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The Children of Hurin: Deluxe Edition | 
 enlarge | Author: J.r.r. Tolkien
Creators: Christopher Tolkien, Alan Lee
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Category: Book
List Price: $75.00
Buy New: $8.17
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New (44) Used (27) Collectible (3) from $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  261 reviews
Sales Rank: 168101
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Deluxe
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.7
ISBN: 0618904417
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780618904419
ASIN: 0618904417
Publication Date: May 16, 2007
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Condition: New book, ships out within 24 hours, 100% satisfaction guaranteed, still in shrink wrap
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Amazon.com
The first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in three decades--since the publication of The Silmarillion in 1977--The Children of Hurin reunites fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, Eagles and Orcs. Presented for the first time as a complete, standalone story, this stirring narrative will appeal to casual fans and expert readers alike, returning them to the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien. Adam Tolkien on The Children of Hurin  How did a lifetime of stories become The Children of Hurin? In an essay on the making of the book, Adam Tolkien, grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien (and French translator of his History of Middle-earth), explains that the Hurin legends made up the third "Great Tale" of his grandfather's Middle-earth writing, and he describes how his father, Christopher Tolkien, painstakingly collected the pieces of the legend into a complete story told only in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien. "For anyone who has read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings," he writes, The Children of Hurin "allows them to take a step back into a larger world, an ancient land of heroes and vagabonds, honour and jeopardy, hope and tragedy." A Look Inside the Book This first edition of The Children of Hurin is illustrated by Alan Lee, who was already well-known for his Tolkien illustrations in previous editions (see our Tolkien Store for more) as well as his classic collaboration with Brian Froud, Faeries, and his Kate Greenaway Medal-winning Black Ships Before Troy, before his Oscar-winning work as conceptual designer for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy brought him even greater acclaim. Here's a quick glimpse of two of Lee's interior illustrations for The Children of Hurin. (Click on each to see larger images.) Questions for Alan Lee  We had the chance to ask Alan Lee a few questions about his illustrative collaboration with the world imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien: Amazon.com: How much of a treat was it to get first crack at depicting entirely new characters rather than ones who had been interpreted many times before? Was there one who particularly captured your imagination? Lee: Although it was a great honor to illustrate The Children of Hurin, the characters and the main elements of the story line are familiar to those who have read The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, and these narratives have inspired quite a few illustrators. Ted Nasmith has illustrated The Silmarillion and touched on some of the same characters and landscapes. This was the first time that I ventured into the First Age; while working on The Lord of the Rings books and films--and The Hobbit--I've had to refer back to events in Middle-earth history but not really depict them. I'm drawn to characters who bear similarities to the protagonists in myths and legends; these correspondences add layers and shades of meaning, and most of the characters in this story have those archetypal qualities. However, I prefer not to get too close to the characters because the author is delineating them much more carefully than I can, and I'm wary of interfering with the pictures that the text is creating in the reader's mind. Amazon.com: The Hurin story has been described as darker than some of Tolkien's other work. What mood did you try to set with your illustrations? Lee: It is a tragic story, but the darkness is offset by the light and beauty of Tolkien's elegiac writing. In the illustrations I tried to show some of the fragile beauty of the landscapes and create an atmosphere that would enhance the sense of foreboding and impending loss. I try to get the setting to tell its part in the story, as evidence of what happened there in the past and as a hint at what is going to occur. My usual scarred and broken trees came in handy. Amazon.com: You were a conceptual designer (and won an Oscar) for Peter Jackson's film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, which I think we can safely say had a bit of success. How does designing for the screen compare to designing for the page? Lee: They both have their share of joys and frustrations. It was great to be part of a huge film collaboration and play a small part in something quite magical and monumental; I will always treasure that experience. Film is attractive because I enjoy sketching and coming up with ideas more than producing highly finished artwork, and it's great having several hundred other people lending a hand! But books--as long as they don't get moldy from being left in an empty studio for six years--have their own special quality. I hope that I can continue doing both. Amazon.com: Of all fiction genres, fantasy seems to have the strongest tradition of illustration. Why do you think that is? Who are some of your favorite illustrators? Lee: A lot of excellent illustrators are working at the moment--especially in fantasy and children's books. It is exciting also to see graphic artists such as Dave McKean, in his film Mirrormask, moving between different media. I also greatly admire the more traditional work of Gennady Spirin and Roberto Innocenti. Kinuko Craft, John Jude Palencar, John Howe, Charles Vess, Brian Froud ... I'll stop there, as the list would get too long. But--in a fit of pride and justified nepotism--I'll add my daughter, Virginia Lee, to the list. Her first illustrated children's book, The Frog Bride [coming out in the U.K. in September], will be lovely. More Tolkien Favorites Visit our J.R.R. Tolkien Store for a complete selection of Tolkien classics, including deluxe editions, young readers' editions, and more. 
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Book Description
The first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in three decades -- since the publication of The Silmarillion in 1977 -- The Children of Hurin reunites fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, Eagles and Orcs. Presented for the first time as a complete, standalone story, this stirring narrative will appeal to casual fans and expert readers alike, returning them to the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien. The Children of Hurin, begun in 1918, was one of three 'Great Tales' J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life, though he never realized his ambition to see it published. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and references within other Tolkien books, it has long been assumed that the story would forever remain an unfinished tale. Now reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien, painstakingly editing together the complete work from his father's many drafts, this book is the culmination of a tireless thirty-year endeavor by him to bring J.R.R.Tolkien's vast body of unpublished work to a wide audience. Having drawn the distinctive maps for the original The Lord of the Rings more than 50 years ago, Christopher has also created a detailed new map for this book. In addition, it will include a jacket and color paintings by Alan Lee, illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and Academy Award-winning designer of the film trilogy.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 256 more reviews...
Not Your Father's Hurin August 24, 2008
This is a tale of unrelenting tragedy. Drawn from the history of the First Age of Middle-earth, it tells of how Morgoth, the original Dark Lord to whom Sauron was but a lieutenant, wreaked appalling vengeance upon the family of the man Hurin, chiefly for his refusal to betray a great hidden city of the elves who were his allies. Readers acquainted with the story from a more summary version published three decades earlier in THE SILMARILLION will have some idea what to expect. They will also understand the part these events ultimately did play in the fall of virtually every elven kingdom in the vast land of Beleriand before it sank beneath the sea, still millennia prior to the events recounted in THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
This new telling, however, differs from the former in at least two respects. First and most obvious, it greatly develops the details so that we come to know the doomed players more intimately, better appreciating both their flaws and their virtues, and thus feeling the tragedy more personally when it manifests itself in turn after turn of their lives.
Second and perhaps more subtle is what this version leaves out. THE SILMARILLION continued the story further, revealing later events which, while not negating these present disasters, at least mitigated them somewhat, suggesting that evil's triumph was indeed only for a season. (There were also poignant touches, such as the extraordinary future of a certain gravesite, which lent a melancholy beauty to the sorrow.) Here, however, Christopher Tolkien, the author's son and editor, chooses to end the tale at a point which before had occurred in mid-paragraph. When I first glanced through HURIN and then reacquainted myself with the earlier publication, I seriously questioned this decision.
It has been said that part of Shakespeare's genius in writing his own tragedies was his choice to abstain from moralization. Rarely did the Bard attempt to explain a character's fate in terms of what he or she ought to have done, or of some divine wisdom which, if glimpsed, might explain or even vindicate the suffering. Shakespeare simply showed tragedy with all the seemingly pointless capriciousness of real life, and left it to his audience to speculate further.
Tolkien was not Shakespeare, however. While even THE HOBBIT and LOTR are haunted by melancholy and a sense of loss, Tolkien believed in a transcendent Sovereignty and argued eloquently for some element in such tales which, however faintly, foreshadowed a distant 'Eucatastrophe' (i.e., happy ending) to come, 'giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.' By cutting off the story of Hurin's family where he does, Christopher denies it that consolation.
Having said this, I must make a confession: When I had read HURIN through properly from the beginning and came again to the final two pages, I broke down and sobbed. The same juncture had had no such impact on me in THE SILMARILLION. I may prefer the elder Tolkien's tempering of tragedy with hope and question the philosophical implications of ending this story so abruptly; yet I can not deny that doing so made the bitterness of that end immeasurably more powerful. For a moment I FELT the despair of those who had endured such relentless doom, who left the world knowing nothing of some vaguely conceived consolation in the far future. While that moment lasted, for me their suffering had become very real.
If there is, as Tolkien believed, a 'Joy beyond the walls of the world', the heartbreaking fact remains that there are those who live and die and, for any number of reasons, fail utterly to apprehend it. Consolation may be, yet some are never consoled. THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is not a pleasant book, yet it captures something of the seeming futility in which so many souls have passed through the world. At the least, it reminds those who find and live in hope not to grow callous toward those who are cheated of it.
 Excellent Story August 23, 2008
The story was tough to get into; however, once I was into it, it was impossible to put down. The language style is a little tough to get used to, but once the story starts moving along you don't even notice it. This is another great book about elves and men. If you enjoyed the Silmarilion you will like this book.
Not An Easy Read But Well Worth The Effort August 14, 2008
Set in the first age of Middle Earth, The Children Of Hurin recounts the life of Turin, Hurin's son. Nearly 7,000 years before the Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, men and elves struggle against Morgoth, the enemy who has placed a curse on Hurin's family. Raised as a fosterling by a king of elves, Turin tries to escape the doom set upon him and in doing so ensnares friends and family in the evil plots and designs of Morgoth. For the avid Tolkien reader, The Children Of Hurin adds yet more detail and substance to J. R. R. Tolkien's creation. The same stunning and descriptive language used in both the Lord Of The Rings and The Silmarillion invests the reader in the tale.
The Children Of Hurin is not an easy book to read, but like Beowulf or Le Morte d' Arthur it is well worth the effort. It is rare to find such mythic and compelling work among the flotsam and jetsam of current fantasy writings. For those who love the "old" tales, or for those who love mythology, The Children Of Hurin is a must read.
Quill says: Christopher Tolkien (J. R. R. Tolkien's son) has brilliantly edited, compiled and presented his late father's unfinished works. One can only hope that there are more gems yet to be mined from that source!
A new take on the old stories August 3, 2008
This book is a must for LOTR fans for the artwork alone, but besides that, the reorganization of the stories of the previous ages makes for easier reading and understanding in light of the action of the Great Years. We must all be grateful to Christopher Tolkien for the tireless work he has put in over the years on his father's practically illegible manuscripts. He has produced an invaluable body of literature with the History of Middle Earth volumes and now with The Children of Hurin.
Another great tale July 25, 2008
This book is placed in a setting that is thousands of years before the lord or the rings, but after the similarion, the foreword really places this book well and gives you adequate background information so the similarion does not have to be read before this book.
Its an exciting action packed story that follows the lives of Hurins two children all set in a very dark atmosphere of death and destruction. I wont say more because I do not want to spoil this great read.
This hardcover comes with an illustrated jacket, a fold out map of the lands, as well as a few fantastically drawn images which are full color and monotone dispersed within the pages and chapter beginnings. Its really a great package and helps you visualize the story as well.
Written with the aide of his father's massive amounts of unfinished works and notes this story was artfully pieced together and reads smoothly, its one of those that you start at night and are still reading by sunrise books. your going to like this!
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