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the children of hurin
The Children of Hurin
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List Price: $49.95
Our Price: $32.97
Your Save: $ 16.98 ( 34% )
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780007263455
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0007263457
Label: HarperCollins UK Audio
Manufacturer: HarperCollins UK Audio
Number Of Items: 8
Publication Date: 2007-11-25
Publisher: HarperCollins UK Audio
Studio: HarperCollins UK Audio
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Editorial Reviews:
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After long study of the various manuscripts that composed this early tale of Middle-Earth, Christopher Tolkien has constructed a coherent and epic narrative that composes a crucial part of his father’s literary oeuvre. In the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West following the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World, Morgoth—the first Dark Lord—dwelt in the vast fortress of Angband, the Hells of Iron. As he waged war against the lands and secret cities of the Elves, the tragedy of Túrin and his sister Nienor unfolds. Their brief and passionate lives are dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bears them as the children of Húrin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn 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. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulates the fates of Túrin and Nienor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth is fulfilled. Unabridged and read by Christopher Lee—the actor who portrayed Saruman in the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy—this is a gripping story of Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, and struggle and revenge.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book in perfect condition
Comment: This book is in perfect condition. The book is also a very well written and entertaining. It provides extra background on the Lord of the Rings saga.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Story of Turin in its Completest Form
Comment: This is the latest book to be published under Tolkien's name. It is the story of Húrin and his family, and the curse laid upon them by Morgoth. It's one of the most tragic stories that Tolkien ever wrote, and it is appearing now in its most complete form, since its first appearance in The Silmarillion.
Húrin starts out as the lord of Dor-lómin, an enclave of Men in the north of Beleriand, but is captured by Morgoth after The Battle of Unnumbered Tears, who questions him about the whereabouts of the hidden kingdom of Gondolin, where he knew Húrin had been. When Húrin refuses to talk, Morgoth sets him at the top of Thangorodrim and curses him and his family. His plan is that Húrin should know all that his family suffers because of his defiance.
This curse follows Húrin's son, Turin, his wife, Morwen, and even his unborn daughter, Nienor for the rest of their lives. But it is not simply that Morgoth assails Turin and his family with war and pestilence. Tolkien ensures that the curse works in a much more subtle way: through the twists of fate, the rash decisions they make, and the very stubbornness of their natures. Because of all of these things, evil befalls all of them.
The book mainly follows Turin's adventures, as he becomes a great warrior, an outlaw, and a dragon-slayer. The black fate that follows him, as he seems to carry the brunt of Morgoth's curse, eventually consumes him and his family. It is said in some of Tolkien's other writings as they appear in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, that the sufferings of Húrin's family, particularly of Turin and Nienor are considered one of Morgoth's worst crimes, and that when the end of the world finally comes, Turin will be the one to defeat Morgoth in battle and finally vanquish him forever.
This book is a relief to many of Tolkien's fans, as it relates the story of Turin in an easy to follow narrative, as opposed to the broken writings of earlier publications. The illustrations by Alan Lee are beautiful, the writing is fluid, and the story is more realized than it has ever been. Now, if only Christopher Tolkien can do the same thing for the story of Beren and Lúthien...
Customer Rating:
Summary: confusing
Comment: i got confused several times as to what was going on. It did not hold my attention vary well.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Tragic Tale from the Early Days of Middle Earth
Comment: "The Children of Hurin" will hold an odd place in any Tolkien fan's library. It is much more readable than the "Silmarillion" but not as intimate a narrative as "The Lord of the Rings." This dark and often overly gloomy tale is reminiscent of the Icelandic sagas from the Middle Ages. Like the heroes of those tales, there is a tragic dignity to the protagonist Turin despite his many flaws. "The Children of Hurin" seems more the creation of Tolkien the professor of literature than Tolkien the creator of new worlds. There are subtle glimpses of "Beowulf" and "Gawain and the Green Knight" and not so subtle pieces of Greek and Germanic tragedy included in the work. The book has a number of charming illustrations and a useful summary and appendix. The only real question is how much of the book is J.R.R Tolkien and how much is his son and literary executor Christopher? That question may be of more concern to scholars than fans but it remains a legitimate one especially as, as Christopher Tolkien admits in the introduction, some of the book dates from very early in his father's career. The book flows too well and the narrative too unchanged; one is forced to concede some serious editing has been done and this raises some problems. Literary scholars were up in arms when they discovered how much editing was done with Thomas Wolfe's posthumous works ("You Can't Go Home Again" and, to a lesser extent, "The Web and the Rock") as well as Papa Ernest's ("True at First Light" being the chief example). If Tolkien is the great writer his advocates claim him to be, the same concerns should be raised here and, unlike some of his other works, Christopher Tolkien is not as upfront as he has been about the editing process. This raises come questions. Still, while not for casual readers (though better surely for them than say "The Silmarillion"), "The Children of Hurin" is a welcome addition to Middle Earth.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Tolkien
Comment: Christopher doesn't quite have all that his dad did. But this is still a good read for Tolkien lovers.
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