The Children of Húrin

By J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien

Book Overview

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, this paperback of the epic fantasy tale of The Children of H rin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves, dragons, Dwarves and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.

It is a legendary time in the First Age of Middle-earth, long before The Lord of the Rings, and Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwells in the vast fortress of Angband in the North; and within the shadow of the fear of Angband, and the war waged by Morgoth against the Elves, the fates of T rin and his sister Ni nor will be tragically entwined.

Their brief and passionate lives are dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bears them as the children of H rin, the man who dared to defy him to his face. Against them Morgoth sends his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire, in an attempt to fulfil this dark family curse, and destroy the children of H rin.

Begun by J.R.R. Tolkien at the end of the First World War, this tale of heroic fantasy, The Children of H rin, became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to a final and finished form. In this book Christopher Tolkien has constructed, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0547086059
• ISBN13: 9780547086057
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

My new favorite Tolkien novel

I am so glad this book was published. It is a fascinating counterpoint to LOTR.

My husband's all time favorite book!

I personally haven't read this story, but from what I have heard it is a very in-depth and heart wrenching tale. The artwork is fantastic for the hardcover. I wanted to get my husband all the Tolkien books there were in 2018, so I got them all here at a incredible price. My husband had no idea because of how cheap it was!

An Early Glimpse of Middle earth

The Children of Hurin is a tale dating from the very early years of J.R.R. Tolkien's mythical worlds. He began writing it as early as 1918 and continued to work on it off and on for the rest of his life. Other versions of the Tale have been included in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, but now we have the story as close to the way J.R.R. Tolkien intended it as his son Christopher could recreate. The Children of Hurin takes place in Middle earth thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, specifically in Beleriand, a region that by the time of The War of the Ring had long since sunk beneath the Sea. During the First Age Elves and Men (the Eldar and the Edain) were locked in combat with the Great Enemy Melkor/Morgoth, of whom Sauron in The Lord of the Rings was a mere servant. At the Tale's beginning Morgoth has conquered the greater portion of Beleriand and now rules it from his fortress of Angband in the mountains of Thangorodrim. The Elvish kingdoms of Doriath, Nargothrond, and Gondolin are hidden and for the moment still safe. The Edain have been less fortunate and are now scattered and largely demoralized. Hurin, the Heir of the House of Hador, seeks to rally Men to continue the struggle. Morgoth captures Hurin and places a curse on his family. Hurin's children Turin and Nienor must deal with the curse and its consequences for the rest of their lives. This is a dark story full of tragedy, deceit, and violence. Tolkien's models were the Germanic sagas, but there are also elements of Greek drama, in particular in the role Fate plays in the lives of so many characters. There are also many elements readers of Tolkien's later works will recognize: dragon-guarded treasures, swords and other talismans with unknown powers to be reckoned with,and proud men and women who meet their destinies with grim determination. Although the story is complete in itself, there are hints of more Tales to come, and it is to be hoped that Christopher Tolkien will provide the full "Fall of Gondolin" among other stories still left to be completely told. An additional pleasure are the very fine but sombre paintings Alan Lee has provided to illustrate The Children of Hurin. They perfectly match the mood of the story and greatly enhance it.

Tolkien's Missing Link between the Hobbit Cycle and The Silmarillion tradition

When the Tolkien Estate announced a new Tolkien novel to be published in April, 2007, the world was shocked. After all, Tolkien died 34 years before THE CHLDREN OF HURIN was published. Reactions varied from trepidation and fear, to charges that the Estate is trying to milk the pubic for more money, to sheer excitement that, beyond all odds, we're getting another Tolkien story. We all know Hollywood is eying it greedily, though the Estate has made it quite clear that it is not interested in selling the film rights any time soon. Naturally, an event such as a publication of a new novel by a long deceased major author is bound to excite different reactions from different quarters. Depending on where you stand in Tolkien fandom will largely define your reactions to the story. First, just a few quick facts about the novel. *CoH can be read independently of Tolkien's other works, due largely in part to C. Tolkien's excellent introduction, explaining the background and context in which these events occur in Tolkien's imagined cosmos. Having an overall general knowledge of Tolkien's legendarium is certainly helpful, but fortunately it is not a pre-requisite as the story is strong enough to stand independently. *CoH is much darker than the Hobbit cycle. It is a very tragic story on a Shakespearian level, and altogether not suitable for children, featuring incest and murder as prominent plot features. *The plot revolves around the Dark Lord Morgoth's curse on Turin and Nienor, who are the Children of Hurin, for Hurin's defiance against Morgoth. Morgoth is Tolkien's equivalent of Satan, and who Sauron is but a servant too. *CoH is easier to read than THE SILMARILLION, though CoH still employs in places the archaic style found in that book. In style and content, it bears similarities to both LOTR and THE SILMARILLION, mingling the archaic style of the later with the more conventional novel style of the former. *Although the novel has been "reconstructed" by Christopher Tolkien, unlike certain elements of the published SILMARILLION, there has been no editorial interpolation or invention. Other than minor grammatical errors and some brief transitional passages, the text is entirely as Tolkien conceived it. *Approx 25% of the text has never been published before. The remaining 75% has been published in THE SILMARILLION and UNFINISHED TALES, though Christopher Tolkien notes there are several changes to the text that do not appear in UNFINISHED TALES *Though the press has made much of the fact that Tolkien began this in 1918, almost all the text used in the book was written AFTER LOTR was written *There is a swift narrative urgency. While THE SILMARILLION stands as a broad overview of Tolkien's mythology with hundreds of characters vying for the readers' attention, CoH keeps its focus on a well-defined cast of main characters. There are three primary readerships that will be approaching THE CHILDREN OF HURIN. Depending on what group you belong

Answers to questions, and a man misplaced in time

THE QUESTIONS To address the questions that most people have: * This is an easier read than The Silmarillion. * It is a greatly expanded version of Chapter XXI of The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar", BUT... * Reading The Silmarillion is not necessary. * It is told in a narrative voice. * The narrative voice is archaic. * The so-called archaic voice falls somewhere in between The Silmarillion and LOTR in style. * Húrin is a great hero amongst men. * His son, Túrin, is whom this story is chiefly about. His daughter Nienor makes a late, but significant, appearance. Significant enough for this book to be called The Children of Húrin. * You will recognize a few names from LOTR, but don't look for furry-footed Hobbits. A Balrog makes a brief appearance, as does a dragon. * Unlike some posthumous publications of Tolkien's, there is only one footnote in the entire narrative, and it doesn't interrupt the flow of the story. It's inclusion wasn't necessary, but the information was nice to know. * There is an Index of Names at the back of the book to help the reader keep track of who is who. * As always, a well detailed map is included. * Read the Introduction. Christopher Tolkien does a wonderful job preparing the reader who hasn't read The Silmarillion for what is to follow. I can't emphasize the last point enough. One reviewer noted that you wouldn't know who Melkor was, and that this was detrimental to the reading of The Children of Húrin. Not so! Melkor (known later to Elves and Men as Morgoth, which translates to "Dark Foe" in Sindarin) is discussed in the Introduction. In the event that you ignore my advice, Morgoth is the original Dark Lord, for whom Sauron was but a mere Lieutenant. Think on the malevolence of Sauron, and imagine him serving something far more powerful and foul. That is Morgoth. Indeed, "malice that wakes in the morning is the mirth of Morgoth ere night." Between the Introduction and the first chapter, you have everything you need to know. Regarding the first chapter: it starts slow. It feels biblical: "Glóredhel wedded Haldir son of Halmir, lord of the Men of Brethil; and at the same feast his son Galdor the Tall wedded Hareth, the daughter of Halmir. Galdor and Hareth had two suns, Húrin and Huor..." But for those of us who are confused names, that's the worst of it, and as noted above, there is an Index in the back to help you keep track if necessary. THE STORY Húrin was a great warrior of Men, and fought with the elves against Morgoth in the Fifth Battle of Beleriand, called Nirnaeth Arnodediad in the Sindarin tongue of the grey-elves, meaning The Battle of `Unnumbered Tears'. It is aptly named, for many lords - elf, dwarf, and man - died that day. Húrin, though, was captured, for Morgoth wanted more than his life. He demanded from Húrin the location of the hidden city-kingdom of Gondolin, the last great stronghold of the elves. But Húrin defies Morgoth, mocking him, and in his wrath, Morgoth places a curse on his children

A dark yet glorious addition to the Tolkien canon.

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.

a review for the curious LOTR fan

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 fl