There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
VINE VOICEon February 11, 2014
“Thankless fosterling, outlaw, slayer of your friend, thief of love, usurper of Nargothrond, captain foolhardy, and deserter of your kin.”
- Glaurung the dragon taunts fallen hero Turin in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Children of Hurin"
I really didn't enjoy reading "The Hobbit". I loved and have become obsessed with "The Lord of the Rings". Jumping deeper into the nerd world of Tolkien minutiae, I just finished "The Children of Hurin", a short novel cobbled together from J.R.R.'s manuscript pieces by His son, Christopher. And it’s very good.
The story is an expansion of a tale from a previously published story within "The Silmarillion," Tolkien's book of legends and 'history' within his greater Middle-Earth universe. "Children" follows the family of Hurin as they carve out a cursed existence thousands of years before Frodo ever heard of a ring. The family curse, meted out by Morgoth, a First Age Evil who shades the world in a similar vein to Sauron, weighs most heavily on his son, Turin. But neither Hurin's wife, nor daughter avoid it's sting.
“The shadow of my thought shall lie upon them wherever they go, and my hate shall pursue them to the ends of the world.”
- Morgoth recites his curse on Hurin’s family
The story reads like thick, weighty and substantive mythology. It's language is a bit archaic, but it only adds to its sense of history. The mythical themes will be recognizable - cursed hero finds that any happiness is merely shadow. Each heroic feat is mirrored by an equally heroic failure.
The characters are quite simple. Subtlety resides within the connective elements of the plot, not within the personalities that are very broadly drawn.
If you’re a fan of LOTR, this is a terrific read to expand your glimpse inside Tolkien’s vast world.
- Glaurung the dragon taunts fallen hero Turin in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Children of Hurin"
I really didn't enjoy reading "The Hobbit". I loved and have become obsessed with "The Lord of the Rings". Jumping deeper into the nerd world of Tolkien minutiae, I just finished "The Children of Hurin", a short novel cobbled together from J.R.R.'s manuscript pieces by His son, Christopher. And it’s very good.
The story is an expansion of a tale from a previously published story within "The Silmarillion," Tolkien's book of legends and 'history' within his greater Middle-Earth universe. "Children" follows the family of Hurin as they carve out a cursed existence thousands of years before Frodo ever heard of a ring. The family curse, meted out by Morgoth, a First Age Evil who shades the world in a similar vein to Sauron, weighs most heavily on his son, Turin. But neither Hurin's wife, nor daughter avoid it's sting.
“The shadow of my thought shall lie upon them wherever they go, and my hate shall pursue them to the ends of the world.”
- Morgoth recites his curse on Hurin’s family
The story reads like thick, weighty and substantive mythology. It's language is a bit archaic, but it only adds to its sense of history. The mythical themes will be recognizable - cursed hero finds that any happiness is merely shadow. Each heroic feat is mirrored by an equally heroic failure.
The characters are quite simple. Subtlety resides within the connective elements of the plot, not within the personalities that are very broadly drawn.
If you’re a fan of LOTR, this is a terrific read to expand your glimpse inside Tolkien’s vast world.
on May 10, 2017
A thoroughly tragic tale of a young man beset by internal demons as well as the great external evil that was the precursor to Sauron. Never completed by Tolkein himself, it had to be edited and embellished a bit by Christopher. He did a magnificent job of it.
on April 2, 2017
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It's JRR Tolkien, what more needs to be said.
on March 1, 2016
I'm a Tolkien fan and this is one of my favorite stories. Christopher Tolkien did a great job put in together. I love this book because is dark and sad. Besides, i have a thing about falling princes. If you are a Hobbit fan, don't go there...
Tolkien is known to write about good and evil, and how you get awarded if you are really good or if you do the right thing... Well, this book is not about that at all. This is a tragic dark story about this unfortunate family. If you can handle dark greek tragedy, you'll enjoy it. (Maybe enjoy is not the word).
Tolkien is known to write about good and evil, and how you get awarded if you are really good or if you do the right thing... Well, this book is not about that at all. This is a tragic dark story about this unfortunate family. If you can handle dark greek tragedy, you'll enjoy it. (Maybe enjoy is not the word).
on April 21, 2013
I've noticed that many reviewers here have made that point that the "same" story as recounted here appears also in "The Silmarillion". While it is true that much of the latter part of the plot from this novel appears in a more summarised form in that work, it is completely wrong to give the impression that by reading this novel one is merely rereading material already in "The Silmarillion".
While I greatly admire "The Silmarillion", this book differs from it in that it is a sustained prose narrative, poignant in the particularity of its telling and fully developed in its treatment of character especially. Where "The Silmarillion" account is akin to the stories found in the Norse Sagas, this treatment is more novelistic as we understand that term: many episodes are painted with the same attention to detail and setting one finds in "The Lord of the Rings". Meanwhile, the whole episode of Turin's childhood, which is almost entirely absent from the Silmarillion version, appears in this novel in several chapters. Indeed, once one has read this novelised version, it is hard to see how the story of Turin can be fully grasped in its poignant beautry without an appreciation of the main protagonist/antagonist's (for Turin unusually fulfills both roles) boyhood experiences and questions.
Indeed that is the point: where "the Silmarillion" version is terse and crisp, fitting neatly into the larger story of the Elder Days, "The Children of Hurin", while retaining an elegant terseness of prose, is fuller, more particular, more unique and therefore (I would say) a greater enjoyment to read and digest.
While I greatly admire "The Silmarillion", this book differs from it in that it is a sustained prose narrative, poignant in the particularity of its telling and fully developed in its treatment of character especially. Where "The Silmarillion" account is akin to the stories found in the Norse Sagas, this treatment is more novelistic as we understand that term: many episodes are painted with the same attention to detail and setting one finds in "The Lord of the Rings". Meanwhile, the whole episode of Turin's childhood, which is almost entirely absent from the Silmarillion version, appears in this novel in several chapters. Indeed, once one has read this novelised version, it is hard to see how the story of Turin can be fully grasped in its poignant beautry without an appreciation of the main protagonist/antagonist's (for Turin unusually fulfills both roles) boyhood experiences and questions.
Indeed that is the point: where "the Silmarillion" version is terse and crisp, fitting neatly into the larger story of the Elder Days, "The Children of Hurin", while retaining an elegant terseness of prose, is fuller, more particular, more unique and therefore (I would say) a greater enjoyment to read and digest.
on June 1, 2017
Good book. If you're a fan of Tolkien you probably already know the story, but it's sill worth a read. Note: the Kindle edition has none of the images or artwork, which is the main appeal of this book.
on April 30, 2017
Another welcome addition to the Tolkien mythology. Christopher Tolkien did a terrific job pulling together various manuscripts left behind by his father to make a coherent and highly readable story.
on February 2, 2015
Condition of the book was brand new.
The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, during a time far back in the past of Middle Earth, and another period when Evil overtakes the land. Despite everything Turin does, he just can't get ahead. This makes every other tragedy seem comic.
The writing style evokes an older, story-telling based method, and even though it still contains quite a bit of action and dialogue, there is a lot od telling during long down times.
If you like old Greek myths, or GOT, check this out. I enjoyed the read a lot, and my only honest complain was the absence of a map in the book. There are different place names in Beleriand in this than there are in the LOTR, even though many of the places are actually the same, just an earlier time. I felt the need to keep track on paper.
However, there were Alan Lee paintings in the center. Gorgeous in their tragic content.
The story follows Hurin's son, Turin, during a time far back in the past of Middle Earth, and another period when Evil overtakes the land. Despite everything Turin does, he just can't get ahead. This makes every other tragedy seem comic.
The writing style evokes an older, story-telling based method, and even though it still contains quite a bit of action and dialogue, there is a lot od telling during long down times.
If you like old Greek myths, or GOT, check this out. I enjoyed the read a lot, and my only honest complain was the absence of a map in the book. There are different place names in Beleriand in this than there are in the LOTR, even though many of the places are actually the same, just an earlier time. I felt the need to keep track on paper.
However, there were Alan Lee paintings in the center. Gorgeous in their tragic content.
on April 30, 2007
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were the works that started me on a lifetime journey of reading. Read in junior high, these books are relatively easy to digest and understand. It was only after reading LOTR about half a dozen times that I tackled the Silmarillion, the Book of Lost Tales volumes 1 and 2, and Unfinished Tales.
If The Hobbit is junior high and LOTR is high school, the latter works are certainly college and even graduate level material, depending upon how much you want to invest in them. It is no exaggeration that Tokien created an entire world, complete with languages, cultures and customs.
The subject of the reviewed work, The Children of Hurin, is one of the mythological tales underlying Tolkien's universe. Taking place 6,000 years prior to LOTR, the adventures of Turin Turambar were addressed in both The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, but not in this completely fleshed out version. It is certainly a pleasure, as a lifelong Tolkien fan, to take up the task of refamiliarizing myself with the geneologies and physical landscape of the First Age. As one who spent many hours doing so in the past, the challenge is minor compared to a Tolkien beginner.
The question must be asked, "What is the best way for a reader to proceed if encountering Tolkien for the first time?" Certainly the recent release of the movie versions have piqued the interest of many potential readers. I can't help but believe that the style of some of the deeper works might be an instant turn off to some potential devotees. While I can't really recommend the Hobbit to adult readers, LOTR would certainly be a good starting point. Those that want more (and who wouldn't) can delve as deeply as they wish into the more cerebral offerings of Silmarillion and Lost Tales.
One thing that I appreciated about Children of Hurin was the design of the book as it relates to the map. While reading any Tolkien offering, I wear out the pages constantly referring to the geneologies and maps. In this book, the map is designed such that it can be unfolded and extended outside the margins of the page, making unfolding and refolding unnecessary. You can read the map and the book at the same time.
If The Hobbit is junior high and LOTR is high school, the latter works are certainly college and even graduate level material, depending upon how much you want to invest in them. It is no exaggeration that Tokien created an entire world, complete with languages, cultures and customs.
The subject of the reviewed work, The Children of Hurin, is one of the mythological tales underlying Tolkien's universe. Taking place 6,000 years prior to LOTR, the adventures of Turin Turambar were addressed in both The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, but not in this completely fleshed out version. It is certainly a pleasure, as a lifelong Tolkien fan, to take up the task of refamiliarizing myself with the geneologies and physical landscape of the First Age. As one who spent many hours doing so in the past, the challenge is minor compared to a Tolkien beginner.
The question must be asked, "What is the best way for a reader to proceed if encountering Tolkien for the first time?" Certainly the recent release of the movie versions have piqued the interest of many potential readers. I can't help but believe that the style of some of the deeper works might be an instant turn off to some potential devotees. While I can't really recommend the Hobbit to adult readers, LOTR would certainly be a good starting point. Those that want more (and who wouldn't) can delve as deeply as they wish into the more cerebral offerings of Silmarillion and Lost Tales.
One thing that I appreciated about Children of Hurin was the design of the book as it relates to the map. While reading any Tolkien offering, I wear out the pages constantly referring to the geneologies and maps. In this book, the map is designed such that it can be unfolded and extended outside the margins of the page, making unfolding and refolding unnecessary. You can read the map and the book at the same time.
