Children of Hurin

Children of Hurin (or Narn i Chin Hurin if you prefer the Sindarin), is the newest published complete Tolkien story since The Silmarillion in 1977. Edited and released by Christopher Tolkien, son of JRR, it joins a pantheon of books released after Tolkien's death, such as The Unfinished Tales, and The Histories of Middle Earth (all 12 volumes). Anyone who loves the Lord of the Rings has probably tried to read the Silmarillion at some point, but many who try find it too boring or dry, and lose interest before getting to the good stuff. Though this isn't a review of the Silmarillion, it's good to have some background on it in order to understand how great the Narn (that's shorthand for the Children of Hurin used by Tolkien geeks) is. The Silmarillion is a creation myth, and covers the First Age of Middle Earth to its end, and touches on major events of the Second Age such as the Last Alliance and the forging of the Rings of Power. The style of storytelling is archaic, it was written in the 1920's, and there isn't much dialogue, it almost reads like a history book (which it quite literally is). Personally I love it, but then again I'm an History Major, so I have a natural advantage.

Now enter the Narn. One of what Tolkien considered to be the three great stories if the First Age of Middle Earth, the Narn tells the story of Hurin's children, Niniel Nienor and Turin Turambar. The tale is tragic, rich, dark, and beautiful, and none of those descriptions is bestowed lightly. Tolkien's stories make it impossible not to admire or love the characters he's writing about, but this time in Middle Earth is dark, when all of Beleriand (west of Eriador where the Shire is, these lands did not survive to the Third Age) was under the shadow of Morgoth, creator of Balrogs and master of Sauron.

The story is cobbled together from a shorter version written in the Silmarillion, a long poem written by Tolkien that was not included, and pieces taken out of the Book of Lost Tales and Unfinished Tales. Chris Tolkien added little to nothing of his own words, this is purely a JRR Tolkien story, fully completed. Those who fear it is as dry or boring as the Silmarillion have no fear, for it flows easily and begins immediately with tragic action. The dialogue matches the archaic narration, but it adds a power to the words you don't find in today's often simple or clever dialogue. One might even use the word majestic to describe it. The best part, which anyone who has read Tolkien might fear, is that the story never drags, as Turin, whom the story focuses on, is always on the move.

During the story Turin will face a dragon, fight mighty battles, live amongst outlaws, kill both friend and foe alike, both in anger and in haste. He falls in love, and falls out. Never is there nothing happening in this story. And for anyone who loves Tolkien and the wonderful world of Middle Earth, this is a must read addition to your reading list.

A great bonus to this printing is the original artwork done by Alan Lee for the initial release (samples provided below). Alan Lee did much of the original artwork for the Lord of the Rings over the years, and it was on his drawings that most of the LOTR movies were based. The man is simply amazing when it comes to taking an imaginary world and giving it actual form for us to see. Many of the drawings are exactly how I pictured the events in my mind, and it's great to see this special bit of richness added to the book.

I will say this, in warning: The depth of the stories includes a cavalcade of names. It isn't uncommon to find a single character who has a half dozen names throughout the story. Turin himself gives himself a half dozen different names through the story, depending on his mood and what role he is playing. Also the Elven habit of naming kids after their parents means you get a very important family with very similar sounding names (good luck parsing out Finwe, Finarfin, Finrod, Fingon and Fingolfin). In the back of the book there is a guide to the names of the different characters, places, and items in the book, which is a very handy reference guide for a first time reader. Personally, it took three read through's of the Silmarillion to get all the names straight, but many of these characters do not play a huge role in the Narn, so it shouldn't be that big of a problem, just be ready for it.

For anyone who is wondering, Tolkien considered the greatest tales of the First Age to be the Lay of Beren and Luthien, the Fall of Gondolin, and the Children of Hurin. A short form of all three can be read in the Silmarillion, and one hopes that some day Chris, or perhaps his son Adam, might finish those three stories for us all to read in their entirety. Beren and Luthien were the first union of Men and Elves in marriage, and it is from them that Elrond of Rivendell, Arwen, Gil Galad who died in the Last Alliance, and Aragorn himself are born (yes that's right, Aragorn and Arwen are related, 64 generations removed). The Fall of Gondolin tells the tale of Tuor (Turin's cousin) son of Huor (Hurin's brother), who came to Gondolin, last free fortress of the Elves, hidden away in a vale of mist and mountains, finally discovered through the treachery of a jealous Elf, and destroyed, ending the last domain of Elves in Middle Earth. Tuor was the second marriage of Elves and Men, he married Idril, daughter of Turgon (lord of Gondolin). Their marriage was also responsible for the birth of Elrond, Arwen and Aragorn (among many others) as their child, Earendil, eventually marries the granddaughter of Beren and Luthien, Elwing.

Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring: The Complete Recordings

I was initially both apprehensive and excited when I found The Fellowship of the Rings: The Complete Recordings. I should start this by saying that I am a great lover of soundtracks. Soundtracks can make or break a movie or TV show. Recently the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean have been the most oft played in my CD player, with other standbys like Gettysburg and Glory, and the world's best workout music: Rocky IV. Loving these masterpieces as I do, and even more so, being a huge fan of the Extended Editions of the films, I always decried the lack of a soundtrack for all the extra music written for those added minutes. I'm sure many of you as well wish you could have easy access to the Houses of Healing song by Liv Tyler, or Eowyn's Lament for Theodred, or smaller scenes like Gandalf singing "The Road Goes Ever On." Well rest assured, these extended soundtracks have all of that, and perhaps more. The part that made me apprehensive was the price. This four disc set (3 CD's and 1 DVD) weighs in at a whopping $60, which is actually more expensive than the Extended Edition DVD and the regular soundtrack ($30 and $20 respectively) combined. Recently however a good friend of mine introduced me to the "Used" section on Amazon, and I realized there is a whole new world of things to buy out there, for a much better price. Personally I purchased this boxed set for $40, "used" (though really it was still in the factory issued packaging), including shipping.


First of all, this is a beautiful boxed set. The CD's themselves are nicely designed, ornately even. The case itself is very sturdy, and again the design of the case is in keeping with I would call Elven styling. They look very professional, and though case and CD design aren't usually the reason we buy CDs (generally I think that'd be for the music), I found them to be of a higher quality than your average CD, or even your average box set.


The other major addition to this set is the very informative and extensive booklet. Lord of the Rings features a style of music called "leitmotifs." You've heard them before, even if you can't identify them, in works such as Peter and the Wolf, and the more easily recognizable Star Wars. The idea is that individual music lines serve as a sort of theme or anthem for specific ideas, characters, and locations. If you remember the Imperial March from Star Wars you've heard one of the more famous (in recent times) examples of this style. The booklet gives a summary of the process Howard Shore used to come up with the style of music for Fellowship, his inspirations, what instruments he chose to represent which characters and cultures and why. He also includes a section where he specifically points out the leitmotifs of characters and cultures, even gives a bar of music to tell you what it looks like, where on the tracks you can find the music, and explains why this music was chosen. It's fascinating to get into the head of the composer, and even more I love hearing why he chose the Maori choirs and literally football players to represent the guttural chants of the Dwarves in Moria, or why he chose the more ethereal eastern sounds for mournful Elvish music.

But on to the music itself. Disc one opens as the movie does, with what Shore calls "The History of the Ring" theme. The end of this track is a short but delightful snippet from Ian McKellen singing "The Road Goes Ever On," and like so many songs in the movies, it takes the words directly from the novel. The music rises and falls, like the beginning of the movies does, until you get to track 10, "The Passing of the Elves," the music from an extended scene in the movie that shows elves leaving Middle Earth and heading to the Grey Havens for Arda. Samwise and Frodo spot them, and Sam comments "I don't know why, but it makes me sad." Hearing their song, one could only feel that way. It's one of the most haunting and beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. The lyrics are Sindarin, one of Tolkien's languages created specifically for the novels, and are translated by David Salo from the actual poem written by Tolkien for the book. The track is amazing. One wonders when reading the book, "how would that really sound in real life?" Translated into Sindarin, you get a feel for Elven culture, for the sadness of their leaving but their yearning for home. I sit mesmerized listening to this track, and it's perhaps the most rewarding of the new music from the extended edition. This track is longer than the one even in that version. The final track on the CD, "The Nazgul" features Viggo Mortensen singing the "Lay of Luthien," whose words were written by Phillipa Boyens, but the tune was created and the song suggested by Viggo himself. It's a testament to his skill and dedication as an actor that he would get that much into character, and would care enough to even suggest such a thoughtful thing. It's short, but it's also some interesting insight into Aragorn's character, and the weight he carries on his shoulders. It's sung acapella, quietly, secretly, but with obvious emotion.

Disc two features much repetition of previous themes. Track 7, "The Council of Elrond" features a mixture of stirring, contrasting music that shows off the arguments taking place on scene. What's really interesting is to hear the different voices that portray The One Ring itself over the course of the film. It's voice changes for Aragorn, where is sounds sweet and inviting (and the same for Faramir in Two Towers). It sounds dark and brooding when it entices Boromir. But the sound is specific for each character who it tries to ensnare. One of the new tracks, from the extended scenes is track 9, "Gilraen's Memorial." This scene in the movie features Aragorn speaking with Elrond about Gilraen, Aragorn's mother. This is another haunting track, like many of the Elven tracks are in the first film. It's one to be sure to listen to. The last three tracks of the CD are the pounding sounds of taiko drums and Maori chanting. It's powerful and exciting music that on screen is the driving force of the scene.

Disc three finishes off the soundtrack. The second track, as in the original soundtrack, features Elizabeth Fraser singing the "Lament for Gandalf." Like all Elven styled music, it has an ethereal quality. The rest of the music reads much as the original soundtrack did, and it is all great music. The Uruk-Hai music especially I can't wait to hear on a high quality stereo, to get the full power out of the horns that Shore exhibits.

The fourth disc is a DVD that features all the music of the soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. I have yet to listen to this disc, as I don't have a stereo capable of playing it and doing it justice. But I imagine the pounding sounds of Moria, and the reverberations of Elven laments would sound amazing in such quality.

All in all this is an amazing set. I should add that I have one complaint about it though, and that is the color of the casing. Stylistically, I think it's meant to match what the cases look like for the LOTR Extended Editions, and it does. The problem is that the Fellowship of the Ring is green, and this is red. The Two Towers DVD case is red, and the soundtrack is blue, whereas the third movie is blue and the third soundtrack hasn't been released yet, but I bet a million dollars it is green. I'm just surprised that for all the work that went into these, they didn't bother to match that up. But I plan to purchase the soundtrack to Two Towers as soon as I am able, and look forward to hearing Eowyn singing her lament for Theodred. Return of the King's soundtrack is due to be released at the end of the summer.

Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (of Shaun of the Dead fame) is the story of London cop Nicholas Angel, who after performing his job better than anyone else on the force (400% better) is sent to the lovely village of Sandford.

Nicholas is annoyed, but despite his protestations he is sent anyway, and soon begins to lay down his very strict adherence to the law in the small community. Soon a rash of accidents crop up, and Nicholas begins to see a pattern emerge, but the rest of the town refuses to listen to the murder happy cop from London. He befriends Danny Buttterman, a stooge on the local police force who has seen a million melodramatic cop movies and wants desperately to live out one himself.

As the story unfolds, Sandford turns out to be everything other than what it seems, and Angel decides to take matters into his own hands.


I didn't quite know what to expect from this movie. The trailer seemed to suggest a bloodbath of hysterical proportions, and I certainly wasn't let down there. But it wasn't just silly farcical humor, it was rather clever at times. There are excellent cameos from Bill Nighy (most recently Davy Jones of Pirates of the Caribbean) and Steve Coogan (most recently of Night at the Museum), and a wealth of other fantastic British actors, Jim Broadbent plays a dubious villain undone by the unlikliest of heroes.

It's by far the cleverest and most funny move I've seen yet this year, and I urge you all to check it out when it hits US shores on April 20th. You'll get comedy, mystery, and enough action to make Jerry Bruckheimer's hair stand on end.