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.