The Children of Hurin released today!

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Oh, poo-poo you people. I love this story. It's so tragically beautiful, and tragedy touches me like few other things can. Oh, the catharsis!

The tragedy's fine, and I agree about how it touches you. It's Turin's prideful thickheadedness that starts to bug me! Give me his cousin any time!

[The Gaffer]

Couldn't resist this:

Henceforth shall I remain a derivative Wagnerian hero and wander mindlessly through the realms of Middle-Earth on a quasi-symbolic quest and, Children of the Eldar, resolve only to talk in sentences of unspeakable leadenness, punctuated by manifold parentheses

From: http://books.guardian.co.uk/digested...064264,00.html

Snigger.

A nicer one in the Observer: http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/...067804,00.html

[Rosie Gamgee]

Just because those reviewers don't appreciate good writing doesn't mean it's not a good book. If nothing else, I like it for the purity of language; not many people can write in sentences as whole and fine as that any more. In fact, I can't think of one.
Just because it lacks the grit of a modern novel, doesn't mean it's not a great read.

Finished it last night, btw. I really did like it; like I said, it's hard these days to find a story written as well as that. It's almost harder to find people who are patient enough to struggle through the ignorance ingrained in this generation to appreciate a work of literary art.

[The Gaffer]

Of course. Glad you liked it.

As you probably know, JRRT gets a bit of a slagging from literary types because of the style. I had to laugh at that parody.

How does it compare to the Sil version?

[Taril]

Still waiting for my copy, the wait is killing me!!

[Valandil]

Valandil's "Quickie" analysis of "Children of Hurin":

* I always want to say Hyurin and Hyuor, but I guess it's really Hoorin - though Hyuor is right. For their kids, I would say both Toorin and Too-or, but in that case, Toorin is right, but it's Tyuor. So... I had half of them right with the correct pronunciation.

* Many, many, MANY people died. You did not want to be IN this story. Your odds of making it through would not be very good.

* Turin had many, MANY woes, which I will endeavor to list at another time.

* Turin had many, MANY names, which I will endeavor to list at another time.

* Three of those names Turin took to himself - upon arriving at each of the last three places he lived (see next point).

* There were five major places where Turin lived: Dor-lomin, Doriath, Amon Rudh/among the outlaws, Nargothrond and Brethil. Going back never did him much good.

* Turin had three lame friends: Sador, Gwindor and Brandir - each of whom is portrayed as giving wise counsel, each of whose counsel Turin disregards, and each of whom dies - in large part (perhaps) because Turin didn't listen to their counsel.

* Brandir and Turin were second cousins, which finally occured to me on seeing the family tree in this book. Interestingly (oddly?), the book makes no direct mention of it - yet Turin should know it all along, and Brandir should know it once he finds out who Turin is.

* Ironic how Niniel/Nienor tells Brandir that he's like a brother to her, but that she loves Turambar/Turin... when in fact Turin IS her brother.

* Turin slew two friends - one in confusion (Beleg), one in anger (Brandir).

* Interestingly, upon slaying Glaurung, Turin recalls of his sword, Anglachel/Gurthang, that the saying said about it at its forging is true, that it will slay whatever it has once bitten. Does he not remember that he was once pricked by that sword?... when Beleg did so accidentally while cutting him loose from the Orc bonds (when he then rose up and slew Beleg). And just a few pages later... the sword takes his life as well.

* Talking sword... cool!

* Having just recently re-read "The Silmarillion" and the UT version of the Turin story, MUCH of the material was already presented in either one or the other. I was well into the book before I read something I was sure was unfamiliar.

* Again that question... if Turin had been able to resist the words of Glaurung, and hastened after the Orcs to attempt a rescue of Finduilas, would he have somehow escaped the curse of Morgoth thereby? And... if he didn't love her, as he seems to not have so much at Nargothrond... why does he behave as he does on finding that she died in Brethil? Maybe he felt more for her than he ever let on there...

[whatsername]

You lucky people^^
I'm probably going to have to wait another year till they get it over here(Egypt)

[The Telcontarion]

Finished reading it last week. Like Valandil said, most of the info could be found in the sil and elsewhere, but it was still interesting enough to read.

[jammi567]

And one of the main reasons for me getting it was because it allowed for the story to be officially complete and whole, instead of reading fragments and incomplete stories elsewhere.