The Children of Hurin

Zurbaran1 · 04-12-2007, 09:21 PM

Wow, this one took me by complete surprise. I received a notice about it from Amazon. As the description says, it's the first new book by J.R.R Tolkien in 30 years. It will be published on April 17 and is 320 pages long. Of course I immediately ordered a copy. Here's some info:

The first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in three decades -- since the publication of The Silmarillion in 1977 -- The Children of Hurin reunites fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, Eagles and Orcs. Presented for the first time as a complete, standalone story, this stirring narrative will appeal to casual fans and expert readers alike, returning them to the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.

The Children of Hurin, begun in 1918, was one of three 'Great Tales' J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life, though he never realized his ambition to see it published. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and references within other Tolkien books, it has long been assumed that the story would forever remain an unfinished tale. Now reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien, painstakingly editing together the complete work from his father's many drafts, this book is the culmination of a tireless thirty-year endeavor by him to bring J.R.R.Tolkien's vast body of unpublished work to a wide audience.

Having drawn the distinctive maps for the original The Lord of the Rings more than 50 years ago, Christopher has also created a detailed new map for this book. In addition, it will include a jacket and color paintings by Alan Lee, illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and Academy Award-winning designer of the film trilogy.

**MONSTER** · 04-12-2007, 10:55 PM

Well Tupac has released a ton of new albums since his death so why can't Tolkien release a new book?

I'll have to pick this one up.

Comicboy · 04-13-2007, 06:31 AM

I thought you'd know about this. I'd heard rumblings about it for at least 3 months, no name at that time but just that he'd been working on finishing one of his fathers books. I'll be picking it up.

They're Statues! · 04-14-2007, 02:39 PM

Looking forawrd to this! Two charcters I have always wanted to know more about:

Morgoth, (as in "a Balrog of Morgoth" from the movie) Sauron is his lieutenant.

And Glaurung, Father of Dragons (think Smaug from the Hobbit only really really bad a$$).

ReturningSon · 04-15-2007, 02:44 PM

I own the Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and it is the definitive version of LOTR. Alan Lee is such a great artist and is the only one who comes close to illustrating Tolkien's vision. This "Hurin" shall be interesting...

carbo-fation · 04-15-2007, 07:21 PM

2 more days and then I can finally read this!!

JLM · 04-16-2007, 08:55 AM

I picked this up at lunchtime and will read it when I've finished my current book.

However, I have sneaked a look at the pictures, and there's some fantastic Alan Lee stuff in there.

Justin · 04-18-2007, 12:13 AM

I'll be picking this up as soon as i can!

**Bullseye** · 04-18-2007, 11:31 AM

I'll be ordering this for sure.

**wktf** · 04-21-2007, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReturningSon

I own the Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and it is the definitive version of LOTR. Alan Lee is such a great artist and is the only one who comes close to illustrating Tolkien's vision. This "Hurin" shall be interesting...

I own this collection as well and proudly display it on my bookshelves. Definitely will be picking up "The Children of Hurin." This is incredible news. Thanks, Zurb, for posting.