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Hi everybody! I'm new here but I wanted to get everyone's opinion on 'Children of Hurin'. I for one lOVED it! The parts with Turin in all Tolkien's other works were just too small, it was like the tip of the iceberg... It's such a beautiful sad story..
Anyways, what did everyone else think of it?

Loved it. My second favorite story of the First Age after the tale of Beren and Luthien. And in this full version we get to know Morwen's fate! Depressing, yes, but beautiful :)

I agree! I also really liked the illustrations that were in the hardcover.

I enjoyed it, but I had a little trouble getting into it because I kept wanting another novel along the lines of LOTR, but of course it can't be read like that-- the reader is too distant from the characters, the heroes too large (I don't say that as a criticism though-- this is heroic legend, Turin and the others are supposed to be large!). Much as I love the story and style, I felt it was a bit much to sustain this form and style for so long-- with the Silmarillion this romantic-era mythic-heroic treatment worked because the content was broken up into fairly independant units and I, at least, found it easier to approach as a genre unto itself, rather than trying to read it as a novel (which ruins it, of course). Silmarillion was my favorite for a time, maybe still it, but for some reason I could not shake my "novel-lens" when reading Children of Hurin, and it just could not carry me along as such. But I was reading it while busy with a bunch of things this summer, so I'd like to go back to it again and really figure out what I think.

I had a tough time getting into it at the beginning as well, but that's because I kept having to reference The Silmarillion in order to get my timeline straight. I really started to get hooked at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. I really appreciated that it was unlike Lord of the Rings in that it pretty much just followed one character for the majority of it. I thought the whole tragedy of Turin was beautiful and sad.

I for one loved the book. Just in case someone is really interested - check out - aptly named "The Encyclopedia of Arda". Apart from the books, this is where i spend a lot of time frequently.

I don't think I've ever hated an antagonist more than Melkor (or whichever version his name was, I forgot). Never before have I read a book where I've been so surprised at how much evil an antagonist forces into the world. Man, what a book!

I also loved it. I've read the basic story many times in HoME, but having the full version all together was amazing. All the scenes with Beleg always make me cry.

Wow and who else totally adored Alan Lee's art???

I want to second Carl's comment above; readers who are looking for anything stylistically like LotR are going to be very disappointed. This is Tolkien in a very different mode, in some ways (at least in terms of the amount of time and effort he put into his whole telling of the Elder Days) his primary mode, but obviously not his most approachable or accessible. This is a tale of heros by a writer who loved the ancient, tragic sagas of our own Elder Days, and as such it is a masterful piece of writing. I have been savoring it like a fine wine.

Actually I had very mixed feelings when I learned of this book last year. On the one hand, the Tale of Túrin has long been my favorite of the Elder Days, ever since my mother read "Narn i Hîn Húrin" from Unfinished Tales aloud to me more than twenty years ago, and the chance to read it in the fullest possible version without endnotes and textual breaks was something I had long dreamed of. But I had dreamed of this so much that I had planned to do it myself,and had actually spent several years working sporadically on a collated text from the various available sources. So while I was disappointed that I lost my chance to contribute something meaningful to the Tolkien community, I am thrilled everytime I hold this beautiful volume, and I am deeply moved that Christopher himself was able to do this, in what may well be his final contribution, the fitting culmination of a heroic lifetime spent selflessly making available his father's work to a world of appreciative readers.

I have finally finished reading The Silmarillion and really enjoyed the book. The tales of the First Age are wonderful! At the moment I would say that the story about Turin is my favorite at the moment. I have the book The Children of Hurin in my possession also so I will be beginning that one soon.

congra.... moony.
sillmarillion is the best!but star to read children of hurin ASAP!
it's amazing.

I've reached chapter four. I would have read more last night, but I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. One does not read Tolkien with too much sleep deprivation. I discovered this when I read LOTR for the first time, hehe.

The narrative of 'The Children of Hurin' reminded me of 'The Hobbit' in an odd way. Both are very personal stories: more about the character's growth then the wars that surround them.
Turin was so valiant. But unlike other Tolkien heroes (ie Aragon) we also get to see some of his mistakes. I think that made him so much more sympathetic as a character.
Beautiful!

I read the Children of Hurin right after I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I had no problem going from a novel mode to a history/like story. I loved it.

I loved it as well. Definitely a re-readable fave! I have to buy this book sometime.

The tale of Turin is my favorite and always has been. I have loved it since the first time I read it when I was just a boy. Is the book "The Children of Hurin" any different than what is in the Silmarillion?

It is significantly expanded. If you have read the much fuller version in Unfinished Tales, then you have pretty much read Children of Húrin. My sense is that Christopher took than fullest version and stitched in sections from the (much more condensed) Silmarillion version to fill the gaps in that more detailed account. Not to diminish the achievement � it reads very smoothly, I found — but it will hold few surprises to anyone who has read "Narn i Hîn Húrin" in Unfinished Tales.

I read Unfinished Tales after finishing The Children of Húrin, but I skipped this story since I'd already read the expanded text.

I listened to the audiobook read by Christopher Lee not too long ago. Oh, that was fun!

Christopher Lee narrates for audio books! Cool! :-P

The Children of Hurin is my favorite tale of Tolkien, so I love having the expanded story in a stand alone version. I think it would have been cool of The Wanderings of Hurin would have been added though.

Yeah, I really like The Children of Hurin as well. I finished it in school and I cried. I cried when reading the shorter version in The Silmarillion too.

Reading the Children of Hurin right now, and I am about half way through the book. The writing and atmosphere of this book is pure magic!! Can't wait to see how it turns out though I am enjoying every word.

Just finished the Children of Hurin and it was fantastic yet much different than Tolkien's other stories. I still have to read the appendices and will write more on the group read page once I am done.

Although I had good intentions of reading more Tolkien like every year before it didn't work out. However I finally got a copy of the Children of the Hurin audiobook from the library. Christopher Lee's voice was like hearing an old friend and soon I visualized the story. (Next year, I hope to purchase The Silmarillion on audiobook also.)

I loved it ! even when i read it in Sil! I know is a sad tale and loooved even more when i was able to read the long version. I just fell in love with Turin!

BTW Jenna said, I am new in this as well...Never took part of a online Reading Group !

Wow and who else totally adored Alan Lee's art???"

Me! Me!! xD

Yeah the art was fantastic, especially since I got the hardcover with the glossy colored plates for 50 cents!! In great condition too!!

Alex wrote: "Wow and who else totally adored Alan Lee's art???"

Me! Me!! xD"

Me too. I have the Lee illustrated versions of all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings. He is a fantastic artist.

I love hearing from you all--i have never read Children of Hurin, so looking forward to the treat. I am reading LOTR again right now as my old life has put me in an untenable position. Comfort to escape to Middle earth. So beautiful and so dangerous. JO

i only could wish to read it for the first time, have fun readng it!

Stefan wrote: "Alex wrote: "Wow and who else totally adored Alan Lee's art???"

Me! Me!! xD"

Me too. I have the Lee illustrated versions of all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings. He is a fantastic artist."

me too and Ted Nasmith as well

I finished it for the first time several days ago. I had read the story in The Silmarillion and had mentally held onto it more than some of the other stories, but I had forgotten that it was, in fact, this tale. So much happens! Every chapter is something new--something exciting or tragic. I have to say that at the end of this tale, I was left sad. For those who didn't read it yet, I won't say why. For LOtR I am always sad that it is over and have tears ("not all tears are an evil") for many reasons; but with the CoH, I am sad because it ends sadly. However, as with all Tolkien that I am aware of, despite its sadness there is hope, ever-enduring. The visuals that this tale brought to mind were fascinating, and it was such a fast-paced read. I also enjoyed the artwork. I am currently reading Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator right now and there is a picture of his work that depicts Beleg finding Gwindor and, I must say, I like that better! Enjoy your reading!

I didn't really get into "The Hobbit" until after LOTR, but now I do. I like Beorn and also Missed Tom Bombadil in the movie. I know this is heresy but some parts of the movie are better than Tolkien's original---in the same way stories improve with age---acknowledging Tolkien's superiority as a Master Story teller.

Carl wrote: "I enjoyed it, but I had a little trouble getting into it because I kept wanting another novel along the lines of LOTR, but of course it can't be read like that-- the reader is too distant from the ..."

I think your experience is the same that many have with Tolkien's books. The reason many readers dislike The Silmarillion or have a hard time getting into The Children of Hurin is because they are looking for the same reading experience that they had while reading The Lord of the Rings. It's the same reason why some readers don't like The Hobbit, but like Rings or vice-versa. Personally, I prefer the style of writing in The Children of Hurin and The Silmarillion to Rings. That's probably because I'm a big fan of the heroic-mode of storytelling found in the old tales like Beowulf and The Iliad. But I can see why others would steer clear of anything Tolkien wrote that isn't Rings.

@Daniel: No there is a complete book compiled from JRR Tolkien's notes and edited by his son.

I really like The Children of Hurin, even though the introduction is frankly rather dull considering it was an attempt to pull in new readers, too many names! I've read several of the other versions of the story (Though I'm not very familiar with 'The Lay...') but this definitely feels the most complete, dark engrossing and wonderfully paced, Christopher Tolkien did a wonderful job assembling this book. Though I still wish 'The Wanderings of Hurin' had been included in some form, a great piece of writing in its own right, it would have added to the power of the ending for me, Hurin's reappearance at the end always strikes me as a bit sudden, cutting between the two, a story of a father and son would have ramped up the tragedy even more.

Hi Fellow Members

I have just completed reading The Children of Hurin and couldn't stop from writing a small review on it in my blog. It will be great if you can have just a glance on it and give your valuable comments to better it. Here's the link:

There is one problem I have with the consistency of this story. It is Morgoth's curse. If he is so powerful to make that effective, why does he not simply curse all of Beleriand, lean back and watch it destroy itself?

Codex wrote: "There is one problem I have with the consistency of this story. It is Morgoth's curse. If he is so powerful to make that effective, why does he not simply curse all of Beleriand, lean back and watc..."


I do not think He is all that powerful and neither it is the curse alone that destroyed the life of Turin and Nienor, rather it seemed that he did all he can and played very carefully to fulfill his curse.

Why not? I guess you agree that Morgoth is much more powerful than Isildur, isn't he? So, when Isildur was able to curse the entire tribe of Dunharrow, then Morgoth should be able to curse a thousand times more people at a single breath of his.

Ya that's true probably Morgoth was playing safe because of the other Valas who might have taken step if he had been too much aggressive as they did at last and defeated him. But still am not sure about that.

I don't think it has anything to do with how powerful Morgoth was or what he was able to do. It was personal with Hurin plain and simple.

I've just posted a review of The Children of Hurin.

This is the second best story by Tolkien, only The Lord of the Rings is better. A mix of epic tale and drama. Every fan of Tolkien should read it.

Connor wrote: "Christopher Lee narrates for audio books! Cool! :-P"

^This, my respect for Tolkien, his world, and the ending of the book redeemed the story for me. It felt like a long drawn out Dungeons & Dragons campaign that left the map.

The ambiance is there, but the plot felt predictable, and tedious. I wasn't hooked until the end, but I suppose by that point I was ready for anything.

It's really a shame Christopher Lee isn't able to narrate the rest of Tolkien's work.

I agree, it's great.

I also feel The Hobbit really hooked me as a kid, while LOTR engaged me most as a teenager and young adult, and Children of Hurin strictly as an adult; I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much (with its darker themes) when I was younger, but then again, it wasn't available. Either way, I find it fascinating that Tolkien, writing stories set in Middle Earth, has three main Tales (I know there are others, but these are really the only complete narratives in prose form), each of which appeal to me most at a different age and stage in my life.

I loved 'Children of Hurin'. Beleg was always a favorite character of mine - not only was he a courageous and loyal friend, he was one of the few Elves, it seemed, who had simpler motives than many of the other important Elf characters.

(He and Voronwe, who helped Tuor. Voronwe hardly shows up and I always wanted to see more of him.)