Initially, names will come fast and furious, but once you become accustomed to the various places and characters, the reading will progress quite smoothly. Included in the book is a map that comes in handy and an index of names to help you keep things straight.

This is a tale worthy of the telling, and one that was intensely important to Tolkien. Beren and Lúthien were oft-spoken of in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and Túrin was mentioned only in passing, but his legend and curse were vital to Tolkien's world.

THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is a tragedy and a tale of great sorrow, and its sadness begins early on for the child Túrin, whose younger sister, Urwen, dies from the illness that comes from the Evil Breath. Her death is a great blow to the melancholy Túrin. Their father, Húrin --- the lord of Dor-lómin --- marches with his men against the forces of Morgoth, the original Dark Lord. His men are slain by the orcs, and he is taken as a prisoner to the Dark King's sanctuary. There, Morgoth lays a curse upon his children, Túrin and Niënor, saying, "Upon all whom you love my thought shall weigh as a cloud of Doom, and it shall bring them into darkness and despair."

And so the doom of Man is set. Túrin is sent to Doriath, where he lives as the foster-child of the elven king Thingol (the father of Lúthien the Fair), long an ally of Húrin. There he grows to manhood but longs to take up arms against Morgoth. Fleeing Doriath, as he fears a punishment from the king (which never comes), Túrin takes up with brigands, eventually coming to see that more is needed of him --- and of the men who would follow him --- if he truly is to take after his father. Thus he begins to show his quality, and starts his rise in the legendarium of Middle Earth.

Part ancient epic (such as "The Kalevala"), part Oedipus, part Romeo and Juliet, and even part Beowulf, THE CHILDREN OF HURIN draws from a deeper well than most fantasy fiction and will move you on multiple levels. It is horrendously tragic and yet at the same time a wholly beautiful work that only deepens further the legend and legacy of Middle Earth.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

I'm not a "Ring" guy. Oh, I liked "Lord of the Rings," but to some extent I always felt the Hobbits were a bit too precious. Seriously, did a single one die during the three volume effort? (Gollum doesn't count.) On the other hand, I really liked the "Similarion." Difficult, but rewarding and Epic. What an imagination Tolkien had! And in fairness to the Ring comments above, I should probably go back and read the Ring books after now absorbing all the history of the "Similarion." What Tolkien achieved, with the "Similarion," was to create a complex history and mythology of a world that is as textured as "Genesis" and as tragic as "King Lear."

The "Children of Hurin" is more of the same. It's too bad that Tolkien didn't have time to expand upon other bits and pieces of the "Similarion," because "Children of Hurin" is first class stuff. It is also tragic in a top drawer English survey kind of way. For example, the idea of having the captured Hurin condemned to a chair from which he must view the fate of his family is grim but also pretty inspired. And what unfolds is right up there with the last act of "King Lear," with some grim moments from Oedipus's story to leaven things a bit. There is nothing precious here in this version of Middle Earth, no furry feet and comfortable shires in sight. One warning however, this is not a light read. Compounding this is Christopher Tolkien's introduction, which is off-putting and dizzying as he bombards you with names, places and history that will blow the uninitiated away. I wonder if the reader might be better off just turning to the story first. Still, the Introduction and Appendix are useful and important tools for a book that probably demands more than one reading. Yeah, it's Fantasy, but it's also Literature.

Long before Bilbo Baggins left his hobbit hole, the Men and Elves of Middle Earth struggled valiantly against the Great Enemy, Morgoth (the fallen Valar and master of Sauron, the eventual "Lord of the Rings"). One man in particular, Húrin, brazenly defied Morgoth, who imprisoned him and laid a dire curse upon his children. First told--in a lesser form--in The Silmarillion, this tale chronicles their efforts, especially those of Húrin's son, Túrin, to defy the curse--driven largely by the malicious dragon Glaurung--and, perhaps, to escape it.

In this instance, it is worth reviewing both the story and the form in which it is published. With regard to the former, the tragedy of Túrin is a beautiful and powerful tale, told as by a master-bard in a classical, omniscient voice well-suited to descriptions of nature and events that span decades. Although the language is often archaic, and the myriad names of characters and places almost overwhelming, the tale steadily moves forward and is relatively short. (Túrin's many aliases are also fine artistic touches.) Ultimately, it earns its shadowed place on the vast, rich, and poignant tapestry that is the history of Middle Earth.

And, as a rare achievement, the physical presentation--the book itself--is equal to the story. Beginning with a gorgeous cover painting of Túrin, standing alone beneath a leaden sky and armed with his black sword and dragon-helm, that captures the grandeur and solemnity of the tale, illustrations--both color and black-and-white--abound. A particularly useful feature is a map that can be unfolded from within the back cover so as to be visible during reading. Finally, introductions and appendices provide information which should satisfy all but Middle Earth's most ravenous fans. (In short, this is a book one should not buy as a mass market paperback, if ever released as such.)

Together, the tale and book constitute a beautiful work that should be a fine gift to fans of epic, medieval fantasy. Recommended for all fantasy readers (of sixth grade age or older), except those frustrated by archaic language or numerous, fictitious names. Four stars, ancient but bright.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

This is a very, very dark epic, not like The Lord of the Rings at all. Nonetheless, if you like Tolkien's other works, The Children of Hurin is worth a try. It explores the earlier ages of Middle Earth, particularly the story of Turin as described in The Silmarillion.

The story emphasizes key Tolkien themes like honor, oaths, tragedy - and, of course, dragons. Hurin, a noble king, is kidnapped by the evil lord Morgoth. When he refuses to reveal the location of an elven stronghold, Morgoth curses his children. The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, and his trials. The story of Turin is overwhelmingly depressing, with tragedy heaped upon tragedy. He accidentally kills his best friend, makes love to his sister, and eventually begs for death. Think Oedipus meets Aragorn. It is a pretty original and exciting story, but you'll definitely need some prozac after finishing.

Tolkien believed the book wasn't fit for publication because the prose was dry and stilted at times, and I have to agree. However, it also gives the book an archaic flavor. You really feel like you're reading an ancient story, not just a fantasy novel. I'll admit that The Children of Hurin is a tough read, but it is worth your effort.

I disagree with some of the reviewers here in that I think it is extremely helpful, if not necessary, to have read the The Silmarillion first. While The Children of Hurin stands alone as a story, it does reference characters in The Silmarillion, particularly Morgoth and several of the Vallar. What I would recommend is reading The Silmarillion up until the chapter about Hurin and Turin, and then switch to reading this book.

I'm writing this review based on the audiobook. I tried to read the novel but I just kept putting it down. Then I bought the Audiobook. This is one of my favorite audiobooks I've listened to. The story is both tragic and exciting. A young noble gets familiar with the royal family of elves who adopt him. Being a rash and stubborn figure the main character gets banished and becomes a brigand in the countryside, and his adventures begin there. While listening to this book I was transported to middle earth and could see everything in my minds eye while listening to this great story and I believe it should be listened to and not read. It's told from the narrators point of view and reads strange and clunky, but when you close your eyes and hear the tale it's much better. Great book.

Reading The Children of Hurin was a struggle at first but eventually the Tolkien genius did unfold. In my opinion, one needs to be familiar with the The Silmarillion in order to fully understand where this history fits into the greater scheme of things. A convenient fold-out map helps with the geography.

In the preface it is explained when and how JRR Tolkien worked on the long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work and how the current text came about, whilst the introduction provides a brief description of the Land of Beleriand and its peoples near the end of the elder days. There is also a note on pronunciation.

The story begins with the childhood of Hurin and the Battle of Unnumbered Tears which marked the decline of the Eldar when the Land of Hithlum was lost. Hurin and his descendants were cursed by Morgoth whose evil realm was then expanding. The plot takes the reader through the lands of Hithlum, Mithrim, Dor-Lomin, Dimbar, Brethil, Doriath, Talath Dirnen and Dorthonion.

As a young boy, Turin left Hithlum for the hidden Elvish realm of Doriath where he stayed some years. After a dispute with an Elf, he left to become an outlaw. After many adventures he established a refuge on the mountain Amon Rudh, the domain of the petty dwarf Mim. When this outpost was lost to the orcs through treachery, Turin dwelt in the Elvish city of Nargothrond until its fall.

Afterwards he established a home amongst the people of the forest of Brethil. At this time his sister left Doriath, lost her memory in an encounter with the dragon Glaurung and came to Brethil, with tragic consequences. The wingless dragon made its way toward Brethil in order to destroy the town Ephel Brandir, when the highlight of the book occurs: Turin's slaying of Glaurung.

If one perseveres through the first difficult pages one will certainly enjoy this great tale of tragedy. All the Tolkien magic is there in the intricate plot, gripping imagery and elegant use of language. There are beautiful colour plates and black & white illustrations throughout the text. The Genealogies section includes the House of Hador & People of Haleth, the House of Beor and the Princes of the Noldor. The Appendix includes The Evolution of the Great Tales and The Composition of the Text, and the book concludes with a List of Names.

This is the first "new" book to be published by J.R.R. Tolkien in 30 years, so of course, I'm excited. I've read all the main works many times, and whatever stray collection I run upon. The story of Hurin is largely told in the Silmarillion, along with many other stories that intercut and intertwine with it. This book brings those tales together in one story, and takes the reader on an epic, tragic ride. Of course, the tales here are varied in depth and quality of writing, as Tolkien never got to finish up his stories and polish off the rough edges. His son, Christopher, does an admirable job of pooling the stories and editing them into a cohesive whole. I read the book over a couple of days, taking my time and letting myself fall into the characters and plot. The story itself is devastating; it is comparable to think of being held by the Devil as he tortures your family just to torture you. The curse of Morgoth on Hurins' family is absolute and without pity, which is exactly as Morgoth is always portrayed: pityless and without remorse. The great tragedy at the end is forseen yet that in no way takes away from the storys impact. I think while it's true at times the narrative seems out of kilter, and that one can tell at times a rough draft has been used alongside a more finished draft, this is an outstanding piece of literature by one the great authors. I hope that more of his work will see the light of day, as he was truly gifted with one of the most vivid imaginations ever. The artwork presented in the book is also outstanding. Each frame presented a searing moment frozen in time, and make the story all the more compelling. Wrapping up, this isn't as well done as the Hobbit or the Lord of The Rings, as they are finished works completed in his lifetime. But, what was done is amazing, and certainly won't hurt Tolkiens' reputation as a master story-teller.

I have to admit that I was initially skeptical when I first heard that a `new' work was being published by J.R.R. Tolkien. I envisioned a book written containing a minimal influence of the master, cobbled together in order to make a buck. Thankfully my cynicism was short lived. It only took a bit of thought to dismiss that as ludicrous.

Christopher Tolkien has been nothing but a devoted son to his father in the years since his death, working tirelessly to bring forth the massive works of his father that would otherwise not have seen the light of day. I merely had to think back to how easily I lost myself in The Silmarillion to recall just how much Christopher Tolkien has influenced my love of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

In the introduction to The Children of Húrin Christopher Tolkien quotes a passage from a letter his father wrote in 1951 stating, "once upon a time (my crest has long since fallen) I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story - the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendour from the vast backcloths...I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched." Despite leaving many works unfinished, over the course of a long life of writing I believe J.R.R. Tolkien went a long way towards accomplishing that very goal.

In the earliest days of his writing career, in the trenches of WWI, J.R.R. Tolkien began many of the tales of the Elder days that would eventually make up the stories of the First Age of Middle-earth told in The Silmarillion. One such tale was that of Húrin, the man who dared to defy the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, to his face. The lives of Húrin, his wife Morwen, his son Túrin and his daughter Nienor are touched on in The Silmarillion. This then, The Children of Húrin, is the more detailed unfolding of the curse of Morgoth upon the lives of the offspring of Húrin.

By now it should be evident that The Children of Húrin is no tale of happiness and triumph, like The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. No, The Children of Húrin is a tragedy in the grandest sense, no doubt influenced (as were all of J.R.R. Tolkien's works) by the epic poems and stories that fueled Tolkien's love of language from an early age. As a piece of the rich history that is Middle-earth, this story is deliciously tragic. The whole of the stories of Middle-earth, from the creation of the world up through the defeat of the Dark Lord Sauron, is really one of both triumph and tragedy. Like our own true history, victories both great and small often come from those who are less than perfect...those whose very lives are tragedies despite moments of heroic glory. Such is the case of Túrin Turambar. It is this common bond that we share with the characters of Middle-earth that makes this sad tale such an enjoyable read. All along the way Túrin Turambar and others of the house of Húrin have opportunities to apparantely cast aside the doom that overshadows them from the curse of Morgoth. But like any good tragedy, they simply cannot escape their fate. In the end The Children of Húrin is a welcome addition to the lore of Middle-earth.

It is evident upon picking up a copy of The Children of Húrin that this book was a labor of love. It is beautiful in every way. The art of Alan Lee included in the book is amazing. In addition the glorious cover, there are 8 color plates of new watercolor paintings that Alan Lee created especially for this book as well as 25 pencil illustrations. As much as I love the painted works of Alan Lee, it is his pencil illustrations that always make me stare in wonder. His is an unmatched talent and the the illustrations beginning each chapter of The Children of Húrin simply must be seen. In addition to the main tale, there is a preface in which Christopher Tolkien gives a very interesting history of the story, an introduction in which an overview of the First Age of the world is given, notes on pronunciation, 3 genealogies, two appendices (The Evolution of the Great Tales and The Composition of the Text), a list of names, and a new, fold-out map of the world of this age. It is a Lord of the Rings geek's dream.

Will everyone like The Children of Húrin? I don't think so. If you are not a fan of melancholy tragedies or a lover of all the minutiae of Middle-earth then this probably is not the book for you. If, however, The Silmarillion filled you with a profound sense of wonder, as it did me, then I highly recommend this book. It was such a joy to `hear' the voice of J.R.R. Tolkien once again. It only took the first few pages of the story itself to bring a satisfying smile to my face, for here was the master at work again. I am so thankful for the dedication of Christopher Tolkien (who, I discoverd, I share a birthday with) to bring us this work. It is indeed tragic, but richly so.

The Children of Hurin proved hard going at first, but after some perseverance it did reveal the Tolkien genius and things began falling into place. In my opinion, one needs to have read the The Silmarillion for background in order to fully understand where this history fits into the greater scheme of things. A fold-out map helps with the geography.

In the preface it is explained when and how JRR Tolkien worked on the long version of the legend of the children of Hurin as an independent work and how the current text came about, whilst the introduction provides a brief discussion of Beleriand and its peoples near the end of the elder days. There is also a note on pronunciation.

The narrative takes the reader through the lands of Hithlum, Mithrim, Dor-Lomin, Dimbar, Brethil, Doriath, Talath Dirnen and Dorthonion. It begins with the childhood of Hurin and the Battle of Unnumbered Tears which marked the decline of the Eldar when Hithlum was lost. Hurin and his descendants were cursed by Morgoth whose evil realm was then expanding.

As a young boy, Turin left Hithlum for the hidden Elvish kingdom of Doriath where he stayed some years. After a dispute with an Elf, he left to become an outlaw. He eventually established a home on the mountain Amon Rudh, the domain of the petty dwarf Mim. This outpost was lost to the orcs through treachery.

Thereafter, Turin dwelt in the Elvish city of Nargothrond until its fall. Afterwards he established a home amongst the people of the forest of Brethil. At this time his sister left Doriath, lost her memory in an encounter with the dragon Glaurung and came to Brethil, with tragic consequences.

The wingless dragon made its way toward Brethil, intending to destroy this outpost, when the highlight of the book occurs: Turin's slaying of Glaurung. If one perseveres through the first difficult pages one will certainly enjoy this great tale of tragedy. It has all the Tolkien trademarks - an intricate plot, gripping imagery and elegant use of language.

There are beautiful colour plates and black & white illustrations throughout the text. The Genealogies section includes the House of Hador & People of Haleth, the House of Beor and the Princes of the Noldor. The Appendix includes The Evolution of the Great Tales and The Composition of the Text, and the book concludes with a List of Names.

Tolkien Bestiary by David Day

(Spoiler alert) Not only was this book's story line frustrating, as there was little-to-no redemption and epic doom that was hardly resolve, but (at least in the kindle edition) the chapter titles gave away far more than I would've liked about what was to come in the chapter. "The death of..." "The fall of..." many chapter titles spoiled parts of the plot.
However, I must say it was well written and interesting. I read it quickly and pretty easily. The reason it frustrated me so much was that I cared a lot about the characters, which in my opinion is the sign of good character development, and overall a well-formed story.

The Children of Hurin is a tale set during the First Age of Middle Earth, many centuries before the events in The Lord of the Rings. For those who have read Rings, this tale was slightly referenced in Rings, but isn't particularly connected to those events; The Children of Hurin is more of the mythology of Middle Earth. This story here is connected to Rings in two chief ways: it follows the family of Hurin, who was Elrond's great-grandfather's brother, and it's a tale about Morgoth, the Dark Lord who was Sauron's master.

Tolkein was a linguist by training, and he had a tendency early in his career to let his linguistic tendencies get the better of him. His prose in The Silmarillion is nearly so ponderous and unreadable in places that it would make Joyce blush with shame. His original work on The Children of Hurin would have followed this unfortuate trend, as his first attempt at the story, according to an appendix written by Christopher Tolkein, was an epic Beowulf-style poem that ran to 4,000 lines and never moved past the halfway mark of the story. I actually swore off of Tolkein after slogging my way through The Silmarillion, but I gave The Children of Hurin a shot for probably the shallowest of reasons: I liked the cover art.

Fortunately, though, Tolkein came back to the Hurin story after Rings, and the result is a fairly readable, interesting tale. While I won't spoil the ending, it's not necessarily an original story idea, but Tolkein does a masterful job of concealing his destination. The story isn't a roller coaster ride, but it's about as close to a page-turner as Tolkein gets.

If you liked Rings, wanted to read more about Middle Earth, and nearly went comatose attempting The Silmarillion, give The Children of Hurin a look.

Anyone who has read the "Silmarillion" is already familiar with the Tale of Turin Turambar presented in the Children of Hurin. The book is a longer more fleshed out version of the Story of Morgoth's Curse on the Hero Hurin and his family because of the Patriarch's defiance of the Dark Enemy.

The story is a tragedy that takes place thousands of years before the events of the LOTR during the First Age of Middle Earth. Morgoth is the Great Enemy who seeks to destroy the Elves and their human allies and bring all of the World under his control(Sauron is a minion and the Wizards have not yet come from the West). Hurin is a leader of the Men who side with the Elves who is captured following the defeat of the Eldar by Morgoth. He defies Morgoth who curses him and his family in revenge.

Hurin's youngest child dies young from a plague. His kingdom is given to Easterling allies of Morgoth. The elves come to rescue his family but his pregnant wife refuses to leave and his son Turin goes to live with the elves where he grows up to be a great warrior. The family reunites at one time or another with tragic consequences.

Hurin's family all make tragic choices which eventually bring doom to themselves and their friends. It is hinted that they are destined to make these choices due to the curse of Morgoth. Redemption eventually comes to Middle Earth thru the descendants of Hurin's brother Huor but that is another story.

I find the story to be a great tragedy and would make a terrific play but it is in no way as good of a work of Literature as "The Lord of the Rings" though it holds up well to the "Hobbit".

A nice feature is the illustrations. They help to flesh out the characters and the places in the book.

If you are a Tolkien fan you will enjoy this book.

My 4-star rating applies, I think, largely to those seriously interested either in Tolkien's creations, or mythology in general. Although reading the less accessible Silmarillion is definitely not necessary prior to reading this, I think a curiosity about Middle Earth beyond the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit stories is essential to get the most out of Children of Hurin. The book reads somewhat like Beowulf, or Gilgamesh, or Norse sagas, in a somewhat archaic voice and, unlike the Lord of the Rings, the plot is not as tight, and the characters are not as developed. Also, there is not the same sense of starting with something very small and personal and slowly growing over thousands of pages to something so huge and earth-shattering as to be almost unimaginable. I think that is one of the greatest strengths of the Lord of the Rings, and any semblance of that is missing here. This is the story of an unfortunate man, who lives a cursed life, and it follows his various adventures and trials. But the setting and mythos is unmistakably Middle Earth, though at a much earlier time, with elves and dwarves and Dunedain and orcs and a dragon and hidden strongholds and a dark lord. One interesting item of note is the presence of not one, but several strong, important female characters, something missing from Tolkien's more well-known stories. There is even a female Gandalf counterpart, though she plays a much smaller role.

I enjoyed the book greatly, but I am, unabashedly, a Tolkien fanatic, so my point of view is undoubtedly colored by that. One last note: the map in the back is unutterably annoying as it lacks notation of many of places that are mentioned in the book.

This is one of those amazing things that you didn't see coming. A book by an author who has been dead a very long time. True, Christopher Tolkien is not dead (he put this whole thing together and finished undone sections and chapters), but his father wrote the genesis of this book, and he is dead. J.R.R. Tolkien is my favorite author and he's part of the reason I became a fantasy writer. I loved this book and enjoyed going back to Middle-earth again. It is such a tragic tale and you can read other reviews to know what the story line is about, but suffice it to say that bad things happen. The art in the book is amazing as well and I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever loved Lord of the Rings. You don't need to read The Silmarillion to understand this novel.
The Children of Hurin is a tale I shall never forget.

Paul Genesse
Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series

First let me say, if you are looking to read this book with expectations of LOTR then you may be a bit disappointed. However, i found this to be a good read. The story is more like a classical Shakespearean book for the 1900's and 2000's than it is a fictional fun read. The story however is a fascinating one. Hurins children must battle through the fog of life placed upon them by the evil Morgoth. The main focus of the story is Hurin's son Turin. As Turin goes through his life he is continuously dealt the bad hand as everything that could go wrong in a man's life will and does.
The story is a good read but not quite what i had in mind. Much easier than the silmarillion but much more slow then LOTR. I love Tolkein and i truely believe that people will be reading his stories hundreds of years from today... If you want to read a classic before it becomes one then you may want to read this one.

So you think you can't have a good Middle Earth story without Hobbits and rings? Think again.

The plot concerns Turin, son of Hurin, who defied Morgoth (the original Dark Lord). In retribution, Morgoth cursed Hurin's children, and forced Hurin to stay in one place until his purpose is fulfilled. When Turin is young, he leaves his home at his mother Morwen's request, fearing that he will become a slave upon the Easterling invasion. (Morwen bears a daughter, Neinor, right after he leaves.) Turin then embarks to the Elf realm of Doriath. After an altercation with another elf, he is forced to flee and joins an outlaw gang, which he eventually leaves. After coming and going to Nordath, another Elven settlement, Turin settles down with the woodmen of Brethin and re-names himself Turambar. Some twenty years after Turin left, Morwen and Nienor finally go searching for him, and are confronted by the powerful dragon Glaurung, who makes Smaug look rather tame. Nienor, Turin, Glaurung, and Morgoth's curse come to intersect into a tragic conclusion. I will not reveal what happens exactly, but don't expect a happy ending in the style of "Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit."

"Children of Hurin" makes the First Age of Middle-Earth accessible to the general public. Previously, only dedicated Tolkien readers had much knowledge of any stories in Middle-Earth not taking place in the Lord of the Rings world. Given the wide publicity and printing of this book, hopefully that will change.

Finally, the long wait is over. I have anticipated reading this book for more than a year and a half. Since the first time that I read on the Internet that our beloved Christopher was working on this project. Counting off the days to its release, (which also happened to be my wife's birthday,) I realized that I probably would not be able to afford the book for some time. It felt kind of lame trying to justify buying it for my wife's birthday, as it would obviously be for me, (although she is almost as big a fan as I am). So I waited. But not to worry, my own birthday was only a short three and a half months away, and I could usually count on at least one or two books. Well the birthday left me with many books about Tolkien, various commentaries on his works that were part of the general explosion of all things Tolkien a few years back, but not the one that is the subject of this review. So with much new reading awaiting me, my desire to read the Children was temporarily sated and put in the back of my mind. After all I reasoned, I already know the story, having read all the various and shorter published versions. So I could wait.
Enter Christmas 2007. I was excited that I had finally received a copy, but the excitement was somewhat overshadowed by also receiving a copy of an "almost" final draft of my best friend's book. Now that I had a copy in my possession, I started reading it almost at once. Feeling like a child with one of those large candy cane sticks pulled from a stocking, I decided to take my time, savor it, make it last. Well, I did pretty good. I made it go for about two weeks. And let me tell you. It was worth all the anticipation. I enjoyed every word of it.
Now that I have went on long enough about me and my relationship to this book, I shall proceed to write about the book itself, and the history of its creation.
To start, I must say this. This is a tragic tale. While most of his works on Beleriand (the land where this takes place) are tragic in nature, this one is the most so. It is very personal, following the life of Hurin and his sister Nienor, whereas the other tragic works of Tolkien tend to follow more along the lines of a race, a people or nation, battle or series of battles.
The first writings of this tale can be found in The Book of Lost Tales Vol II pg69. The title of this early version is called Turambar and the Foaloke. Here we see that most of the events in the Children are present in Tolkien's mind, although the order in which things take place have changed quite a lot. Another major difference is the names of people and places. Very few of the names that become familiar to the reader of the Children are the same here. Some have minor changes in structure and pronunciation, but others are totally different. To Tolkien the evolution of his languages was as if not more important to him as the evolution of his stories.
The next major development can be found in The Lays of Beleriand, the third book in the Histories of Middle Earth. This is called the Lay of the Children of Hurin, and it begins on page 3. This version is my personal favorite. It is an excellent tale put into the format of a long poem or lay. Sadly it is only about two-thirds completed. For me this portrayal is the most visual, leaving in the mind many details that are not to be found in his prose.
Throughout the rest of the Histories there are references to slight and minor changes that were made to the text and storyline. But it is not until we encounter Unfinished Tales that we find the next major step in the evolutionary history of the Children. This can be found on page 57 and is titled Narn I Hin Hurin. Though far from finished, this contains the narrative that Tolkien was working on before his untimely death. This is the rendering that was meant to be the "final" version, and is what we would be reading right now instead of the book that I am now reviewing. There are many elements missing here, but they are from all over the story, as he was rewriting portions here and there. In fact the most complete section is probably the ending.
From here we move on to the Silmarillion, the sourcebook if you will, of all things elvish. This book contains all the short, condensed versions of stories from the First Age. In this version of Turin, Christopher had to delve through all the different versions to come up with a quick cohesive narrative, showing little more than the highlights of the story. Nonetheless it is well done. Reading even just this short version conveys almost as much tragedy as the novel version does. And as this was the first published version, it was all the public knew about Turin for a number of years.
Now Christopher, who has worked very hard to have most everything his father wrote published, has taken from all these various sources, and created a new and comprehensive work. Editorially this was a huge task. Trying to pick through them all to find the right word, sentence, paragraph, or passage and put them all into a flowing readable narrative could be nothing more than a labor of love that is usually reserves for the author. So I am sure he made some choices about narrative that his father might frown upon, but we are also given a novel that offers us a full look at one of Tolkien's most important stories from the Eldar Days when Men where much more than the men we see in The Lord of the Rings, (excepting Aragorn of course, who was modeled after the great Men from before).
All that I can really say is that if you are a fan of Tolkien then you should buy this, read it, and hopefully love and enjoy it as much as I have.

Just when you think they can't find another draft, note, poem or shopping list written by J.R.R. Tolkien, something new pops up.

But in the case of "The Children of Húrin," the result is a surprisingly solid and lucid story, full of familiar characters from other books about the history of Middle-Earth. Tolkien's timeless, formal prose and richly-imagined world make this novella pop from the pages, especially without his son's stuffier footnotes.

It opens with the story of Huon and Hurin, heroic brothers who lived back in the first age. But when battling the terrible Morgoth (the Middle-Earth Satan), Huor is slain and Hurin is taken prisoner by Morgoth, who torments and curses him. The Easterlings overrun his lands, and in fear for her son and unborn baby, Hurin's wife Morwen sends her son away to be fostered in Doriath.

And so Turin grows up in Doriath, until the day when he feels the need to go out and defend his distant family. His adventures take him through Middle-Earth, encountering great elves, orcs, lives with outlaws, and Mim the petty-dwarf. But his life is cursed by Morgoth -- as is the mysterious girl he falls in love with -- and his downfall will be one of horror and disgrace, even as he slays the most terrible dragon in Middle-Earth, Glaurung.

This book is actually a jigsaw puzzle -- Tolkien worked on the interrelated stories and poetry throughout his lifetime, but he never quite finished a solid cohesive story. So Christopher Tolkien cobbled together these various stories with Tolkien's unfinished works, pasted them together, and the result was "The Children of Húrin."

Surprisingly, the resulting story is very solid and strong, with a darker finale than "Lord of the Rings." While the main storyline is about Hurin and his son, it's sprinkled with familiar characters, such as Melian and Morgoth. And the rich, tragic storyline is full of noble elves, great human heroes, ancient lost cities and even a vengeful, talking sword.

And Tolkien's writing is somewhere between his "Silmarillion" style and his "Lord of the Rings" style -- it's formal and archaic, but he includes strong descriptions ("A flash of white swallowed in the dark chasm, a cry lost in the roaring of the river") and dialogue ("You are one of the fools that spring would not mourn if you perished in winter". One of the best scenes is when Morgoth and Hurin argue about theology and the "circles of the world" on a tower.

Despite the formality of his writing, the characters really pop out of their stories -- Turin is fierce, passionate and tragic, and his last scenes are absolutely stunning. His noble father and moody mother also come across well, and we get plenty of other colourful characters, from snitty elves to the evil Morgoth himself, who torments Hurin by forcing him to see everything Morgoth sees.

Since the actual story is only about two hundred pages long, it's fleshed out considerably by Christopher Tolkien's introduction and appendices, which explain about the writing and construction of the stories and poems, as well as a pronunciation guide, and a series of family trees.

And Alan Lee provides several beautiful drawings (both black-and-white and color), including Doriath's forests, eagles carrying Hurin and Huor, elven smiths, the dragon, Elf warriors, and finally the death of Turin, over a grey river under some burned trees.

Despite its brevity, "The Children of Húrin" is a stunning, brilliant piece of work, full of Tolkien's vibrant storytelling and memorable characters. Definitely a must-read.

Everybody knows by now what the book is about, so let me avoid getting into that, and instead provide a brief summary of what worked and what didn't work for me in this book.

What worked:

* The narrative style makes this book far easier to read and digest than most of the other works

* The story has a very nice and easy flow, because it does not get caught up in sub-plots, sub-sub-plots, sub-sub-sub-plots and so on and so forth.

What didn't work:

* This book does not get caught up in sub-plots, sub-sub-plots...

Really, what is a Tolkien book if not complex? Isn't one of the key reasons why we all love his work his intricately woven meshes of glorious tales which span eras, peoples, cultures, and geographies? Let it take twice or thrice as much time to read, but give me that mess any day over the simplicity and innocuousness of this book. But hey, that's just a personal bias, and I will be the first one to admit that a lot of people I know who found reading LOTR difficult will easily be able to digest this. In fact, this might be a good way to get some of the uninitiated into the folds of this world.

Net-net, if you aren't a part of Tolkien's world, start here - this is really easy. And if you are, then like me, you are going to read it irrespective of what anybody says - so go for it!

"The Children of Hurin" will hold an odd place in any Tolkien fan's library. It is much more readable than the "Silmarillion" but not as intimate a narrative as "The Lord of the Rings." This dark and often overly gloomy tale is reminiscent of the Icelandic sagas from the Middle Ages. Like the heroes of those tales, there is a tragic dignity to the protagonist Turin despite his many flaws. "The Children of Hurin" seems more the creation of Tolkien the professor of literature than Tolkien the creator of new worlds. There are subtle glimpses of "Beowulf" and "Gawain and the Green Knight" and not so subtle pieces of Greek and Germanic tragedy included in the work. The book has a number of charming illustrations and a useful summary and appendix. The only real question is how much of the book is J.R.R Tolkien and how much is his son and literary executor Christopher? That question may be of more concern to scholars than fans but it remains a legitimate one especially as, as Christopher Tolkien admits in the introduction, some of the book dates from very early in his father's career. The book flows too well and the narrative too unchanged; one is forced to concede some serious editing has been done and this raises some problems. Literary scholars were up in arms when they discovered how much editing was done with Thomas Wolfe's posthumous works ("You Can't Go Home Again" and, to a lesser extent, "The Web and the Rock") as well as Papa Ernest's ("True at First Light" being the chief example). If Tolkien is the great writer his advocates claim him to be, the same concerns should be raised here and, unlike some of his other works, Christopher Tolkien is not as upfront as he has been about the editing process. This raises come questions. Still, while not for casual readers (though better surely for them than say "The Silmarillion"), "The Children of Hurin" is a welcome addition to Middle Earth.

'The Children of Hurin' - in many ways an expanded chapter of 'The Silmarillion' - is the dark and tragic tale of Turin, the great Hero of Men in the First Age of Middle Earth.

Thousands of years before the events of 'The Hobbit' or 'The Lord of the Rings' the race of Men is proud and the Elves have yet to start their long decline which culminated with their leaving Middle Earth at the end of LOTR. The struggle between Morgoth and the Free Races in 'The Children of Hurin' is the struggle between great powers at their height. There are no reluctant heros in this tale.

After 'The Battle of Unnumbered Tears' Hurin, Human King of Belirand, was captured by Morgoth. When Hurin refused to give Morgoth the location of the hidden Elven city of Gondolin, Morgoth cursed Hurin's children. 'The Children of Hurin' is their tortured story.

Other reviewers have recounted the basic plot and I won't bore you by rehashing it. Instead, I'll give you my impression of the book.

'The Children of Hurin' is Tolkien at his darkest. You imagine this Middle Earth as a dark and frightening place, where even the power and fierceness of those on the side of 'good' is terrifying. This is the story of a cursed man. There are no bright spots, no comic turns, no Samwise Gamgee or Pippin to lighten the mood. This is a story where every character is some version of Boromir, Farimir, and the Last Steward of Gondor. Pride, deceit, struggle, violence and defeat dominate.

The language is slightly more archaic than that of 'The Lord of the Rings' but far less so than 'The Silmarillion,' giving us a very readable story. 'The Children of Hurin' is full of all the same detail and history that we are used to from Tolkien's other works. This story is every bit as good as the rest of the Tolkien canon. The Dragons, the swords, the magical cities and power of fate that Tolkien gave us in 'The Lord of the Rings' is here in spades.

For any true Tolkien fan, 'The Children of Hurin' is unmissable. For those who enjoyed 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' but failed to get through 'The Silmarillion' this new posthumous release is a great inroad into the history of Middle Earth.

This story is not as good as Lord of the Rings, however it is nice to revisit the same world in an earlier time. This story was written by a younger Tolkien and it is amazing to see how much he improved in Storytelling. You can see the seeds here, but his storytelling is, in this tale, a work in progress. It is actually refreshing to know that Tolkien wasn't simply born an exceptional writer, but rather through craft and practice developed his skill, opened it up. It is here though, as I mentioned, the seeds. You can see a glimpse into his elegant way of understating details to make them even more engaging. The story itself is nice. It doesn't flow and engross like LOTR, but it is nice. It's a nice little story. I don't know if this book is worth the hefty price. The illustrations are nice, and the index is nice as well, however the story is so short. I wish that they had included the other lost tales in with this one and made it an all encompassing book. This is definitely one of the better ancient, or lost tales, but it is almost clear that they should, and could be put together in one book. I enjoyed it. I love the world of Tolkien, and revisiting it. Do not expect LOTR, but it is a seed of the story, and told with a glimpse of that later beautiful story telling, and word craft. His son does a nice job in presenting all of his father's work. I like how he leaves it very raw, even the map.

The Children of Hurin is such a beautiful and very well written book, fully as magnificent as the LOTR. I was very pleased with the book. The characters are described in the way that only Tolkien can describe them. The scenes are in the finest detail imaginable. Highly recommended for those who enjoy Tolkien.

"The Doom lies in yourself not in your name"- Gwindor

JRR Tolkien was often unsatisfied with his stories and would repeatedly rewrite them, with the result that he left many unfinished stories at his death. Most of these have been collected in various posthumous publications. One of the most polished of these tales is the Tale of the children of Hurin. A shorter, summarized version appeared as a chapter in the Silmarillion, but here Christopher Tolkien has stitched a complete narrative from many different versions- versions in some cases spaced decades apart.

Having read Unfinished tales and the The History of Middle Earth series I am very familiar with this story. Still I am very glad that it was published and I wish there some way to do the same to some other tales Tolkien left unfinished (especially the later ones concerning the fall of Doriath, Gondolin and the voyages of Earendil).

The Children of Hurin is definitely the darkest tale of those appearing in the Silmarillion. Turin is a complex hero, brave, handsome and a skilled warrior, he is also proud, stubborn and quick to anger. It is these flaws in his character that seals his doom not any curse of Morgoth's.

Some have complained of all the names, but let's face it, that just comes with the territory in fantasy. Others have found the archaic language difficult. However I found the style made the story more powerful and mythic, evoking a legend told down through generations.

Finally the illustrations are uniformly excellent. Unfortunately fantasy illustrations tend to the cheesy but Alan Lee has done a magnificent job here.

To some extent we have to be thankful for Christopher Tolkien's passion for his father's work. Inevitably it's because of him that this story was presented to the world. I gather many more stories of J.R.R.T's repertoire remained unpublished, were it not for his son they would remain hidden from our eyes.

This epic fantasy story embroiders you into it's entrails. The tragic curse the family of Hurin suffered is quite comparable to the dramas created by Shakespeare. Extrapolate Shakespeare's creativity to the world of Fantasy and add to it the salt and pepper Tolkien gives his stories and voilá, you have The Children of Hurin in your hands.

So, it seems that somehow JRR Tolkien has come back from the dead to publish a new book that will put the legions and legions of pulp fantasy books around today to shame (no offense towards modern fantasy!). After some time editing, Christopher Tolkien has released "The Children of Hurin", the long tale version of the story of Turin Turambar from the Silmarillion.

Few quick facts about the book. Yes, it is the "long tale" version of that book but it still isn't very long. Counting the introduction (which I agree with others, this is VERY valuable and informative), and the appendixes (mainly made up of geneologies and glossaries taken from The Silmarillion, I think) the book is about 350 pages. It comes illustrated with artwork by Alan Lee, which is a very nice addition. However, It's sad that right now no cheaper version is available then the $26 hardcover illustrated version. For those who don't know, here's a very quick and mainly spoiler free synopsis- the book is about Turin Turumbar, son of the warrior Hurin. Turin's life is cursed by the dark lord of the time, Morgoth, due to the actions of his father. The curse follows him around no matter where he goes, and brings most of his action, good intention or not, to evil.

I've read the book and I can honestly say that this is undeniably JRR Tolkien's work, not some thrown together attempt to make some money for the Tolkien estate (though I'm sure it will do that, too). Don't believe me? Just read the first few pages. The writing is very much the style that would be expected for a JRR Tolkien, though more like the Silmarillion than the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit.

The book delivers on many levels, but fails on a few. First I'll start with the good things.

The book reads a lot like an Old English epic, but there's a bit more character depth. Unlike Lord of the Rings, this book only has 1 main character as opposed to twelve. So this one character is a lot more developed then most of the characters in the Lord of the Rings. Secondly, though the story will probably be old for a few, I feel that this book is the most enjoyable version of the tale of Turin that can be read. Finally, the writing is simply stellar in the book, as well as some of the dialogue. The Children of Hurin contains some very memorable passages, like Turin's conversations and reuninciation with Sador, the meeting with Glaurung, and Hurin's mockery.

As for the bad, well... the book is too short! Ironically, Tolkien could have spent more time describing environments, character's appearences, and fight scenes. However, when describing characters in this book he focuses mainly on their geneology. And though many fight scenes are wonderfully written, some are lacking, i.e. "Turin drove the goblins back through the forest". Finished. The End. Fight Over.

So this book is very enjoyable to read, very interesting, probably one of Tolkien's more philosophical works. The Children of Hurin is one of the best tales from Middle Earth, and I'm glad to see it published in this format. Yet it could be longer and more descriptive. Still, Children of Hurin has every right to hang with JRR's other books. I would love to see a "long" version of some of the other tales, such as "Beren and Luthien", published.

I am a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, but certainly not an expert. This means that though I've read his three seminal works: The Hobbit,The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Silmarillion, I had very little idea of what "The Children of Hurin" was about when I picked up a copy at the second-hand bookshop.

My memory was jogged as soon as I started reading, and I realized that the story of Turin was one I had previously come across in "The Silmarillion", Tolkien's massive tome that lays out the mythology and early history of Middle Earth. However, to quote from its pages: "Here that tale is told in brief... and it is called the Tale of Grief, for it is sorrowful, and in it are revealed most evil works of Morgoth Bauglir."

In other words "The Children of Hurin" is an expanded version of the single chapter within "The Silmarillion" that relates the life and death of Turin, one of the great heroes of Middle Earth's history. Set six and a half thousand years before the events of "The Lord of the Rings", Turin is born to Hurin and Morwen of the House of Hador, and is still a young boy when his father joins a host of Elves and Men to battle against the threat of Morgoth.

Hurin inspires the Dark Lord's wrath by withholding information after his capture, and so a terrible curse is laid upon his children: "Wherever they go, evil shall arise. Whenever they speak, their words shall bring ill counsel. Whatsoever they do shall turn against them. They shall die without hope, cursing both life and death."

The curse also includes Turin's as-yet unborn sister Nienor (who has a small but important role towards the end of the story), and touches all those who cross the path of the siblings, whether friend or foe. As Turin grows to manhood he wanders from place to place - from Elven kingdoms to Dwarven chambers, keeping company with anyone from outlaws to great kings, ever running from the doom he feels creeping toward him.

Finally he chooses to battle Glaurung, the first and greatest of all the dragons, little knowing that his enemy has been slowly but methodically arranging all aspects of his life to ensure he fulfils the tragedy that's been designed for him.

The story, at least in broad strokes, will be familiar to anyone who has read "The Silmarillion." This is not brand new material by any means; what Christopher Tolkien has done is sift through his father's notes and put together a more fleshed-out version of a familiar tale. For those unfamiliar with "The Silmarillion", the purpose of the book is simply to present "The Children of Hurin" as an independent work, with Christopher Tolkien's introduction providing the necessary context to various places, events and characters that make up the story's backdrop. (As such, you cannot help but feel that though the story is complete in itself, it is part of a much grander body of work).

But for those who know Tolkien's invented history well, the book provides greater depth to his work: new minor characters, further insights and descriptions, more details and dialogue than "The Silmarillion" was capable of. For the sake of comparison, Turin's story is told in 37 pages in "The Silmarillion", and 259 pages in "The Children of Hurin." Of course, the font in the former book is significantly smaller, but that's still a sizable difference.

To further illustrate this difference; here are two paragraphs, each describing the same event, as they exist in each manuscript. First, from "The Silmarillion":

A daughter they also had who was called Lalaith, which is Laughter; but when she was three years old there came a pestilence to Hithlum, borne on an evil wind out of Angband, and she died.

And now from "The Children of Hurin":

But before the year was out the truth of his father's words was shown; for the Evil Breath came to Dor-lomin,and Turin took sick, and lay long in a fever and dark dream. And when he was healed, for such was his fate and the strength of life that was in him, he asked for Lalaith. But his nurse answered: "Speak no more of Lalaith, son of Hurin, but of your sister Urwen you must ask tidings of your mother."

And when Morwen came to him, Turin said to her: "I am no longer sick, and I wish to see Urwen, but why must I not say Lalaith any more?"

"Because Urwen is dead, and laughter is stilled in this house," she answered. "But you live, son of Morwen; and so does the Enemy who has done this to us."

"The Children of Hurin" captures some of the grandiosity of Old/Middle English epics such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, though the fact that this is the work of a single imagination and not an amalgamation of many retellings told across several centuries gives it a slightly different flavour. It reads like a cross between a legend and recorded history; its consistency drawn from Tolkien's vision, but with the definite sense that it exists on a much larger scale than he was able to fully control. Some characters appear and disappear at random; certain plot developments are left open-ended - which all adds to the sense that this is a real history and not a simplistic "story from Middle Earth".

It's a lot darker than people might be expecting from the man who wrote "The Hobbit", as the story includes grisly deaths, brother/sister incest, and psychological torture that goes on for years and years, but Tolkien was writing a tragedy, and it's these components that put "The Children of Hurin" alongside selected Shakespeare and Greek myths when it comes to the battering that life bestows upon its protagonists.

With that in mind, it's important to know exactly what you're getting yourself into when you start "The Children of Hurin." As memorable as the characters in "The Lord of the Rings" are, they're not what you would call deep character studies. With perhaps the exception of the hobbits, they are more archetypes than three-dimensional characters, and painted in very black or white distinctions.

The characters here feel even more remote, with virtually no insight on what makes them tick. Of course, this does not necessarily translate into a bad book (insight into the characters is simply not what the story is about) but a reader does need to exert their own imagination when it comes to filling in the blanks of what a character might be thinking or feeling. The gamut of love, fear, hope and despair is presented, but not delved into.

Once you get used to the archaic prose and the relatively simple characterization, "The Children of Hurin" is a strangely intoxicating read. There's a dreamy quality to the writing, not suited for those who like meaty characters, but with a depth and scope in its world-building of which Tolkien is the undisputed master.

The book also includes a pronunciation guide, maps, genealogies, a character index, and two appendixes discussing Christopher Tolkien's editing choices, providing a fairly comprehensive guide to Tolkien's original vision.

And of course, nothing tops Alan Lee's beautiful watercolours and pencil sketches. By now he's considered the quintessential illustrator of Tolkien's work, and so it's only natural that his work be included here.

I should make it clear that this story is not a happy tale, and no doubt you've heard the same from others. But to simply call it that without going further does it a disservice. Although this may be a tragic story, throughout the narrative it remains clear that the main character at the outset, Turin son of Hurin, could very well have made different choices. Though Morgoth doomed him, Morgoth's power is not absolute, and even some of Turin's ill-fated choices have some positive consequences at given times. Even after dismal defeats Turin picks up his life and tries to move forward, and there is something very admirable about his determination and resilience despite his flaws (chiefly pride, arrogance, and quick anger).

As some reviewers have noted, one of the unique aspects of this book is its archaic language. Though some readers may find that this makes it that much harder to become engrossed in the characters, I found it enhanced my ability to empathize with them. This is because the archaic, epic style of the narrative breathes consequence into every paragraph, conversation, and decision the characters make. There is never any question in the story about the importance of what is at stake. In a similar way, the characters act intelligently and the flourished language gives special weight to their actions.

I would highly recommend this book, particularly to all who have read the LOTR. This is a book whose heartache and tragedy will let you go back and read the LOTR trilogy with that much more appreciation for the good that transpires from the efforts of four little hobbits, Gandalf, and many others. It also reaffirms the epic scope and breadth of Tolkien's world, if you ever doubted its immensity or depth in the first place.

There's not much that I can add to previous reviews in terms of informing the prospective reader what is contained within, so I'll confine myself to a few pertinent notes. On the positive side, Turin comes off as a much more sympathetic figure than he does in The Simarillion; we understand much more of his background, character, and motivations, which mitigate his arrogance and rashness; and of course, JRR Tolkien's gorgeous prose is always a delight to read: few authors have such a gift for the English language. On the negative side, Christopher Tolkien's decision as to where to end the narrative is guaranteed to frustrate fans of The Silmarillion, or Unfinished Tales, who will understandably want to see the story brought to its logical and tragic conclusion with Hurin's subsequent actions after the novel's end.

Having read Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion I couldn't wait to read this book when it first came out, but life stepped in and prevented me from reading it before recently. I must say that I absolutely adored this book, and it quenched my fantasy thirst as only Tolkien could. The notes, genealogies, and the appendix were simply delightful and really added to my enjoyment. It was so helpful to have a pronunciation guide included so I didn't have to flip into one of my other books to see how words were pronounced. I could keep a bookmark right on the page and just flip back if I forgot that "au" = "ow" and that is a wonderful thing to me. It was also nice to see some of Tolkien's poetry in the appendix including an excerpt from the alliterative Children of Hurin. All in all, anyone captivated by the works of Tolkien should own a copy of this book.

I write this review as one who qualifies himself as a fan of Tolkien but not a fanatic. I've read "Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit", and "Silmarillion" as well some of the man's shorter works, but I am not able to conjugate verbs in Elvish or recite Aragorn's entire family tree. With that stated, I can only say that I found "The Children of Hurin" to be a mighty fine read.

The story, as most folks doubtlessly know, is set in Tolkien's world long before the events of "Lord of the Rings", back when Morgoth still menaced the lands of elves and men. Hurin was a great warrior, but lead his men into disaster at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. He left behind a wife and two small children. The elder of the two, his son Turin, is the focus of this book.

Turin is one of Tolkien's most compelling characters. He begins as an angry youth, whose wrath interacts poorly with the desperate circumstances that he lives in. To keep him safe, he is sent to be a ward with the elves, but in young adulthood his temper gets him into trouble. That's all in the opening chapters. The remainder of the book has lots more; the plotting is much more brisk than in "Lord of the Rings". But through it all, the character of Turin carves out a destiny shaped by both his positive and negative sides.

I was skeptical to pick up another "posthumous" Tolkien, after attempting the Silmarillion. This was an exciting and fascinating read though. Instead of pure myth, it was a single story, with references to lore and myth (akin to LOTR).

A surprise publishing of a new Middle-Earth book is certainly cause for celebration. THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is stitched together from fragments and notes by Christopher Tolkien, JRRT's son and literary executor. The story of Turin and Nienor was told in full in THE SILMARILLION, but here it is given a more detailed, novelistic treatment. The prose is pure Tolkien, and holds together remarkably well, coinsidering how it is sewn together from fragments.

This is a very different work from THE LORD OF THE RINGS. In that work, no matter how desperate things seemed, there was always hope, a thread of hope that Frodo could somehow succeed. Here, no hope whatsoever -- it has the dark, brooding, doomed aura of Anglo-Saxon poetry (as well it might, considering Tolkien's inspirations.) Even so, the narrative moves along swiftly, and it has none of the dry, history-book quality of THE SILMARILLION. Its darkness is compelling.

You don't need to be a diehard Tolkien geek to enjoy this book. Recommended.

I just, minutes ago, completed this book, and I was very impressed. I was not sure I'd enjoy the read. I had read the Unfinished Tales and the Silmarillion, and while I enjoyed the material, the read itself was a bit strained.

I was very pleased with how easy to read this was in comparison. All of the notes related to it's telling are held back in the appendix, which allows the story to read through like a story, instead of a more scholastic piece. As others have said, you need not have read the other works to enjoy this book as well.

One thing I did find interesting was how this book seemed edgier compared to Tolken's other works. Given, the book itself has a dark tone to it, but this title just seemed a bit more violent than others. Even with this darker tone, it's still a great read!

I recently purchased this book because I am a fan of JRR Tolkein. I didn't know what to expect because of the reviews on it. Many said it was similar to The Silmarillion, which I attempted to read about 6 or 7 years ago. Remembering the difficulty I had trying to read it almost turned me away from looking at his book, but I listened to other reviewers who said it was more a a mix of Silmarillion and LOTR reading style. I figured I wasn't 14 anymore and that I could read it even if it was in the style of The Silmarillion. I am so glad I purchased it. It reminded me again of why I enjoyed reading, which I hadn't done for recreation since 2008. I felt the book was great and absorbed you right in. I used the map and names in the back often, but did have some previous knowledge on some of the names, such as Melkor(Morgoth), Gondolin, the Valar, and a few others. If you are a fan of JRR Tolkien and don't mind a darker tale that reads a bit differently than The Hobbit or LOTR, buy this book. I am now going to go onto reading LOTR and then attempt the Simarillion again.

A very impressive novel of the first age of Middle-Earth long before "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings." In this novel, Christopher Tolkien has finally edited (all of this was written in an unfinished form by J.R.R. Tolkien before his death) a tale from his father's mythology that is accessible for all readers and not just the super fans. You don't even need to have read "The Silmarillion" or any of Tolkien's other works in order to enjoy this. True, if you've already read "The Silmarillion," then you already know what is going to happen in this novel, but that doesn't mean you should pass this one by. The story plays out like a great tragedy that spans 2-3 generations of men of the the house of Hador and is very reminiscent of the Norse mythology that Tolkien admired so much. Because, even in the face of his "doom," Turin, the protagonist of the tale, fights on. The prose itself, embellished by Alan Lee's beautiful and haunting color paintings and pencil sketches, makes this one book that no fantasy fan, let alone Tolkien fan, should miss. Christopher Tolkien should give the tale of Beren and Luthien the same treatment as this.

My first complement for this work will be that it is written in an easy to understand manner. This is NOT the unbearable Silmarillion, which requires a Ph.D. in Tolkien-ology to read. Children of Hurin is written in a normal narrative structure and thus enjoyable and entertaining.

Children of Hurin is a tragic and brutal, yet still beautiful, piece of Middle Earth fiction set about 6,500 years before Bilbo's famous journey. The story of Hurin and his cursed children (which I won't spoil here) is sad, painful, and yet incredibly interesting. We finally meet Sauron's old boss Morgoth and we see just why he was the ultimate evil in Middle Earth. The tone is by far darker here than The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings but the characters and creatures of Middle Earth that we know and love are all familiar. There are elf-hating dwarves, noble elves, lordly men, scummy men, balrogs, cruel orcs, Sauron is referenced, and smack talking dragons just like in Tolkien's other two main works. Though most of the characters in this story are by far more stoic, ruthless, and mirthless than in his previous works.

My sole complaint with this book would be it's clear unfinished nature. Christopher Tolkien ultimately decided not to re-write any part of the tale. Since only about 60% of it was actually written in finalized, dialouge filled narrative, he relies on rough drafts and overviews to fill in the blanks. At times this leads to a disjointed read. In addition this also leads to some important events being rather glossed over instead of fully covered (Battle of Unnumbered Tears & Hurin's release from Angband come to mind). It makes me wonder if Christopher wouldn't have been better off just biting the bullet and fully writing out those scenes?

Alan Lee's illustrations make this book extra special. All in all this is a fine addition to your Tolkien collection right next to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (both Alan Lee illustrated as well of course).

The Children of Hurin provides some great historical material to Tolkien's world of Middle-Earth and adds even more richness to the Lord of the Rings. This addition to Tolkien's extensive historical background of Middle-earth fills in the gaps and fleshes out stories that have been mentioned and hinted at in other works by giving us a detailed and colorful look at the tragic story surrounding Túrin and Niënor (Hurin's children) and the ongoing battle against Morgoth, the master of the Lord of the Rings' evil character, Sauron.

This is a well-told tale with engaging characters and plenty of action that keeps the reader interested throughout. While not as enthralling as the Lord of the RIngs Trilogy, or as entertaining and wonderful as The Hobbit, The Children of Hurin is a worthy addition to the Middle-Earth cannon and is a more complete novel than most other source material that is out there. It stand on it's own well and one does not need to have read any of the other histories to follow along with what is going on here.

Overall, a solid work that I'd recommend to fans of Tolkien's works or epic fantasy in general.

Taking place in the distant past of the Middle Earth most people know from the "Lord of the Rings," the "Children of Hurin" is a poignantly beautiful gem from JRR Tolkien's literary world. Before great cataclysms that altered the very substance of Middle Earth, the High Elves were allied with three great Houses of Men in a proud and hopeless struggle against the original Dark Enemy. "The Children of Hurin" begins with the most disastrous defeat of Elves and Men in that war, and how Turin, son of the greatest warrior in the history of Men, tries to take up his father's responsibility and reverse the damage.
One of JRR Tolkien's greatest achievements was the world of Middle Earth itself, which contained endless layers of history and backstory that informed the origin and actions of its characters. What can be easy to miss in reading LOTR is that Middle Earth is a desolate shadow of what it used to be, before time and the mistakes of foolish pride wore down the greatness of Elves and Men to almost nothing. This book takes place in a part of Middle Earth that was later destroyed, to be remembered only in the sad songs and anecdotes that pop up here and there in the background of LOTR. This and the book's maps may initially confuse fans of LOTR, but the journey into unfamiliar territory is more than worth it: "The Children of Hurin" is great all by itself, but will do a lot to help you understand the world of LOTR in general. Fans who have trouble with the drier, historical tone of the "Silmarillion" might be better served with this fleshed-out piece of its story. If you have ever wondered why the Elves are such a small, sad, and reclusive bunch in LOTR, you'll see a bit of the answer here, and did you know the great Sauron was once just a servant of the true and original Dark Enemy? You'll meet the dark god Melkor here, and understand why Sauron was just carrying on a legacy. Be prepared also for the diabolical Father of Dragons, Glaurung. If you enjoyed the combination of guile and physical might that Smaug brought to the table, you'll get more than you bargained for from this dragon.
"Children of Hurin" may also surprise fans that are used to the "plain Hobbit sense" and sober steadfastness of more well-known Tolkien protagonists. The central character, Turin, is in many senses the complete opposite of a Hobbit: a great and proud warrior, born for leadership, but doomed to make poor, rash decisions in the heat of emotion. You might be reminded a bit of Boromir, and rightly so. Turin struggles with moral choices and his pride often gets the better of him. Whereas you could trust the Bagginses to use logic, see the big picture, and keep their heads cool enough to defeat despair... or even the cunning wits and words of a dragon... you'll be horrified to see Turin falter. He's the essence of a tragic hero, and although he'll frustrate you, you might see more of yourself in him than in the nearly-unbreakable Hobbits.
It's altogether a different flavor from LOTR or the Hobbit, but it's no less great, and anyone interested in the world of Middle Earth should give it a go.

Many profound thanks to Christopher Tolkien, without whom this text may have been lost to us forever. Here's to hoping he'll apply the same treatment to other J.R.R. Tolkien works that have only been hinted at in the Silmarillion and other sources.

Now the review:

I began this book with some trepidation, wondering if my lack of knowledge of the First Age of Middle Earth would render it unintelligible to me. I was pleased to find that everything I needed to understand this book is included in an introduction by Christopher. And when the narrative began, I became entranced by this beautifully tragic and bittersweet tale that is as much love story as it is a mead hall epic.

Turin, a great anti-hero, is one of the richest, most complex characters of the Tolkien universe. He is rash, violent, and proud, but he is also capable of great compassion, love, and sacrifice.

The writing is different from that found in either the Lord of the Rings or the Silmarillion. You could say it is a blend of the two that reads like authentic medieval literature, albeit with nobler treatment of women and an introspective penchant.

My only complaint is that the book is too short. At under 300 pages, I closed the cover with satisfaction, then immediate withdrawal.

I hope we will see similar works in the future.

There has never been a better storyteller than J.R.R. Tolkien. He, is on a par with anyone who has picked up a pen and taken us to worlds of his own creation and beyond the scope of most of our imaginations. Go ahead, step off the edge.

A lovely little tapestry to add to the Halls of Wonder that are the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It is a tragic tale, but not overbearing in its sadness. I appreciated the story especially for the background it gives to the characters of Tolkien’s major books.
Thank you for making it available on Kindle!

The Children of Hurin (COH)is quite simply a great addition to Tolkien's body of work. The style of writing is similar to the other complete works, but without the subtle humor. The story as whole is much darker than LOTR and the Hobbit, but this mood fits the setting very well. Not that evil doesn't always lurk in the background of Third Age (the time of the Hobbit/LOTR), but in COH and the Simarillion, this evil is faced more directly and is almost ever present. The evil is also much grander in scale. Sauron from LOTR is only a servant of the dark lord in COH: Morgoth (Morgoth is a fallen god, Sauron is a fallen demi-god)and Glaurung is the father of the dragons, even more insidious than Smaug from the Hobbit.

Yes, because it is a Tolkien book there are lots of characters, geneologies and place names. Not all of the names are critical for keeping up with the story, so those that are important are repeated and it's not the hard to quickly filter out what you might need. It does require a little more concentration than some books that I can mention but it isn't a daunting task. If the first chapter is difficult for those who don't have a knowledge of Tolkien's histories, stick with it and it is rewarding as the book continues to unfold.

What I admire most about the book is the similarity to classical works, making very epic in tone. First of all, you have the a sense of history, show in part from the geneology. To truly know who someone is you have to know where they come from. The importants of a person's ancestor is demonstrated many times in epics and also many holy works, (the Bible, etc.)

Another essential element is the tragic hero, Hurin. Growing up in the middle of the ongoing war with Morgoth and his minions, even as a child he knows little but war and sorrow. He is stubborn and pround, which gives him the confidences to be on the offense during various battles, and is able to perfom great feats in battle. but Despite Tuirn's success, the cleverness and guile of Morgoth and Glaurung often get the best of him. Everyone that Hurin gets close to suffers because of his pride and his willingness to fight no matter the odds.

The story does focus on war and grief but also looks at the relationships between people. In the backdrop of ancient middle-earth, the characters have become friends, fall in love, become jealous, backstab each other and of course face heartache and regret. The humanity behind the epic scope of the tale is what makes all great fantasy books worthwhile.

The book is gift to the expanding library of Tolkien's work. It would be amazing if Christopher Tolkien was able to flesh out all of Tolkien's tales like COH to reach out to a wider audience. For example, the tale of Beren and Luthien, only just hinted at in LOTR, is an exciting story that has personal meaning for Tolkien. I hope Christopher lives awhile longer to gift us with more books. For now we have LOTR, The Hobbit, and COH.

Personally I liked this better than any of Tolkien's other work, so far. I loved every page, and at the very end I actually cried, which is rare for me in books. (By the way, when you get to the end of the story, turn the page and make sure you're really at the end)

I have been reading many Icelandic Sagas over the past few years, which have an archaic and terse style very similar to Children of Hurin, so I was accustomed to the style before I started reading. I think most people will need to get used to it, and at first it might be a little harder to get into than some books. After a chapter or two it will feel natural and you won't even notice.

The artwork is excellent. I was luke-warm to Alan Lee's work for Lord of the Rings, but in this book I think it fits perfectly.

But make no mistake, this book is a tragedy. It starts with a war and basically goes downhill from there, but within the overarching tragic story arc there are many scenes of heroism, romance, and victory. In my opinion the romantic tragedy genre finds one of it's finest examples in Children of Hurin. I would put this story even on the level of Romeo and Juliet (with which it shares some themes, but with greater depth). I consider it one of the best books I've read.

If you are a Tolkien fan this book is a must. If you are just a Lord of the Rings fan you may or may not enjoy it, since it happens so far in the past it is barely relevant to the later story except to true Tolkien geeks. However that also means that you can read this without having read any other Tolkien work, and you won't miss out on anything.

I'd like to start by saying I have never read much of anything in the way of Tolkien's works. But upon hearing about this book, I was terribly excited to get my hands on it, if only to have a first edition, hardcover, illustrated copy; and it is quite beautiful for only $25.

That said, I found this book to be quite enjoyable. It begins with a fairly long and difficult introduction that's supposed to set the scene, but don't let that scare you, you could enjoy the book just as much without it.
It stands alone quite well; like I said, I've never read LotR or the Sillmarillion, yet never did I feel I was missing anything. And, contrary to what some have said, it always felt to me like a complete narrative, never a sloppy compilation of various manuscripts.
The language used is slightly daunting, but far from insurmountable; one needs not speak like Tolkien to understand him. Similarly, the narrative begins with a slightly long-winded genealogy/history lesson, but just tough it out; it'll get much more interesting very soon.

The story itself is a tragic tale of Turin, the son of Hurin, doomed to live in the shadow of a curse placed upon him by Morgoth (Sauron's superior, as far as I gathered), and reminded me of a Greek tragedy. As I readily sympathized with Turin and his unsuspecting companions caught up in his doom, I found it very easy to get wrapped up in this poor soul's tale.
Overall, a very enjoyable read.

I was leery of what appeared to be a blatant attempt to capitalize on the new interest in Tolkien's work, but as editor Christopher Tolkien notes, this book is more about placing the emphasis back on Tolkien's stories after the obsession with the movies.

I'm duly impressed with what the editor was able to accomplish. This is a dark and wholly different view of Middle Earth, laying the deep foundation of events to come in the far-distant future. The story smacks of the great tragedies of Shakespeare and Greek literature, told in a form both poetic and measured.

Overall, it does flow rather well despite some obvious breaks. The story will haunt you and to hear it told in a style similar to that of LotR is a treat. It is as worthy of a spot on your shelf as the Hobbit. It is a mixture of the intimacy of that work, with some of the grandeur and foreboding of LotR.

Enjoy a brief return to Middle-Earth, with Tolkien's vision restored in *almost* all its glory.

An engrossing book for a fan of Tolkein. Although not as good as the classics, the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, it was well written and brought the reader to the time in Middle Earth that predated those other works.

An incredibly sad tale! All the things that could go wrong for poor Turin, do. The language and style it was written in was very interesting. To me it was a cross between fantasy and the Bible.
An extremely gripping tale overall. Some parts I didn't quite understand, but thats only because I haven't read much of the History of Middle Earth, or anything like that. So it can be understood if you've read a lot of Tolkien's 'Middle Earth' works.
Excited to move on to The (excuse the spelling) Silmarilion!

This compilation work of JRR Tolkien's is a great return to Middle Earth and the first age. The prose flows beautifully and the characters are familiar in their disposition. The book is dark, however, and deos not have the true good versus evil aspects of the Hobbit and LOTR. Turin, the son of the human Hurin, travels throughout the landscape of the first age under a curse from Melkor (Morgoth), the enemy. He loses his home after his father travels to a disastrous confrontation between Morgoth and the combined might of elves and men.

After retreating to the elven fortress forest of Menegroth, he becomes embittered and seeks to reunite with his family. He is the victim of elvish jealousy and for the first time, we see one of the Eldar as posessing petty attributes. Through a series of adventures and tragedies, including the destruction of Nargothrond (the elvish fortress city) by the dragon Galurang and his eventual marriage to his lost sister, he meets and slays the dragon in a rain swollen river.

This work contains an expanded snapshot of one of the major characters from the Silmarillion. It is disappointing in that it lacks the majestic sweep of story that many Tolkien readers have come to love. There are copious endnotes about the composition of the work. Unfortuneately, these read more like an extended apology that more original material does not exist.

Read this work as a companion to the Silmarillion, but avoid buying it for the LOTR only fan. They will be surprised and disappointed.

There's not much that I can add to previous reviews in terms of informing the prospective reader what is contained within, so I'll confine myself to a few pertinent notes. On the positive side, Turin comes off as a much more sympathetic figure than he does in The Simarillion; we understand much more of his background, character, and motivations, which mitigate his arrogance and rashness; and of course, JRR Tolkien's gorgeous prose is always a delight to read: few authors have such a gift for the English language. On the negative side, Christopher Tolkien's decision as to where to end the narrative is guaranteed to frustrate fans of The Silmarillion, or Unfinished Tales, who will understandably want to see the story brought to its logical and tragic conclusion with Hurin's subsequent actions after the novel's end.

Having read Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion I couldn't wait to read this book when it first came out, but life stepped in and prevented me from reading it before recently. I must say that I absolutely adored this book, and it quenched my fantasy thirst as only Tolkien could. The notes, genealogies, and the appendix were simply delightful and really added to my enjoyment. It was so helpful to have a pronunciation guide included so I didn't have to flip into one of my other books to see how words were pronounced. I could keep a bookmark right on the page and just flip back if I forgot that "au" = "ow" and that is a wonderful thing to me. It was also nice to see some of Tolkien's poetry in the appendix including an excerpt from the alliterative Children of Hurin. All in all, anyone captivated by the works of Tolkien should own a copy of this book.

I write this review as one who qualifies himself as a fan of Tolkien but not a fanatic. I've read "Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit", and "Silmarillion" as well some of the man's shorter works, but I am not able to conjugate verbs in Elvish or recite Aragorn's entire family tree. With that stated, I can only say that I found "The Children of Hurin" to be a mighty fine read.

The story, as most folks doubtlessly know, is set in Tolkien's world long before the events of "Lord of the Rings", back when Morgoth still menaced the lands of elves and men. Hurin was a great warrior, but lead his men into disaster at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. He left behind a wife and two small children. The elder of the two, his son Turin, is the focus of this book.

Turin is one of Tolkien's most compelling characters. He begins as an angry youth, whose wrath interacts poorly with the desperate circumstances that he lives in. To keep him safe, he is sent to be a ward with the elves, but in young adulthood his temper gets him into trouble. That's all in the opening chapters. The remainder of the book has lots more; the plotting is much more brisk than in "Lord of the Rings". But through it all, the character of Turin carves out a destiny shaped by both his positive and negative sides.

I was skeptical to pick up another "posthumous" Tolkien, after attempting the Silmarillion. This was an exciting and fascinating read though. Instead of pure myth, it was a single story, with references to lore and myth (akin to LOTR).

A surprise publishing of a new Middle-Earth book is certainly cause for celebration. THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is stitched together from fragments and notes by Christopher Tolkien, JRRT's son and literary executor. The story of Turin and Nienor was told in full in THE SILMARILLION, but here it is given a more detailed, novelistic treatment. The prose is pure Tolkien, and holds together remarkably well, coinsidering how it is sewn together from fragments.

This is a very different work from THE LORD OF THE RINGS. In that work, no matter how desperate things seemed, there was always hope, a thread of hope that Frodo could somehow succeed. Here, no hope whatsoever -- it has the dark, brooding, doomed aura of Anglo-Saxon poetry (as well it might, considering Tolkien's inspirations.) Even so, the narrative moves along swiftly, and it has none of the dry, history-book quality of THE SILMARILLION. Its darkness is compelling.

You don't need to be a diehard Tolkien geek to enjoy this book. Recommended.

I just, minutes ago, completed this book, and I was very impressed. I was not sure I'd enjoy the read. I had read the Unfinished Tales and the Silmarillion, and while I enjoyed the material, the read itself was a bit strained.

I was very pleased with how easy to read this was in comparison. All of the notes related to it's telling are held back in the appendix, which allows the story to read through like a story, instead of a more scholastic piece. As others have said, you need not have read the other works to enjoy this book as well.

One thing I did find interesting was how this book seemed edgier compared to Tolken's other works. Given, the book itself has a dark tone to it, but this title just seemed a bit more violent than others. Even with this darker tone, it's still a great read!

I recently purchased this book because I am a fan of JRR Tolkein. I didn't know what to expect because of the reviews on it. Many said it was similar to The Silmarillion, which I attempted to read about 6 or 7 years ago. Remembering the difficulty I had trying to read it almost turned me away from looking at his book, but I listened to other reviewers who said it was more a a mix of Silmarillion and LOTR reading style. I figured I wasn't 14 anymore and that I could read it even if it was in the style of The Silmarillion. I am so glad I purchased it. It reminded me again of why I enjoyed reading, which I hadn't done for recreation since 2008. I felt the book was great and absorbed you right in. I used the map and names in the back often, but did have some previous knowledge on some of the names, such as Melkor(Morgoth), Gondolin, the Valar, and a few others. If you are a fan of JRR Tolkien and don't mind a darker tale that reads a bit differently than The Hobbit or LOTR, buy this book. I am now going to go onto reading LOTR and then attempt the Simarillion again.

A very impressive novel of the first age of Middle-Earth long before "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings." In this novel, Christopher Tolkien has finally edited (all of this was written in an unfinished form by J.R.R. Tolkien before his death) a tale from his father's mythology that is accessible for all readers and not just the super fans. You don't even need to have read "The Silmarillion" or any of Tolkien's other works in order to enjoy this. True, if you've already read "The Silmarillion," then you already know what is going to happen in this novel, but that doesn't mean you should pass this one by. The story plays out like a great tragedy that spans 2-3 generations of men of the the house of Hador and is very reminiscent of the Norse mythology that Tolkien admired so much. Because, even in the face of his "doom," Turin, the protagonist of the tale, fights on. The prose itself, embellished by Alan Lee's beautiful and haunting color paintings and pencil sketches, makes this one book that no fantasy fan, let alone Tolkien fan, should miss. Christopher Tolkien should give the tale of Beren and Luthien the same treatment as this.

My first complement for this work will be that it is written in an easy to understand manner. This is NOT the unbearable Silmarillion, which requires a Ph.D. in Tolkien-ology to read. Children of Hurin is written in a normal narrative structure and thus enjoyable and entertaining.

Children of Hurin is a tragic and brutal, yet still beautiful, piece of Middle Earth fiction set about 6,500 years before Bilbo's famous journey. The story of Hurin and his cursed children (which I won't spoil here) is sad, painful, and yet incredibly interesting. We finally meet Sauron's old boss Morgoth and we see just why he was the ultimate evil in Middle Earth. The tone is by far darker here than The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings but the characters and creatures of Middle Earth that we know and love are all familiar. There are elf-hating dwarves, noble elves, lordly men, scummy men, balrogs, cruel orcs, Sauron is referenced, and smack talking dragons just like in Tolkien's other two main works. Though most of the characters in this story are by far more stoic, ruthless, and mirthless than in his previous works.

My sole complaint with this book would be it's clear unfinished nature. Christopher Tolkien ultimately decided not to re-write any part of the tale. Since only about 60% of it was actually written in finalized, dialouge filled narrative, he relies on rough drafts and overviews to fill in the blanks. At times this leads to a disjointed read. In addition this also leads to some important events being rather glossed over instead of fully covered (Battle of Unnumbered Tears & Hurin's release from Angband come to mind). It makes me wonder if Christopher wouldn't have been better off just biting the bullet and fully writing out those scenes?

Alan Lee's illustrations make this book extra special. All in all this is a fine addition to your Tolkien collection right next to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (both Alan Lee illustrated as well of course).

The Children of Hurin provides some great historical material to Tolkien's world of Middle-Earth and adds even more richness to the Lord of the Rings. This addition to Tolkien's extensive historical background of Middle-earth fills in the gaps and fleshes out stories that have been mentioned and hinted at in other works by giving us a detailed and colorful look at the tragic story surrounding Túrin and Niënor (Hurin's children) and the ongoing battle against Morgoth, the master of the Lord of the Rings' evil character, Sauron.

This is a well-told tale with engaging characters and plenty of action that keeps the reader interested throughout. While not as enthralling as the Lord of the RIngs Trilogy, or as entertaining and wonderful as The Hobbit, The Children of Hurin is a worthy addition to the Middle-Earth cannon and is a more complete novel than most other source material that is out there. It stand on it's own well and one does not need to have read any of the other histories to follow along with what is going on here.

Overall, a solid work that I'd recommend to fans of Tolkien's works or epic fantasy in general.

Taking place in the distant past of the Middle Earth most people know from the "Lord of the Rings," the "Children of Hurin" is a poignantly beautiful gem from JRR Tolkien's literary world. Before great cataclysms that altered the very substance of Middle Earth, the High Elves were allied with three great Houses of Men in a proud and hopeless struggle against the original Dark Enemy. "The Children of Hurin" begins with the most disastrous defeat of Elves and Men in that war, and how Turin, son of the greatest warrior in the history of Men, tries to take up his father's responsibility and reverse the damage.
One of JRR Tolkien's greatest achievements was the world of Middle Earth itself, which contained endless layers of history and backstory that informed the origin and actions of its characters. What can be easy to miss in reading LOTR is that Middle Earth is a desolate shadow of what it used to be, before time and the mistakes of foolish pride wore down the greatness of Elves and Men to almost nothing. This book takes place in a part of Middle Earth that was later destroyed, to be remembered only in the sad songs and anecdotes that pop up here and there in the background of LOTR. This and the book's maps may initially confuse fans of LOTR, but the journey into unfamiliar territory is more than worth it: "The Children of Hurin" is great all by itself, but will do a lot to help you understand the world of LOTR in general. Fans who have trouble with the drier, historical tone of the "Silmarillion" might be better served with this fleshed-out piece of its story. If you have ever wondered why the Elves are such a small, sad, and reclusive bunch in LOTR, you'll see a bit of the answer here, and did you know the great Sauron was once just a servant of the true and original Dark Enemy? You'll meet the dark god Melkor here, and understand why Sauron was just carrying on a legacy. Be prepared also for the diabolical Father of Dragons, Glaurung. If you enjoyed the combination of guile and physical might that Smaug brought to the table, you'll get more than you bargained for from this dragon.
"Children of Hurin" may also surprise fans that are used to the "plain Hobbit sense" and sober steadfastness of more well-known Tolkien protagonists. The central character, Turin, is in many senses the complete opposite of a Hobbit: a great and proud warrior, born for leadership, but doomed to make poor, rash decisions in the heat of emotion. You might be reminded a bit of Boromir, and rightly so. Turin struggles with moral choices and his pride often gets the better of him. Whereas you could trust the Bagginses to use logic, see the big picture, and keep their heads cool enough to defeat despair... or even the cunning wits and words of a dragon... you'll be horrified to see Turin falter. He's the essence of a tragic hero, and although he'll frustrate you, you might see more of yourself in him than in the nearly-unbreakable Hobbits.
It's altogether a different flavor from LOTR or the Hobbit, but it's no less great, and anyone interested in the world of Middle Earth should give it a go.

Many profound thanks to Christopher Tolkien, without whom this text may have been lost to us forever. Here's to hoping he'll apply the same treatment to other J.R.R. Tolkien works that have only been hinted at in the Silmarillion and other sources.

Now the review:

I began this book with some trepidation, wondering if my lack of knowledge of the First Age of Middle Earth would render it unintelligible to me. I was pleased to find that everything I needed to understand this book is included in an introduction by Christopher. And when the narrative began, I became entranced by this beautifully tragic and bittersweet tale that is as much love story as it is a mead hall epic.

Turin, a great anti-hero, is one of the richest, most complex characters of the Tolkien universe. He is rash, violent, and proud, but he is also capable of great compassion, love, and sacrifice.

The writing is different from that found in either the Lord of the Rings or the Silmarillion. You could say it is a blend of the two that reads like authentic medieval literature, albeit with nobler treatment of women and an introspective penchant.

My only complaint is that the book is too short. At under 300 pages, I closed the cover with satisfaction, then immediate withdrawal.

I hope we will see similar works in the future.

There has never been a better storyteller than J.R.R. Tolkien. He, is on a par with anyone who has picked up a pen and taken us to worlds of his own creation and beyond the scope of most of our imaginations. Go ahead, step off the edge.

A lovely little tapestry to add to the Halls of Wonder that are the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It is a tragic tale, but not overbearing in its sadness. I appreciated the story especially for the background it gives to the characters of Tolkien’s major books.
Thank you for making it available on Kindle!

The Children of Hurin (COH)is quite simply a great addition to Tolkien's body of work. The style of writing is similar to the other complete works, but without the subtle humor. The story as whole is much darker than LOTR and the Hobbit, but this mood fits the setting very well. Not that evil doesn't always lurk in the background of Third Age (the time of the Hobbit/LOTR), but in COH and the Simarillion, this evil is faced more directly and is almost ever present. The evil is also much grander in scale. Sauron from LOTR is only a servant of the dark lord in COH: Morgoth (Morgoth is a fallen god, Sauron is a fallen demi-god)and Glaurung is the father of the dragons, even more insidious than Smaug from the Hobbit.

Yes, because it is a Tolkien book there are lots of characters, geneologies and place names. Not all of the names are critical for keeping up with the story, so those that are important are repeated and it's not the hard to quickly filter out what you might need. It does require a little more concentration than some books that I can mention but it isn't a daunting task. If the first chapter is difficult for those who don't have a knowledge of Tolkien's histories, stick with it and it is rewarding as the book continues to unfold.

What I admire most about the book is the similarity to classical works, making very epic in tone. First of all, you have the a sense of history, show in part from the geneology. To truly know who someone is you have to know where they come from. The importants of a person's ancestor is demonstrated many times in epics and also many holy works, (the Bible, etc.)

Another essential element is the tragic hero, Hurin. Growing up in the middle of the ongoing war with Morgoth and his minions, even as a child he knows little but war and sorrow. He is stubborn and pround, which gives him the confidences to be on the offense during various battles, and is able to perfom great feats in battle. but Despite Tuirn's success, the cleverness and guile of Morgoth and Glaurung often get the best of him. Everyone that Hurin gets close to suffers because of his pride and his willingness to fight no matter the odds.

The story does focus on war and grief but also looks at the relationships between people. In the backdrop of ancient middle-earth, the characters have become friends, fall in love, become jealous, backstab each other and of course face heartache and regret. The humanity behind the epic scope of the tale is what makes all great fantasy books worthwhile.

The book is gift to the expanding library of Tolkien's work. It would be amazing if Christopher Tolkien was able to flesh out all of Tolkien's tales like COH to reach out to a wider audience. For example, the tale of Beren and Luthien, only just hinted at in LOTR, is an exciting story that has personal meaning for Tolkien. I hope Christopher lives awhile longer to gift us with more books. For now we have LOTR, The Hobbit, and COH.

Personally I liked this better than any of Tolkien's other work, so far. I loved every page, and at the very end I actually cried, which is rare for me in books. (By the way, when you get to the end of the story, turn the page and make sure you're really at the end)

I have been reading many Icelandic Sagas over the past few years, which have an archaic and terse style very similar to Children of Hurin, so I was accustomed to the style before I started reading. I think most people will need to get used to it, and at first it might be a little harder to get into than some books. After a chapter or two it will feel natural and you won't even notice.

The artwork is excellent. I was luke-warm to Alan Lee's work for Lord of the Rings, but in this book I think it fits perfectly.

But make no mistake, this book is a tragedy. It starts with a war and basically goes downhill from there, but within the overarching tragic story arc there are many scenes of heroism, romance, and victory. In my opinion the romantic tragedy genre finds one of it's finest examples in Children of Hurin. I would put this story even on the level of Romeo and Juliet (with which it shares some themes, but with greater depth). I consider it one of the best books I've read.

If you are a Tolkien fan this book is a must. If you are just a Lord of the Rings fan you may or may not enjoy it, since it happens so far in the past it is barely relevant to the later story except to true Tolkien geeks. However that also means that you can read this without having read any other Tolkien work, and you won't miss out on anything.

I'd like to start by saying I have never read much of anything in the way of Tolkien's works. But upon hearing about this book, I was terribly excited to get my hands on it, if only to have a first edition, hardcover, illustrated copy; and it is quite beautiful for only $25.

That said, I found this book to be quite enjoyable. It begins with a fairly long and difficult introduction that's supposed to set the scene, but don't let that scare you, you could enjoy the book just as much without it.
It stands alone quite well; like I said, I've never read LotR or the Sillmarillion, yet never did I feel I was missing anything. And, contrary to what some have said, it always felt to me like a complete narrative, never a sloppy compilation of various manuscripts.
The language used is slightly daunting, but far from insurmountable; one needs not speak like Tolkien to understand him. Similarly, the narrative begins with a slightly long-winded genealogy/history lesson, but just tough it out; it'll get much more interesting very soon.

The story itself is a tragic tale of Turin, the son of Hurin, doomed to live in the shadow of a curse placed upon him by Morgoth (Sauron's superior, as far as I gathered), and reminded me of a Greek tragedy. As I readily sympathized with Turin and his unsuspecting companions caught up in his doom, I found it very easy to get wrapped up in this poor soul's tale.
Overall, a very enjoyable read.

As a devotee of LOTR, I couldn't help but have high expectations for TCOH. I knew that it wasn't going to be a fully realized, ambitious epic on the scale of LOTR. Still, reading it was quite a letdown.

Here are the major differences for me:

* In LOTR, the major characters on the side of Good pool their efforts toward the goal of overcoming Evil. They are generally wise and valiant, though quite imperfect. Many characters are fully and subtly drawn.

* In TCOH, the main characters make lots of poor choices, and they and/or those whom they lead suffer the consequences. The plot is depressing; the characters, two-dimensional. Given limitless time, JRR could have fleshed them out better. But it reads as a pale imitation of the real thing - like fan fiction, perhaps.

I'd recommend this for Tolkien completists, but not for anyone looking for LOTR 2.

Unlike LOTR, which has an almost chatty writing style, this book is a lot more formal. As usual, keeping all the names straight is a bit of a challenge, but much less so than in the Silmarillion.

Suitably told, it'd be a great adventure story for kids. I mean, it has Orcs, evil, dragons, elves, dwarves, adversity, success, all the stuff that goes into a good adventure story.

My only niggle is the absence of maps. There's much discussion of the geographies of middle earth during the various ages, but no images to relate them.

What a great novel...OK...I haven't read the Silmarillion nor Lost Tales so I'm not sure of how much of this had been published previously but this tale DESERVES to stand on its own. Shakespearean in scope and tone it pulls no punches...the "hero" is massively flawed/cursed, doomed to fulfill the worst of fates...The book reminds me much more of a Beowulf or a Oedipus than "The Hobbit" or LOTR...My only gripe is that it does feel a bit underwritten--in that it could and perhaps should have been fleshed out even more than it was...at times it feels like things are happening too fast and not enough detail is provided but the writing has so many other positives that I can't rate it any lower than 4 stars...

J.R.R. Tolkien stands as the greatest writer of fiction in the 20th century and perhaps ever - the LOTR is certainly in the top three of any list of fictional works. The Children of Hurin takes place a thousand years before the LOTR and has none of its main characters. This book will appeal to everyone who enjoys Tolkien, but it is not, sadly, quite on the same level in terms of a narrative or work.

Tolkien himself was never satisfied with it, and it's fairly easy to see why - parts of the story are somewhat incomplete, others quite detailed. All in all, the book reads like a 3rd or 4th draft of what could have become another LOTR, after much more writing and revision.

While I found it an enjoyable read and it reawakened afresh childhood nostalgia and renewed appreciation for Tolkien (especially since this story is entirely new), I had to wonder about the reasons to publish a work that the author himself never completed nor authorized. With the immense commercial success of the movies (which I don't think should have been made - whether Tolkien would have countenanced them is also very questionable), I wonder about the ultimate motives concerning this book's publication at this time. In the end, publishing an inferior, and more importantly incomplete and unauthorized work, may serve to hurt J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumous reputation.

I certainly enjoyed the book on the first read, but it's not one I'll likely read over and over again like TLOTR. It's simply not as memorable.

Ever wandered how can regimes of Hitler, Stalin, as well as the modern governments, draw the world and their own country into so much grief and yet maintain their power for years and decades? Change the magic spells by TV/propaganda, magic fighting machines and techniques into modern weapons, and see the world as it is now. Same level of brainwashed people, accepting the domination and rule of the evil in their own country. But what happens to those who dare to fight against it in spite of desperately few chances of success, to those who dare to use that little chance to kill the dragon?

Read and see how the system focuses its entire might to break every single individual, who survived the brainwashing machine and dares to stay on their way to protect his kind - to save those who carry his worldview and the ethic system, and not just for physical survival of his kind. In order to break them the system attacks the dearest that these people have - their families and loved ones.

Do not hesitate to overcome the complexity of understanding the geography and relations between number of characters in the story. It seems too much for those who are used to simple fairy tales with few characters, but it worths it to overcome - the experience of reading this masterpiece will pay-off.

Many thanks to Mr. Christopher Tolkien for compiling this unfinished story of his father into such a beautiful book.

This is, of course, a novel-length telling of stories that have already appeared in both 'The Silmarillion' and 'Unfinished Tales'. But this longer version is worth it. Several epispded are expanded, like Turin's childhood and his time with the outlaws (what a pleasant bunch).

This is classic saga-stuff; curses, violence, a pervading sense of doom. Tolkien knew those old tales like he knew the back of his hand. Turin is an anti-hero out of that mold. Sure, he's a great warrior, but sometimes you just want to shake him.

Best of all, I can't tell where JRRT left off and where CRT took over. So, was this worth adding to the canon? Definitely. But it isn't for the casual fan.

If you're a fan of TLOTR, then this is a definite must buy. If not, not. It's a beautifully handled presentation of work never published in the author's lifetime. I enjoyed most of it immensely (OK, a few spots dragged a bit for me, but then I'm not THAT big a fan...). It was well worth the read.

If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings, you may love the new work by Tolkien, The Children of Hurin. I say may because it doesn't have a warm fuzzy ending. And I know that most people, at least Americans, demand a ending that makes them feel good. Well, I can't promise you a warm glow but I recommend it for a great read and a fun journey back to a land that I never thought I would get to venture again.

It is a tale like the classic Greek tragedies. But don't let that scare you because at the end I couldn't put the book down. There are no false pretenses of happiness but there is plenty of honor, valor, and heroics. This is not a study on the past history of the main players in LOTR but a prehistory of middle earth.

It gives the reader a better understanding about the relationship between the Elves and Men. The book gives a lot of insight into the songs in LOTR. It is not a dry list or definition of past lives but a true narrative that puts "flesh" on what only REALLY dedicated fans could work through. Such as who are the Eldars and Valars.

I recommend it for a good read, an excellent study on pride and wise counsel, and a fun trip back to a world that is exciting, thrilling, and full of wonder.

I ended up loving this, though it was indeed a slow starter.

I dutifully read the introduction which was supposed to be a helpful aid, but was instead a mind-numbing litany of linages and alliances, none of which stuck in my head. With relief I finally started Chapter One and was bored to death for the first 50-60 pages, reading on only because I had spent my husband's hard-earned money on the book.

Then the story started, and it was a right good one. I fell asleep with visions of dragons and orcs and ill-fated maidens and valiant-but-flawed heroes. It was a grand adventure and I do indeed recommend it. Just skip the intro, slog through the first bit, and brace yourself for the Shakespearian ending.

This should be at the top of the reading list for any Tolkien fan, fantasy fan or fan of the Lord of the Rings films. Only the second complete novel compiled from his unfinished writings. Tolkien's son (who finished it) should have done this years ago. I really hope they do more, because there's at least two more books in the tons of unfinished material Tolkien created. "Hurin" is darker than Tolkien's other books, taking place in the First Age of Middle-Earth. Technically a tragedy, but full of powerful characters. Classic fantasy. Tolkien, long-dead, writes better than most living fantasy authors.

This novel is definitely not your run of the mill fairy tail stories.

The story will be familiar to any true Tolkien fan as the story is told in both Unfinished Tails and Silmarillion.

For newbies... this is an Epic tale dealing with the evils of pride. Turin son of Hurin quests through life trying to find safety and eventually fleeing the doom that seems to follow him.

Newbies will also get to meet Morgoth, the true Dark Lord of whom Sauron was merely a servant.

Everyone familiar with the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Familiar with Sauron well Morgoth was his master and teacher. During the first age in Middle Earth even before there were Hobbits there were Elves and Men. The Elves were the first born and many migrated East with the Valar. The ones that stayed behind were called Dark Elves. Those that went with were called Light Elves, especially those that went to Valinor or the isle of the blessed. The ones that chose to stay on the West coast and not complete the journey were called "Grey Elves" Light Elves made it all the way to Valinor. Morgoth was the highest of the Valar but he basically rebelled and started his own kingdom. He destroyed the Golden and Silver Tree from Valinor and swiped Feanor's Silmarrillion. Feanor went after him but never really got the Silmarrillion back.

Jump ahead many years after that and you have Noldor as a kingdom along, with Doriath and Nothrolomad. They are elven kingdom. There is also a hidden elf kingdom called Gondolin. Men have also come from the East many of whom are fleeing Morgoth. These men are given are given land and they form kingdoms that are allied with the elves. Some houses of men are the houses of Hador and Haleth. Hurin is of the line of Hador. Hurin and his brother Huar are the leaders. During an initial skirmish with Angabond they are separated from their group. They eventually are taken by eagle flight to Gondolin where they reside for a year. After which they return and of which they say nothing of. Morwen is Hurin's wife and he has two children Lalaith and Turin. Lalaith dies from a plague sent by Morgoth. Turin is left surviving. Another battle ensues where elves and men try to resit Morgoth and his orcs. Hurin's side is utterly routed. Hurin himself is captured by Morgoth and in return for his resistance Hurin gets to watch his family cursed. Now bear in mind that Morgoth is helped by a giant Dragon called Glauron. As Dorlomin is overtaken by savage men from the east. Morwen is able to hold on to the castle for a bit because people think she is a witch. After all she has elf friends and hence magic. Turin stay there for a few more years and then goes to the Elven king of Doriath, where Thingol is the king. Turin grows up there and becomes a warrior of some stature. But some elves do not like uncouth humans. Saedros provoke Turin and eventually attack Turin. After Turin kills him he flees the kingdom and joins a band of outlaws. From there they run into Mim one of the last dwarves in the Middle Earth. Mim is resentful of the outlaws and Beleg, Turin's elf friend who tries to persuade him to return to Dorlomith. Eventuyally the orc take over and Turin find himself in Nagrothond. Eventually Glauraung sacks that castle as well. Having failed to save an elven maiden and the city Turin flees to his old homeland to find it in ruins. He joins some woodsmen and for while they resist the orc invasion. Things end with Turin reuniting with a younger sister he never met, meeting a maiden and a sad parting and an ending of honor and battle very reminiscent to the ending of Beowulf.

. . . and a labor of love by his son, Christopher.

"The Children of Hurin" represents the first completely original work of JRR Tolkien to be published since "The Silmarillion" in 1977. The story, originally conceived in 1918, and re-worked many, many times gives great depth and meaning as a "back story" to one of the most tragic episodes in "The Silmarillion". For the reader who was moved by the story of Hurin and his defiance of Morgoth; for Morgoth's dreadful revenge; and for the tragedy which befell Hurin's family, this is the story for you.

"The Children of Hurin" fleshes out the chapter "Of Turin Turambar" adding significant characters (and character development), and deepening motives in such a way as to make the story of Turin even more tragic and emotionally wrenching.

As previously stated, a brief version of the story can be found in "The Silmarillion", and a somewhat lengthier version in "Unfinished Tales". Various versions and fragments of the tale, along with editorial commentary, can be found in "The History of Middle-Earth" series. But "The Children of Hurin" is different. This is not a fragment; this does not represent editorial jottings and musings. This is a seamlessly edited single coherent narrative encompassing all of the various writings, re-writings, and transcripts available to Christopher.

In the Introduction, Christopher suggests that "The Children of Hurin" represented one of three Great Tales which could stand alone from the rest of the Middle-Earth mythology; the other two being "Beren and Luthien" and "The Fall of Gondolin". One can only wonder (and hope) that what Christopher has done with this wonderful book, he will be able to do with the other two tales as well.

I also must speak to the illustrations. The art by Alan Lee is truly magnificent. Not only are the full-color plates remarkable, but the black-and-white drawings are extremely well-done as well.

For readers who are looking for "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings", this is probably not where you want to start. On the other hand, it is not necessary to wade through the entire 12 volume "History of Middle-Earth" in order to appreciate "The Children of Hurin". (Knowledge, however, of "The Silmarillion" would be most helpful!)

I could not possibly recommend this book more highly.

I've been waiting for a review of the Deluxe Edition for some time to determine if I should buy this or not. Well, I couldn't wait any longer and I went ahead and ordered it. So, what exactly do you get in the Deluxe Edition? According to the flyer included with the book:

- Christopher Tolkien constructed the narrative from J.R.R. Tolkien's original manuscripts, using many sources from various decades.

- A brand-new red-and-black Map of Belariand, drawn by Christopher Tolkien, appears as a fold-out sheet.

- Includes eight color paintings and twenty-five pencil sketches commissioned from the award-winning artist Alan Lee.

- Features an exclusive color frontispiece painting by Alan Lee.

- Includes an introduction and appendix by Christopher Tolkien on the historyand writing of the tale.

- Quarter-bound in blue with gray boards, stamped in gold foil with a unique motif of the Helm of Hador created by Alan Lee, and housed in a matching custom-built slipcase.

- Printed on superior-quality paper and bound with a silk ribbon marker.

- This edition is available for a limited time only.

The question that I kept asking myself was: would there be any content in this book that isn't in the "regular" edition? And the answer is, NO. Thus, the 1 star deduction. The map is slightly larger, the paintings are all the same, the color frontispiece is basically the cover from the regular edition (without the title, author, etc.). The quality appears to be exceptional so I have no complaints there. Just don't expect anything more than what you may already have in the regular edition.

As for the story, I give it 5 stars. Enjoy the other reviews for the merits of the story and the debate over Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales content. I, for one, am extremely happy that Christopher "endeavored to constuct, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without and editorial invention." Well done, I say!

Is this book for you? The answer is in whether you've read the great The Silmarillion. If you can enjoy and finish the Silmarillion, Húrin is every part the amazingly deep guide to the imagination that Silmarillion is. If you'd rather read about the matching colors of the tapestry in the hall, go pick up Robert Jordan.

There are authors that can craft the complexity of the scales of a dragon so-and-so, but only the Tolkiens make you feel the depth of honor (or wretchedness...) when the man is greeted with "Hail, son of Húrin. Well met." *shivers*

I say "Tolkiens", because as I read "Húrin", I began to doubt if it was 100% original J.R.R. Some scenes are more personal and dramatic than the great J.R.R. seemed to enjoy writing. However, honestly, it doesn't matter. Even if it's not original J.R.R., the imaginative depth of this story place this among the world's best pieces of fantasy.

The usual dry Tolkien style skips around from event to event--laying everything carefully into place--until it finally brings you to a smash culmination of furious dialog, which is where the book has its real power. For the reader with an active imagination and a taste for epic twits of misfortune, nothing could be better. Enjoy.

The first time I attempted to read the Children of Hurin I could only get a few chapters in before being overwhelmed by names and places. I tried reading it again and I understood the book much better and read in very quickly. The book while being very dense with names is a very tragic but great novel. The book doesn't have the polish prose that the LOTR has but it's still very good novel none the less.

The pronunciation guide in the book and the table of names makes and the map help one really comprehend such an epic tragedy that mirrors the Greek and roman mythological ones. I really enjoy how the book ties into the LOTR as the genealogy tables show that many of the characters in the book are very closely related to main characters. For example on of Turin's friends is a brother to Galadriel. The book definitely is meant more for the middle earth and Tolkien fans and not for casual one time readers of LOTR.

If you are one of those that thought that the witing style of "The Lord of the Rings" was too verbose, you will be glad to hear that "The Children of Hurin" is written in a much simpler style. It is quite straight forward and nowhere near as descriptive. The plot of the tale is central in this book, not so much visualizing what Middle-Earth looks like. I will admit the names could at times get a bit confusing at first, but it is an obstacle one overcomes quickly. Especially if you have a knowledge of Tolkien's world already. Christopher Tolkien's introduction to the book also helps a great deal. (And don't be a afraid to use the Appendix of Names in the back of the book.)

Even though I knew the end of the tale before the book even came out, I found the plot quite engaging and got through the book quite swiftly. If you are a fan of old Greek Tragedies and Shakespearian tales, you'll find this book a great read!

....and you'll end up grateful that Tolkien's work has been "continued" (one point of view) or "brought to completion" (another way of seeing). Either way, this book stands on its own merits, which are many. Fans of Tolkien (a few grumpy reviewers excepted) will find a lot to like here. Rich in layers of intricate detail, very true to Tolkien's vision. All in all, well done!

Dr. David Frisbie
Author of Moving Forward After Divorce: Practical Steps to * Healing Your Hurts * Finding Fresh Perspective * Managing Your New Life

As a devotee of LOTR, I couldn't help but have high expectations for TCOH. I knew that it wasn't going to be a fully realized, ambitious epic on the scale of LOTR. Still, reading it was quite a letdown.

Here are the major differences for me:

* In LOTR, the major characters on the side of Good pool their efforts toward the goal of overcoming Evil. They are generally wise and valiant, though quite imperfect. Many characters are fully and subtly drawn.

* In TCOH, the main characters make lots of poor choices, and they and/or those whom they lead suffer the consequences. The plot is depressing; the characters, two-dimensional. Given limitless time, JRR could have fleshed them out better. But it reads as a pale imitation of the real thing - like fan fiction, perhaps.

I'd recommend this for Tolkien completists, but not for anyone looking for LOTR 2.

Unlike LOTR, which has an almost chatty writing style, this book is a lot more formal. As usual, keeping all the names straight is a bit of a challenge, but much less so than in the Silmarillion.

Suitably told, it'd be a great adventure story for kids. I mean, it has Orcs, evil, dragons, elves, dwarves, adversity, success, all the stuff that goes into a good adventure story.

My only niggle is the absence of maps. There's much discussion of the geographies of middle earth during the various ages, but no images to relate them.

What a great novel...OK...I haven't read the Silmarillion nor Lost Tales so I'm not sure of how much of this had been published previously but this tale DESERVES to stand on its own. Shakespearean in scope and tone it pulls no punches...the "hero" is massively flawed/cursed, doomed to fulfill the worst of fates...The book reminds me much more of a Beowulf or a Oedipus than "The Hobbit" or LOTR...My only gripe is that it does feel a bit underwritten--in that it could and perhaps should have been fleshed out even more than it was...at times it feels like things are happening too fast and not enough detail is provided but the writing has so many other positives that I can't rate it any lower than 4 stars...

J.R.R. Tolkien stands as the greatest writer of fiction in the 20th century and perhaps ever - the LOTR is certainly in the top three of any list of fictional works. The Children of Hurin takes place a thousand years before the LOTR and has none of its main characters. This book will appeal to everyone who enjoys Tolkien, but it is not, sadly, quite on the same level in terms of a narrative or work.

Tolkien himself was never satisfied with it, and it's fairly easy to see why - parts of the story are somewhat incomplete, others quite detailed. All in all, the book reads like a 3rd or 4th draft of what could have become another LOTR, after much more writing and revision.

While I found it an enjoyable read and it reawakened afresh childhood nostalgia and renewed appreciation for Tolkien (especially since this story is entirely new), I had to wonder about the reasons to publish a work that the author himself never completed nor authorized. With the immense commercial success of the movies (which I don't think should have been made - whether Tolkien would have countenanced them is also very questionable), I wonder about the ultimate motives concerning this book's publication at this time. In the end, publishing an inferior, and more importantly incomplete and unauthorized work, may serve to hurt J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumous reputation.

I certainly enjoyed the book on the first read, but it's not one I'll likely read over and over again like TLOTR. It's simply not as memorable.

Ever wandered how can regimes of Hitler, Stalin, as well as the modern governments, draw the world and their own country into so much grief and yet maintain their power for years and decades? Change the magic spells by TV/propaganda, magic fighting machines and techniques into modern weapons, and see the world as it is now. Same level of brainwashed people, accepting the domination and rule of the evil in their own country. But what happens to those who dare to fight against it in spite of desperately few chances of success, to those who dare to use that little chance to kill the dragon?

Read and see how the system focuses its entire might to break every single individual, who survived the brainwashing machine and dares to stay on their way to protect his kind - to save those who carry his worldview and the ethic system, and not just for physical survival of his kind. In order to break them the system attacks the dearest that these people have - their families and loved ones.

Do not hesitate to overcome the complexity of understanding the geography and relations between number of characters in the story. It seems too much for those who are used to simple fairy tales with few characters, but it worths it to overcome - the experience of reading this masterpiece will pay-off.

Many thanks to Mr. Christopher Tolkien for compiling this unfinished story of his father into such a beautiful book.

This is, of course, a novel-length telling of stories that have already appeared in both 'The Silmarillion' and 'Unfinished Tales'. But this longer version is worth it. Several epispded are expanded, like Turin's childhood and his time with the outlaws (what a pleasant bunch).

This is classic saga-stuff; curses, violence, a pervading sense of doom. Tolkien knew those old tales like he knew the back of his hand. Turin is an anti-hero out of that mold. Sure, he's a great warrior, but sometimes you just want to shake him.

Best of all, I can't tell where JRRT left off and where CRT took over. So, was this worth adding to the canon? Definitely. But it isn't for the casual fan.

If you're a fan of TLOTR, then this is a definite must buy. If not, not. It's a beautifully handled presentation of work never published in the author's lifetime. I enjoyed most of it immensely (OK, a few spots dragged a bit for me, but then I'm not THAT big a fan...). It was well worth the read.

If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings, you may love the new work by Tolkien, The Children of Hurin. I say may because it doesn't have a warm fuzzy ending. And I know that most people, at least Americans, demand a ending that makes them feel good. Well, I can't promise you a warm glow but I recommend it for a great read and a fun journey back to a land that I never thought I would get to venture again.

It is a tale like the classic Greek tragedies. But don't let that scare you because at the end I couldn't put the book down. There are no false pretenses of happiness but there is plenty of honor, valor, and heroics. This is not a study on the past history of the main players in LOTR but a prehistory of middle earth.

It gives the reader a better understanding about the relationship between the Elves and Men. The book gives a lot of insight into the songs in LOTR. It is not a dry list or definition of past lives but a true narrative that puts "flesh" on what only REALLY dedicated fans could work through. Such as who are the Eldars and Valars.

I recommend it for a good read, an excellent study on pride and wise counsel, and a fun trip back to a world that is exciting, thrilling, and full of wonder.

I ended up loving this, though it was indeed a slow starter.

I dutifully read the introduction which was supposed to be a helpful aid, but was instead a mind-numbing litany of linages and alliances, none of which stuck in my head. With relief I finally started Chapter One and was bored to death for the first 50-60 pages, reading on only because I had spent my husband's hard-earned money on the book.

Then the story started, and it was a right good one. I fell asleep with visions of dragons and orcs and ill-fated maidens and valiant-but-flawed heroes. It was a grand adventure and I do indeed recommend it. Just skip the intro, slog through the first bit, and brace yourself for the Shakespearian ending.

This should be at the top of the reading list for any Tolkien fan, fantasy fan or fan of the Lord of the Rings films. Only the second complete novel compiled from his unfinished writings. Tolkien's son (who finished it) should have done this years ago. I really hope they do more, because there's at least two more books in the tons of unfinished material Tolkien created. "Hurin" is darker than Tolkien's other books, taking place in the First Age of Middle-Earth. Technically a tragedy, but full of powerful characters. Classic fantasy. Tolkien, long-dead, writes better than most living fantasy authors.

This novel is definitely not your run of the mill fairy tail stories.

The story will be familiar to any true Tolkien fan as the story is told in both Unfinished Tails and Silmarillion.

For newbies... this is an Epic tale dealing with the evils of pride. Turin son of Hurin quests through life trying to find safety and eventually fleeing the doom that seems to follow him.

Newbies will also get to meet Morgoth, the true Dark Lord of whom Sauron was merely a servant.

Everyone familiar with the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Familiar with Sauron well Morgoth was his master and teacher. During the first age in Middle Earth even before there were Hobbits there were Elves and Men. The Elves were the first born and many migrated East with the Valar. The ones that stayed behind were called Dark Elves. Those that went with were called Light Elves, especially those that went to Valinor or the isle of the blessed. The ones that chose to stay on the West coast and not complete the journey were called "Grey Elves" Light Elves made it all the way to Valinor. Morgoth was the highest of the Valar but he basically rebelled and started his own kingdom. He destroyed the Golden and Silver Tree from Valinor and swiped Feanor's Silmarrillion. Feanor went after him but never really got the Silmarrillion back.

Jump ahead many years after that and you have Noldor as a kingdom along, with Doriath and Nothrolomad. They are elven kingdom. There is also a hidden elf kingdom called Gondolin. Men have also come from the East many of whom are fleeing Morgoth. These men are given are given land and they form kingdoms that are allied with the elves. Some houses of men are the houses of Hador and Haleth. Hurin is of the line of Hador. Hurin and his brother Huar are the leaders. During an initial skirmish with Angabond they are separated from their group. They eventually are taken by eagle flight to Gondolin where they reside for a year. After which they return and of which they say nothing of. Morwen is Hurin's wife and he has two children Lalaith and Turin. Lalaith dies from a plague sent by Morgoth. Turin is left surviving. Another battle ensues where elves and men try to resit Morgoth and his orcs. Hurin's side is utterly routed. Hurin himself is captured by Morgoth and in return for his resistance Hurin gets to watch his family cursed. Now bear in mind that Morgoth is helped by a giant Dragon called Glauron. As Dorlomin is overtaken by savage men from the east. Morwen is able to hold on to the castle for a bit because people think she is a witch. After all she has elf friends and hence magic. Turin stay there for a few more years and then goes to the Elven king of Doriath, where Thingol is the king. Turin grows up there and becomes a warrior of some stature. But some elves do not like uncouth humans. Saedros provoke Turin and eventually attack Turin. After Turin kills him he flees the kingdom and joins a band of outlaws. From there they run into Mim one of the last dwarves in the Middle Earth. Mim is resentful of the outlaws and Beleg, Turin's elf friend who tries to persuade him to return to Dorlomith. Eventuyally the orc take over and Turin find himself in Nagrothond. Eventually Glauraung sacks that castle as well. Having failed to save an elven maiden and the city Turin flees to his old homeland to find it in ruins. He joins some woodsmen and for while they resist the orc invasion. Things end with Turin reuniting with a younger sister he never met, meeting a maiden and a sad parting and an ending of honor and battle very reminiscent to the ending of Beowulf.

. . . and a labor of love by his son, Christopher.

"The Children of Hurin" represents the first completely original work of JRR Tolkien to be published since "The Silmarillion" in 1977. The story, originally conceived in 1918, and re-worked many, many times gives great depth and meaning as a "back story" to one of the most tragic episodes in "The Silmarillion". For the reader who was moved by the story of Hurin and his defiance of Morgoth; for Morgoth's dreadful revenge; and for the tragedy which befell Hurin's family, this is the story for you.

"The Children of Hurin" fleshes out the chapter "Of Turin Turambar" adding significant characters (and character development), and deepening motives in such a way as to make the story of Turin even more tragic and emotionally wrenching.

As previously stated, a brief version of the story can be found in "The Silmarillion", and a somewhat lengthier version in "Unfinished Tales". Various versions and fragments of the tale, along with editorial commentary, can be found in "The History of Middle-Earth" series. But "The Children of Hurin" is different. This is not a fragment; this does not represent editorial jottings and musings. This is a seamlessly edited single coherent narrative encompassing all of the various writings, re-writings, and transcripts available to Christopher.

In the Introduction, Christopher suggests that "The Children of Hurin" represented one of three Great Tales which could stand alone from the rest of the Middle-Earth mythology; the other two being "Beren and Luthien" and "The Fall of Gondolin". One can only wonder (and hope) that what Christopher has done with this wonderful book, he will be able to do with the other two tales as well.

I also must speak to the illustrations. The art by Alan Lee is truly magnificent. Not only are the full-color plates remarkable, but the black-and-white drawings are extremely well-done as well.

For readers who are looking for "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings", this is probably not where you want to start. On the other hand, it is not necessary to wade through the entire 12 volume "History of Middle-Earth" in order to appreciate "The Children of Hurin". (Knowledge, however, of "The Silmarillion" would be most helpful!)

I could not possibly recommend this book more highly.

That this book is hands-down my favorite Middle Earth book. It doesn't have the large cast of characters and background as Lord of the Rings or the massive scale of The Silmarillion but it is my favorite. The story is told in a narrative that is somewhat similar to Lord of the Rings and tells about Turin Turambar's story. It is sad and much dark and grittier than Lord of the Rings, and the character is quite ruthless in nature compared to all the valiant heroes in The Silmarillion. Bottom line, if you loved LotR you should absolutely read this, you won't regret it.

I picked up The Children of Hurin on one of my usual trips to the bookstore because it was on the "buy one get one half off" shelf. I was hoping that it would engage me in a similar way to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and take me into that world once again. It sort of did.
Although every time I picked up the book, I enjoyed reading it, I was not dying to pick it back up after I put it down. The characters were a little one-dimensional, and this is probably part of the reason I was only somewhat engaged in the story. Also, as much as I love some angst in a story, this novel had so few happy moments that it was almost depressing. Overall though, I was happy I read it. Although I would not venture to read it again (as I would with The Hobbit, or The Lord of the Rings), I would recommend it. It's worth the read.

I have listened to the unabridged audio book, read by the awesome Christopher Lee. Classic tale of the early history of Middle Earth, told in the same wonderfully complicated method. So nice to visit that world again and hear something new. I'm not sure that the printed version would have held me but the audio version was riveting.

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Children of Hurin is a dark and tragic story. A tale of faerie it might be, but this is certainly no fairy tale! Too grim to be enchanting, it does however enthrall with horrific fascination as it draws the reader forcefully to the inevitable, terrible conclusion. So, a warning: if you're looking for an experience akin to reading The Hobbit, don't fool yourself: as you read the Children of Hurin you'll probably only ever crack a smile in appreciation of the prose. There's not a laugh in it.

Having said that, you'll be doing yourself a favour if you do seek out this refashioned jewel from Tolkien. For those who tried reading The Silmarillion but found it impenetrable, this could be the way back into what is universe building at its very best.

The story of the Children of Hurin occurs in the First Age of Middle Earth, some six and a half thousand years before the events recounted in The Lord of the Rings. So remote in the past is Hurin's tale that by the time Frodo sets out on his journey to destroy the One Ring the very land known to Hurin and his children has long been drowned beneath the sea; the ring does not yet exist; and its creator, the Dark Lord Sauron, is just the servant of Morgoth. Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, and mightiest of the godlike Valar, has fallen from grace through pride and arrogance and the desire to bring all life under his sway. A brutal war (depicted by Tolkien without any romantic delusions) is waged between the Elves and Morgoth. Men at this time are new to the world and some, though not all, have aligned themselves with the Elves against Morgoth. The Children of Hurin is the story of one man's refusal to bend to the Will of Evil and the curse that is visited upon him and his children in consequence. As Christopher Tolkien observes in the introduction to the novel, Morgoth's curse is unlike the curse of lesser beings; Morgoth does not invoke evil on Hurin and his family for he is Evil incarnate - there is no higher power to call upon:

"Upon all whom you love my thought shall weigh as a Cloud of Doom and it shall bring them down into darkness and despair."

What hope then for Hurin and his children, Turin and Nienor?

Not much. But some.

The tale focuses primarily on the exploits of Turin, although his fate and that of his sister Nienor are inextricably and tragically entwined in consequence of their wilful, unbending, often heroic, sometimes arrogant and misguided choices, human choices that are twisted and turned against them and all they love under the influence of Morgoth's Will.

Hurin's defiance of Morgoth promises the destruction of his family - Morgoth is a god, Hurin just a man - but there is nonetheless a wonderful tension between the seeming inevitability of their destruction and the heroic stature of Turin who we feel (and Morgoth fears) might just rise above the curse.

Grim stuff indeed, though not surprisingingly as the story had its inception in the dark days of World War I - the first so called Great War with its innovative methods for destroying lives en masse. Tolkien experienced the trenches first hand and lost his closest friends to the machinery of war and it's not surprising that this grimmest of stories took root in his imagination at that time. The story was nonetheless unfinished at the time of his death, although various versions had been published, most fully realised (in print at least) in The Silmarillion. Some time though it is since I read that work it doesn't seem to me that there is any significant difference between the plot in that version and this latest offering. The difference is that the earlier version is merely a sketch in comparison to this fully realised novel which has been edited from various sources into a seamless whole by Tolkien's son, Christopher, over the last 30 years.

Mention should also be made of the beautiful and evocative illustrations - paintings and sketches - by Alan Lee, long time illustrator of Tolkien's work and conceptual artist / consultant on Peter Jackson's movies of The Lord of the Rings. To be sure, Tolkien's evocation of landscape is so detailed and compelling that it does not require visual assistance to be realised in our mind's eye, and so it is tribute to Lee's artistry that his work is itself a compelling and worthy companion to the text.

In conclusion, the Children of Hurin is highly recommended - it is a truly moving tale, often beautifully written, evoking the harsh beauty of the landscape with the artistry of a great painter and the cruelty of fate with the unflinching eye of a realist. This is fantasy as it should be.
(This review first appeared on [...]

As others have said, this is NOT LOTR 2. Those that have only read LOTR have only seen the tip of the iceberg, and reading and knowing the history behind Middle Earth makes the LOTR much more joyful and fulfilling. I suggest that the reader start with the Silmarillion and read until the chapter entitled "Turin Tumbar". Then they should pick up the Children of Hurin and finish the Silmarillion once the Children of Hurin has been finished. Once that is finished will one know the full thought (at least, revealed) thought of J.R.R. Tolkien. I loved this novel, and it's not a tough read, but incredibly sad. But, as fellow inkling C.S. Lewis said (and I am paraphrasing) - Pain makes the world seem real. Enjoy the book as I have - it is wonderful!

From Seth Kerin, author ofThe Elder Worlds: Book One

Tolkien truly is the father of fantasy novels. There are few writers of fantasy who were not inspired by such classics as The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. This book is equal to his previously published works, though it strikes me as a darker, more ominous tale. There is a great deal of history in the story, and like his other works it requires a bit of patience at the start, but typically patience is well rewarded. The history of Middle Earth is perhaps one of the most fleshed out fictional worlds ever concieved, and speaks of a man who felt very strongly about the land and people he created. This book is a great read and highly recommended.

This book is complicated and has many brief introductions or references to characters from the Silmarillion, hence several previous idiots reviewed this book as bad and unpublishable only because they where to lazy to read or (forgivably) never heard of the Silmarillion or Christopher Tolkien's Histories Of Middle Earth. For them to expect it be like the Lord Of The Rings is ridiculous and for the obvious, or at least to most Tolkien fans, reason that he never had the chance to finish it and what Christopher Tolkien did was to compile and edit several different versions from The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales to make the most comprehensive and full account. As is evident, before reading this, one should read the Silmarillion or at least pay attention to details in Lord Of The Rings otherwise some of the references may seem obscure and the names, though none of the critics seemed to notice the index of them in the back of the book, difficult to distinguish to whom they belong to. It is definitely a great book and companion to the Silmarillion and a must have to any real fan of Tolkien's work.

The Children of Hurin is of a much darker vein than Tolkien's more widely read novels but no less captivating. An epic tragedy set between the Silmarillion and The Hobbit, this novel sets the stage for the events of the Lord of the Rings and introduces the reader to the horrors of Sauron's predecessor. A story only Tolkien can tell, with elves, dwarfs, orcs, humans and a dragon to take into account.

Christopher Tolkien has done a fine job in bringing this story to us in one book where it had previously existed in several complete and incomplete versions in The History of Middle Earth and The Silmarillion. Tolkien's heroic and tragic story of Hurin and his children is set in the First Age, thousands of years before the story of Frodo and Aragorn, in an area of Middle Earth that was destroyed at the end of the First Age.

As for the book itself, the art is very nice and the pictures complement the story well. There is a fold-out map in the back that one can use to locate places in the story. The only disappointments for me were the quality of the paper and the briefness of some of the passages of the story.

All in all, a fine addition to anyone's Tolkien collection.

At first I was impressed but as the story goes on there is nothing amazing about this. I thought though this book reveals real spiritual themes (God, angels, demons, Satan) it would be full of hope, just as Jesus brought us hope and not this negative end. Everybody ends up in their worst nighmares, the curses of Morgoth all come to pass and there is no hope whatsoever. There is not a good decision made by the characters. It seems like all their decisions are so proud and lead to death which gives this book a really sad note. It is like all negatives, all fears and all nightmares come to pass in this story and I find no positive outcomes...not even for the Elves...

This book is dark, epic, and absolutely spectacular. The reading by Christopher Lee really adds to the drama of the story. At several times, the reading sent shivers up my back- such as the conversation between Morgoth and Hurin, and the dialogue between Turin and Glaurung the dragon. An absolute must for any fan of Tolkein!

I just read this in a little over a week and I found myself not being able to put it down. I got lost in the introduction and the 1st chapter, but once I got into the 2nd Chapter it was like flying a plane.

I advise everyone to avoid from(or cover up) reading any chapter titles. Most of them tell you what will happen.

If you've read any of Tolkien's works, then this book is for you. I've only read Fellowship, half of Two Towers, some of the Appendices, and just started reading the Hobbit.

If you haven't read any Tolkien then find this at a bookstore and read Chapter 1 and some or all of Chapter 2 then decide for/against purchasing it. I do advise reading at least the Fellowship though.

I found this to be INCREDIBLY boring. I had to put it down after 60 pages. Christopher Tolkien has no flair for writing or even trying to compile his fathers works. After all maybe there was a reason his father didn't publish these works as one story.

I'm not the biggest Tolkien fan, as I havn't read the entire LotR trilogy, but I was interested in the CoH because I have read parts of the Silmarillion and this book takes place in the magical First Age.

After a slow beginning, the book picks up and never drops off, in my opinion. I enjoyed reading about Turin -- an anti-hero who I found to be "almost" unlikable but more complex than the perfect heroes of the LotR trilogy.

I also liked the atmosphere and setting of Beleriand. Unlike the LotR trilogy, in the CoH men are vassals of the Elven-kings of Beleriand. Furthermore, in addition to Man's reduced status, there is a sense of doom throughout the story as the characters, both Eldar and Edain, are living on the edge of a knife after the breaking of the Siege of Angband and the invasion of Beleriand by Morgoth's forces.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It might not be for people who don't like tragedies, though.

It is masterfully written, and in every way a tragic story that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth at its end. I do not regret reading it though, because it is a spell binding tale that sucks you in, even though you can feel it won't end well.

If you are looking for an engaging, well-developed story like that found in the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, then... this is NOT the book for you.

If you are a huge fan of LOTR and want more background story about the Tolkien universe, then I suppose this is the right book for you.

IMHO there is a reason why J.R.R. Tolkien did not publish this book (his son did). It was not up to his standards. It is not a terrible books, but I would not recommend it, nor do I ever plan to re-read it.

The bottom line regarding this tolkienesque tale is simply: are you a fan of Tolkien?-- that is, are you a fan of high fantasy that is depicted in somber and antiquated tones (which invariably sound more authentic)? Are you a fan of the sort of fantasy that depicts men as men, and women as women (unlike the mass of contemporary "fantasy" which so "anachronistically" portrays the men and women of supposedly another time as simply 21st century sappy weaklings who are more interested in validating their "feelings" than they are preserving their honor and dignity)? I am. Thus, even though this story is given in a bare-bones fashion in the Silmarillion, seeing it in book form with over 200 pgs is definitely welcomed. One only hopes to see the Story of Beren and Luthien and the Fall of Gondolin in single book form soon. My only lament is that Christopher didn't opt to utilize the secondary title that his father contemplated using for this work "The Curse of Morgoth," as that is more appropriate to the essence of the story, not to mention more intriguing.

The story was tough to get into; however, once I was into it, it was impossible to put down. The language style is a little tough to get used to, but once the story starts moving along you don't even notice it. This is another great book about elves and men. If you enjoyed the Silmarilion you will like this book.

Although some complain about the dark nature of the tale or of the difficult language of the book, it is actually a fast read, taking only a few hours to read at most. The genealogies, as in all Tolkien works, are heavy in the opening of the work, but soon they drop away, leaving only a wonderfully woven tale for the reader to enjoy from beginning to end. Of course, the tale is dark, but then, it is supposed to be. No surprises for the reader of the Simarillion, but no disappointments to any who enjoy a carefully told tale, full of description and solid language. Truly wonderful!

There's been great speculation about this book since its 2006 announcement. Based on a manuscript begun by father J.R.R. in 1918 and reworked throughout his life, son Christopher, who has edited 14 posthumous volumes of his dad's work, spent decades shaping the story's many drafts into this final form. Tolkien's legions of fans--all except those expecting Lord of the Rings Part II--shouldn't be disappointed; it's goooood! But far from hobbits frolicking in the Shire, this is a woeful tale laced with suicide, incest, and murder. Set 6500 years before Rings, the old master delivers new depth to Middle-earth lore, which, by its sheer weight, arguably is modern literature's greatest mythology. Many characters and settings will be familiar to those who've delved beyond Rings, and here we encounter Túrin and Niënor, son and daughter to Húrin, a great warrior held captive by Morgoth, the Dark Lord. Once grown, Túrin seeks vengeance against Morgoth, and though mighty in arms and the bane of orcs, Morgoth's icy fingers touch all Túrin's deeds, and doom and darkness surround him. The destiny of sister and brother are intertwined, and their ultimate fate is a family tragedy worthy of Shakespeare. Production wise, the book is a beauty, with nine color paintings and 25 pencil sketches by Tolkien artist Alan Lee, plus a glossary of names, family trees, and the obligatory appendix and map. The Children of Húrin is a dark and brooding yet glorious addition to the Tolkien canon. Welcome back, old friend (and bravo Christopher for bringing it to fruition!). Highly recommended.

"As a lord was held for the strength of his body and stoutness of heart. Much lore he learned, and loved wisdom but fortune followed him in few desires; oft wrong and awry what he wrought turned; what he loved he lost, what he longed for he won not; and full friendship he found not easily, nor was lightly loved for his looks were sad. He was gloom-hearted, and glad seldom for the sundering sorrow that filled his youth..." On Turin Turambar - The Children of Hurin.
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Written by J.R.R Tolkien and edited by his son Christopher Tolkien, The Children of Hurin is a fantasy novel that takes place long before The Lord of the Ring books, but in the same world. This tale starts by giving a long account of a King named Hurin who assembles the races of Elves and Man to go war against the Dark Lord, Morgoth, and his army of Orcs. Morgoth is ever increasingly invading their world. The good are standing up against evil to keep their families safe. Hurin leaves behind his pregnant wife, Morwen, and his eight year old boy, Turin, when he goes to war. The Elves and Men are defeated and nearly destroyed. Hurin is taken prisoner and is asked to yield to the Dark Lord. He defies Morgoth, and in return, Morgoth curses Hurin and his family. The story resumes with the accounts of what happens to Turin's wife and two children. The children become very noble and strong, but the curse upon them always leads them into bitter obstacles.

Tolkien does a great job in capturing his audience, but it takes a long time for the book to become gripping. He uses his own style and language that makes you feel like you are reading from the browned pages of a two-hundred year old book covered in dust. The dialect is hard to read. He uses names that sound too much alike which can become confusing. The wording, however, is used to take you back in time which gives the story an historic feel.

The Children of Hurin is not as great and famous as The Lord of the Rings, but the feel of the story is similar enough that you can tell it is written by Tolkien. It took a long time to get to the main part of the story, so patience is needed. Overall, it is a difficult but enjoyable book to read.

This book is full of tragety. There is friend killing friend, siblings committing suicide, favorite characters being killed off and much more. And it all makes sense. It is a very violent book but it is still awesome!! This is one of my favorite books ever.>:) i couldnt even put the book down. it is a great science fiction fantasy book with elves.