Sheri I am curious about it too-also wonder why it took almost 30 years-why did it take so long?
I wonder what the rest of the LOTR's fans will think and will they read it...?

Pat

I don't understand the thirty year thing either.

I'm trying to figure out if this will more along the lines of The Silmarillion and the History of Middle Earth books, or if it will be a full-blown tale more along the lines of The Hobbit.

J.R.R. Tolkien had an unusual writing method, developed during WWII when paper was rationed. He would write his ms by hand with pencil. Then, when it came time to rewrite, he would write right over the old words using a pen, tracing his previous writing and making changes right over the old stuff. Sometimes he'd do this more than once, and his handwriting was no great shakes anyway. This means the original mss must be very nearly illegible. Probably it took poor Christopher these past 30 years to decipher the scribbling, with the aid of powerful magnifying glasses, cold compresses over his eyes, and a light table.

Brenda

Well, Christopher's been very busy with the rest of the legendarium, book of lost tales, unfinished tales and so on and so forth. He may have gotten to this only now. I highly doubt he spent 30 years on this one book.

I'm a fan also and won't pass up this chance to fall back into the fantasy. I think he'll be as true as possible to his father's style and detail. It remains to be seen if he can capture it all well enough to make it real, but I'm willing to give it a try.

I'm curious, and will withhold judgment until it is available.

Just recently I the three movies again. I've read LotR three times and The Silmarillion once, but have not tackled the History of Middle Earth books. I realize this makes me a less than truly devoted fan, but they look daunting, not fun. Am I wrong? What is the consensus?

Rosefolly

I'm litlbit's daughter, putting in my 2 cents. I read all the LOTR books at least once a year, I've seen all the movies, read The Hobbit, and all the history books, including the Silmarillion, and my opinion, rosefolly, is that the histories are good books. I really liked them. They're in very archaic language, but I enjoyed them a lot. Of course, I can't speak for everybody, but they're well written and have good storylines.

Rosefolly - in my opinion, the HOME books are only for the truly dedicated fan who's interested in seeing Tolkien's process of creation. Each book is a collection of the multiple versions of the various tales, many of which are so early that they are too inconsistent with the final LotR to have been published as part of The Silmarillion or the appendices in The Return of the King. I've read about two-thirds of HOME, and enjoyed some volumes more than others. If you are interested in trying one, I'd suggest The Peoples of Middle Earth because it covers all the various races and cultures, or perhaps The Return of the Shadow, which I think is the volume that covers the early versions of LotR and therefore gives the most insight into how the story developed from the base legendarium. Those were the two I enjoyed the most. If you are linguistically inclined, The Lost Road covers the invented languages.

I will probably get The Children of Hurin, even though this is one of the saddest of Tolkien's stories, and shows the influence of legends like the Niebelungied & Volsungasaga where so many end up dead or destroyed.

I've heard that these books are symbolic, that Tolkien was actually writing of the efforts of the League of Nations, and the efforts to bring differing peoples of the world together, in order to avoid Armageddon, or at least, a final war. What's your take on this theory? Do you guys read the books on a deeper level of possible symbolism or just for the good stories that they are? Just curious....

Tolkien himself complained bitterly of that kind of interpretation.

Brenda

I've been debating with myself as to whether or not I should pick up the new book. My father is a devoted Tolkein fan and I am also considering getting it for him for Christmas.

Cheryl, thanks for the info about the HOME series. You had mentioned it a few years ago and like an idiot, I didn't write it down. I'm thinking of picking up the two volumes you recommended. Since I just finished listening to the LoTR, I'm still in the mood for more info. Incidentally, do you remember, by any chance, what happened to Celeborn? Did he eventually end up following Galadriel over the sea, or did he stay behind in Middle Earth forever?

rouan, I can't remember if he followed Galadriel or retired to Rivendell. I do remember that he left Lorien because in the "Tale of Arwen and Aragorn" in the RotK appendices, Arwen goes to Lothlorien after Aragorn's death and there is a comment that it was deserted and fading because Galadriel and Celeborn were both gone. There's quite a bit about him in Unfinished Tales, but my quick scan of the relevant sections didn't turn up anything about what he did in the 4th age. Does anyone else know?

cheryl

Just to follow up, the book will be available tomorrow.

Here is a link that might be useful: Children of Hurin

I stopped in at B&N today to take a look at it. I want to get it, but am debating getting the deluxe edition if the binding is nicer and it's not just a matter of a slipcase. Has anyone seen the deluxe, or better yet, both? I do like good quality bindings on books and will pay a little bit more for them if I must.

Rosefolly

Sounds like it will be enjoyable reading, at least for fans.

Here is a link that might be useful: Book review, Children of Hurin

Rosefolly, thanks for the review. I'm on the library list for this, but based on the review and the fact that I think it might be slow reading for me, I think I'm going to buy it.

My copy is arriving today from Amazon. While looking for that book I found the two-volume The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide. One large volume is called Chronology and traces Tolkien throughout his life -- unbelievable detail. The other even larger volume is Reader's Guide and includes a huge amount of information on his writings, people who were important in his life, essays and criticisms of his writings, and much information on the individual works. I just received this set yesterday and every page I turn to is fascinating.

Sometimes I wish I could just devote a year to reading Tolkien because I only started reading The Hobbit and then LOTR after 9/11/2001 and so am very far behind those who read his books as teens. I loved his Letters and should have just continued on reading other books at that point.

Frances, sometimes a year of intense reading on a topic can be useful. On the other hand, if you are really enjoying something, spreading it out over several years allows you to have the pleasure of discovery for a longer time.

Rosefolly

I'm 50 pages into this, and my feeling so far (other than complete frustration over constantly mixing up Hurin and Turin as I read) is that this might be one for fans of the Silmarillion and the HOME books vs. those of us who have only read LOTR. We'll see how it goes.

Sheri - I value your judgment enough that I am going to wait for you to finish it - particularly since I've only read LOTR. Let me know if it's one I should buy or go on the library waitlist.

Rouan and Donnamira, I just now noticed your discussion about what happened to Celeborn. I found a website that is an online encyclopedia of Middle Earth. put together by someone who has read the literature far more thoroughly than I have!

Galadriel left Middle-earth to return to the Undying Lands in 3021 at the end of the Third Age. Celeborn remained in Lothlorien, but after a few years he began to grow weary. He went to Rivendell to live with his grandsons Elladan and Elrohir for awhile in the early part of the Fourth Age. Eventually, Celeborn went to the Grey Havens and sailed for the Undying Lands where his wife and daughter dwelled. It is said that "with him went the last living memory of the Elder Days in Middle-earth." (FotR, p. 25)

Rosefolly

Here is a link that might be useful: The Thain's Book - entry on Celeborn

Hope you all are enjoying reading this great book. I wrote a review of it that you might find interesting. Won't bore you with it here but it's in the optional link. Thank God spring is here and we can all get a bit of Middle Earth blooming again!

Here is a link that might be useful: children of hurin book review

Rosefolly - thanks for the follow-up on Celeborn. Now that I see it, I recognize that quote. Senior moment! :)

I haven't gotten around to ordering Children of Hurin yet - I have so many TBR's that I've been holding off my next Amazon order until I can lower that mountain a bit.

I finally finished this today. It starts slow and it is a veritable Greek tragedy of a tale, but I think it's worth reading for any LOTR fan who is interested in the tales of the First Age. I did have a hard time getting into it, but when I finally committed myself to finishing it, the book flew.

The characters are not as fully developed, certainly, as those in LOTR, and I just couldn't connect with most of them. Turin is one tough main character. I was also perpetually trying to remember who was who, for he and many other people -- and even several places -- in the story had multiple and ever-changing names. (There is a detailed list of names at the back of the book.) At one point I didn't realize for a whole page that the character in the middle of the action was actually Turin, as he was using his fourth or fifth alias since the start of the story and I had just lost track. Definitely a lack on my part :)

The introduction by Christopher Tolkien, the appendices, the genealogies, and the story of how The Children of Hurin was painstakingly put together from the elder Tolkien's notes, poems and unfinished drafts is also interesting reading. Finally, the illustrations by Alan Lee are just gorgeous.

As I mentioned before, I have not read The Silmarillion, or the HOME books, but I'd bet fans of those would really love this and appreciate it on far more levels than I can. Personally, I didn't love it, but I'm glad I read it. It's not a book I'd want to purchase, but it was certainly worth the overdue library fine (Janalyn, IMHO, I'd go the library route first).

I'll be very interested to hear what everyone else here thinks of it.