New Tolkien book out next spring

Draken · 09-19-2006, 05:18 AM

Apparently. Don't know if anyone has posted about it yet, but I found this in today's Independent

Tolkien's son completes father's unfinished epic

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 19 September 2006

All aboard for Middle Earth! Christopher Tolkien, son of the late, legendary creator of The Lord of the Rings, has completed an unfinished story started by his father which will be published next spring.

Mr Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on The Children of Hurin, which his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Though excerpts have been published this will be the first time a completed version of the epic story featuring the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth has appeared. It will be published by HarperCollins in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin in the US.

Mr Tolkien said: "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers."

Mr Tolkien, 81, who lives in France, has spent much of his life organising, deciphering and publishing stories of his father's that only appeared handwritten, often on scraps of paper. He has admitted that at times he has been forced to use guesswork to decide upon his father's intentions.

Despite this he has been a successful editor of his father's work and in 1977 he oversaw the publication of the novel The Silmarillion. This was followed by Unfinished Tales in 1980, and then the 12 volumes of The History of Middle-earth between 1983 and 1996.

His father's Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold more than 50 million copies and was made into a hugely successful series of Hollywood films, directed by Peter Jackson. Christopher Tolkien spoke out against the films, saying he believed the novels were not suitable for film adaptation.

All aboard for Middle Earth! Christopher Tolkien, son of the late, legendary creator of The Lord of the Rings, has completed an unfinished story started by his father which will be published next spring.

Mr Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on The Children of Hurin, which his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Though excerpts have been published this will be the first time a completed version of the epic story featuring the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth has appeared. It will be published by HarperCollins in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin in the US.

Mr Tolkien said: "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers."

Mr Tolkien, 81, who lives in France, has spent much of his life organising, deciphering and publishing stories of his father's that only appeared handwritten, often on scraps of paper. He has admitted that at times he has been forced to use guesswork to decide upon his father's intentions.
Despite this he has been a successful editor of his father's work and in 1977 he oversaw the publication of the novel The Silmarillion. This was followed by Unfinished Tales in 1980, and then the 12 volumes of The History of Middle-earth between 1983 and 1996.

His father's Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold more than 50 million copies and was made into a hugely successful series of Hollywood films, directed by Peter Jackson. Christopher Tolkien spoke out against the films, saying he believed the novels were not suitable for film adaptation.

durinsbane2244 · 09-19-2006, 06:49 AM

man...i wish he'd do "The Lost Road"...

BeardofPants · 09-19-2006, 07:06 AM

*BoP dies and goes to heaven
*BoP remembers that she doesn't actually believe in heaven
Bugger

***Valandil*** · 09-19-2006, 07:22 AM

It's a cool belief though, huh... if you could ever bring yourself to believe in it?

Anyway - that's interesting about the book. Also interesting that the press release mentions the "elves and dwarves of Middle Earth" - when I suspect the main protagonists will be Human (although of course we see lots of the other two groups - particularly elves).

brownjenkins · 09-19-2006, 11:25 AM

Very cool!

I wonder if it will be HoME-style (excerpts, clips and notes), or an actual finished story.

Rosie Gamgee · 09-19-2006, 01:05 PM

How can a guy, even if he is his father's son, say that his 'completing' of a man's 'abandoned' book is valid, and some director from New Zealand making a movie of a finished book by the same man isn't?

I don't know if I like the idea of it... I mean, yes, it's Tolkien, but how much of it is Christopher and how much is J.R.R.? In the words of Jeffrey Pelt: How are we to know the difference? Will it be noted which parts Christopher has had to fill in?

BeardofPants · 09-19-2006, 02:50 PM

Who cares - I just want a complete version of Narn i Hin Hurin. Added bonus if it doesn't completely suck ass.

***Earniel*** · 09-19-2006, 03:08 PM

Cool idea but aaaww, why the Children of Hurin? That's my least favourite silmarillion-story. I bet I can wait another thirty years then, for a Fall of Gondolin novel.

<- is very spoiled fan and knows it.

Thirty years in the working! Christopher's as bad as his dad!

brownjenkins · 09-19-2006, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosie Gamgee

How can a guy, even if he is his father's son, say that his 'completing' of a man's 'abandoned' book is valid, and some director from New Zealand making a movie of a finished book by the same man isn't?

I don't know if I like the idea of it... I mean, yes, it's Tolkien, but how much of it is Christopher and how much is J.R.R.? In the words of Jeffrey Pelt: How are we to know the difference? Will it be noted which parts Christopher has had to fill in?

You make a good point.

As I've said about movies as well, if the finished product is good, it doesn't really matter how much is the author and how much isn't. Sometimes directors even improve on an author's stroy. But, if it isn't good, it can be seen as tarnishing the author's legacy in some way.

A lot said that about the Silmarillion as well. Though, I'm happy that we have it as it is instead of not at all, or just in HoME-esk form.

We'll see.

olsonm · 09-20-2006, 12:20 AM

This is truly great! I can't wait! *dies and goes where ever BoP went*

Gordis · 09-20-2006, 08:37 AM

I think so far, Christopher did pretty well. Not like some movie-makers I could name.

It was only while reading the earliest book published by Christopher - the Silm- one could scratch one's head thinking what was JRR's and what Chris's. Already in UT, there are very few places whare there could be any doubt. (Even if some things were amended by JRR himself, Chris gave the latest version but commented on it).
As for HOME - all of it - I think it is very well written. There is no mixing the published JRR's texts with Cristopher's comments. I think Tolkien's son has learned his job well. There will be no problems with the coming book, IMO.

As for the subject... sigh... I so hoped there would be some texts left expanding the LOTR appendices! Maybe one day... But this term "last book" seems rather final, does it not?

hectorberlioz · 09-20-2006, 01:27 PM

Actually I was about to start a thread about the issue Rosie raised...

but I'll just say that editing his father's stuff seems to have become quite the hobby for Christopher...

He's a great guy I'm sure, and has greater insight into Middle-Earth than we know...after all, he did tons to help his father with the maps, suggestions, editing...

Gwaimir Windgem · 09-20-2006, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosie Gamgee

How can a guy, even if he is his father's son, say that his 'completing' of a man's 'abandoned' book is valid, and some director from New Zealand making a movie of a finished book by the same man isn't?

I don't know if I like the idea of it... I mean, yes, it's Tolkien, but how much of it is Christopher and how much is J.R.R.? In the words of Jeffrey Pelt: How are we to know the difference? Will it be noted which parts Christopher has had to fill in?

Because he is the living authority on the man's works.

Gordis · 09-20-2006, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

but I'll just say that editing his father's stuff seems to have become quite the hobby for Christopher...

He's a great guy I'm sure, and has greater insight into Middle-Earth than we know...after all, he did tons to help his father with the maps, suggestions, editing...

I feel very grateful to Christopher for everything he has done. After all, the guy has spent half of his life trying to deshipher his father's manuscripts. He could have written his own stories, he could have spent his life playing golf or whatever, but he didn't. He had the insight to evaluate rightly his father's significance and the humility to put his father's legacy in front of his own interests.
Imagine, what it would have been like if Chritopher had no interest at all in his father's writings? It happens so often with famous men's children. We would have had LOTR and Hobbit and no idea about the rest of Middle Earth. Tolkien would hardly have become really famous. After all, as far as I know, his fame started not so much with the LOTR, but with Silm.

Landroval · 09-20-2006, 03:38 PM

Quote:

After all, as far as I know, his fame started not so much with the LOTR, but with Silm.

Err, I certainly do disagree. Silmarillion was published in 1977, 4 years after Tolkien's death. In his letters 163 and 165, he comments of the unexpected success Hobbit and LotR had, for example.

Butterbeer · 09-20-2006, 03:43 PM

Kind of fitting Given Big J's thing about lineage and ancestry.

No, i see no issue whatsoever - after all we all here tinker with how his works are perceived everyday - look at the chapter by chapter discussion in the LOTR Discussion project - we to a small degree shape his work's perception as do any interpretations from art or drawings or radio or yes, movies.

good luck to Chris say I!

...has anyone ever invited him to come on here btw?

That'd be interesting.

Gwaimir Windgem · 09-20-2006, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landroval

Err, I certainly do disagree. Silmarillion was published in 1977, 4 years after Tolkien's death. In his letters 163 and 165, he comments of the unexpected success Hobbit and LotR had, for example.

I agree. Far, far more people have read the Lord of the Rings than the Silmarillion. Nearly everyone has read the former, whereas the latter is sort of the first step of initiation in the Ranks of the True Followers, as it were.

Butterbeer · 09-20-2006, 05:26 PM

true - but wasn't it the Sil that became hugely popular in the sixties in america??

Landroval · 09-20-2006, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butterbeer

true - but wasn't it the Sil that became hugely popular in the sixties in america??

Bb, if the sixties is 1960-1969, then the book appeared afterwards

Butterbeer · 09-20-2006, 05:48 PM

... the sixties is a state of mind, man!

oh well, in that case Gor (as usual

) is talking **** again!

... j/k Gor

xx

09-19-2006, 05:18 AM	#1
Draken Elf Lord Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Durham, England Posts: 694	New Tolkien book out next spring Apparently. Don't know if anyone has posted about it yet, but I found this in today's Independent Tolkien's son completes father's unfinished epic By Andrew Buncombe in Washington Published: 19 September 2006 All aboard for Middle Earth! Christopher Tolkien, son of the late, legendary creator of The Lord of the Rings, has completed an unfinished story started by his father which will be published next spring. Mr Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on The Children of Hurin, which his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Though excerpts have been published this will be the first time a completed version of the epic story featuring the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth has appeared. It will be published by HarperCollins in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin in the US. Mr Tolkien said: "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers." Mr Tolkien, 81, who lives in France, has spent much of his life organising, deciphering and publishing stories of his father's that only appeared handwritten, often on scraps of paper. He has admitted that at times he has been forced to use guesswork to decide upon his father's intentions. Despite this he has been a successful editor of his father's work and in 1977 he oversaw the publication of the novel The Silmarillion. This was followed by Unfinished Tales in 1980, and then the 12 volumes of The History of Middle-earth between 1983 and 1996. His father's Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold more than 50 million copies and was made into a hugely successful series of Hollywood films, directed by Peter Jackson. Christopher Tolkien spoke out against the films, saying he believed the novels were not suitable for film adaptation. All aboard for Middle Earth! Christopher Tolkien, son of the late, legendary creator of The Lord of the Rings, has completed an unfinished story started by his father which will be published next spring. Mr Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on The Children of Hurin, which his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Though excerpts have been published this will be the first time a completed version of the epic story featuring the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth has appeared. It will be published by HarperCollins in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin in the US. Mr Tolkien said: "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers." Mr Tolkien, 81, who lives in France, has spent much of his life organising, deciphering and publishing stories of his father's that only appeared handwritten, often on scraps of paper. He has admitted that at times he has been forced to use guesswork to decide upon his father's intentions. Despite this he has been a successful editor of his father's work and in 1977 he oversaw the publication of the novel The Silmarillion. This was followed by Unfinished Tales in 1980, and then the 12 volumes of The History of Middle-earth between 1983 and 1996. His father's Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold more than 50 million copies and was made into a hugely successful series of Hollywood films, directed by Peter Jackson. Christopher Tolkien spoke out against the films, saying he believed the novels were not suitable for film adaptation. __________________ I'm beset by self-doubt ....or am I?

09-19-2006, 06:49 AM	#2
durinsbane2244 Dreamweaver Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The Misty Mountains, where the spirits go... Posts: 3,560	man...i wish he'd do "The Lost Road"... __________________ Lord, what fools these mortals be! ---------------- We are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams; World-losers and world-forsakers, On whom the pale moon gleams: Yet we are the movers and shakers Of the world for ever, it seems. ---------------- Shanti, shanti, shantih...

09-19-2006, 07:06 AM	#3
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	BoP dies and goes to heaven BoP remembers that she doesn't actually believe in heaven Bugger __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords Last edited by BeardofPants : 09-19-2006 at 07:09 AM.

09-19-2006, 07:22 AM	#4
*Valandil* High King at Annuminas Administrator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Wyoming - USA Posts: 10,752	It's a cool belief though, huh... if you could ever bring yourself to believe in it? Anyway - that's interesting about the book. Also interesting that the press release mentions the "elves and dwarves of Middle Earth" - when I suspect the main protagonists will be Human (although of course we see lots of the other two groups - particularly elves). __________________ My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!!

09-19-2006, 11:25 AM	#5
brownjenkins Advocatus Diaboli Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Reality Posts: 3,767	Very cool! I wonder if it will be HoME-style (excerpts, clips and notes), or an actual finished story. __________________ Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.

09-19-2006, 01:05 PM	#6
Rosie Gamgee The Lovely Hobbit-Lass Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bounded in a nut-shell Posts: 1,593	How can a guy, even if he is his father's son, say that his 'completing' of a man's 'abandoned' book is valid, and some director from New Zealand making a movie of a finished book by the same man isn't? I don't know if I like the idea of it... I mean, yes, it's Tolkien, but how much of it is Christopher and how much is J.R.R.? In the words of Jeffrey Pelt: How are we to know the difference? Will it be noted which parts Christopher has had to fill in? __________________ It's New Years Day, just like the day before; Same old skies of grey, same empty bottles on the floor. Another year's gone by, and I was thinking once again, How can I take this losing hand and somehow win? Just give me One Good Year To get my feet back on the ground. I've been chasing grace; Grace ain't so easily found One bad hand can devil a man, chase him and carry him down. I've got to get out of here, just give me One Good Year!

09-19-2006, 02:50 PM	#7
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	Who cares - I just want a complete version of Narn i Hin Hurin. Added bonus if it doesn't completely suck ass. __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

09-19-2006, 03:08 PM	#8
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	Cool idea but aaaww, why the Children of Hurin? That's my least favourite silmarillion-story. I bet I can wait another thirty years then, for a Fall of Gondolin novel. <- is very spoiled fan and knows it. Thirty years in the working! Christopher's as bad as his dad! __________________ We are not things.

09-20-2006, 12:20 AM	#10
olsonm Elf Lord Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: minneapolis MN Posts: 920	This is truly great! I can't wait! dies and goes where ever BoP went __________________ Gandalf lives...oh and Frodo too. Haldir Lives!!!

09-20-2006, 08:37 AM	#11
Gordis Lady of the Ulairi Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Minas Morgul Posts: 2,783	I think so far, Christopher did pretty well. Not like some movie-makers I could name. It was only while reading the earliest book published by Christopher - the Silm- one could scratch one's head thinking what was JRR's and what Chris's. Already in UT, there are very few places whare there could be any doubt. (Even if some things were amended by JRR himself, Chris gave the latest version but commented on it). As for HOME - all of it - I think it is very well written. There is no mixing the published JRR's texts with Cristopher's comments. I think Tolkien's son has learned his job well. There will be no problems with the coming book, IMO. As for the subject... sigh... I so hoped there would be some texts left expanding the LOTR appendices! Maybe one day... But this term "last book" seems rather final, does it not?

09-20-2006, 01:27 PM	#12
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Actually I was about to start a thread about the issue Rosie raised... but I'll just say that editing his father's stuff seems to have become quite the hobby for Christopher... He's a great guy I'm sure, and has greater insight into Middle-Earth than we know...after all, he did tons to help his father with the maps, suggestions, editing... __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

09-20-2006, 03:43 PM	#16
Butterbeer Elf Lord Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: here and there Posts: 3,514	Kind of fitting Given Big J's thing about lineage and ancestry. No, i see no issue whatsoever - after all we all here tinker with how his works are perceived everyday - look at the chapter by chapter discussion in the LOTR Discussion project - we to a small degree shape his work's perception as do any interpretations from art or drawings or radio or yes, movies. good luck to Chris say I! ...has anyone ever invited him to come on here btw? That'd be interesting.

09-20-2006, 05:26 PM	#18
Butterbeer Elf Lord Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: here and there Posts: 3,514	true - but wasn't it the Sil that became hugely popular in the sixties in america??

09-20-2006, 05:48 PM	#20
Butterbeer Elf Lord Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: here and there Posts: 3,514	... the sixties is a state of mind, man! oh well, in that case Gor (as usual ) is talking ** again! ... j/k Gor** xx

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