The Children of Húrin (Pre-Lord of the Rings)

This book is a curious case. Having looked over some of the other reviews, I would say people who are likely to read this book already have, and few who are not already semi-hardcore to hardcore fans of Tolkien will not find much here that is of interest to them. I would classify myself as a semi-hardcore fan of Tolkien. I have read The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings three times each over the course of my life, and have recently embarked upon my fourth deep dive into the Middle Earth literary experience. It is at the outset of this fourth voyage that I picked up both the Unfinished Tales and Children of Hurin, which added a good deal to my experience of Tolkien's world. I have no real interest in exploring the copious and editorial-heavy "Histories of Middle Earth" series, as I already found my patience for the extensive notes and half-finished narratives taxed by "Unfinished Tales," as rewarding as that book is overall. That is where I draw the line between semi-hardcore and hardcore fandom. As for Children of Hurin, overall I really found this to be a fabulous reading experience, especially because I had not yet read the version offered in Unfinished Tales, which would have made very little of the text of CoH new to me. As it stands, having only read the version offered in Silmarillion, there is much new material to enjoy here that really fleshes out the main story of Turin, Morwen and Nienor. It is also really enjoyable to see such a well presented volume with new artwork by Alan Lee, showcasing several full-color prints and smaller black and white sketch-style pictures that bookend each chapter. The new material, at least in terms of adding to the Silmarillion version, is downright epic. I especially enjoyed the fuller sections on the confrontation between Hurin and Morgoth, Turin's trial in Thingol's court, as well as the episode where Turin and the band of outlaws dwell with the dwarf Mim underground. I also really enjoyed the fuller version of Turin's return home in his search for his mother and the chaos that ensues. Some have said that Turin is a static character that shows little growth throughout the narrative. I disagree. The very nature of a character that challenges himself not to remain in the comfort of safety in the realms of the Elves, but to charge out and meet his fate multiple times, going from adopted Elven Prince to outlaw to Military Commander, facing defeat many times, utter ruination in one case, and still enduring to settle in a forest town and finally know love, albeit a tragic one, is of a man prone to change and growth. His story is profound and stirring. Turin's fatal flaws of pride, rashness, volatility and being quick to violence are constants of course, but the idea that the character doesn't show progress or a propensity for evolution is absurd. Turin is a man of his times and lived under Morgoth's curse, still managing to achieve many victories amidst his follies, and rallying himself to twice confront one of the greatest scourges of the Earth, Glaurung the father of dragons, one of the vilest and most demonic dragon characters ever written, being a veritable extension of his master's will and malice. Where Morgoth is full of pride and a will toward domination, Glaurung lives only to destroy and gleefully revels in the death, fear, torture and destruction he unfurls. There are many episodes here that entertain, although overall this is one of the darkest chapters in all of Tolkien's stories and apart from being inspired by the bravery and chivalry on display, this is most definitely a downer of a story, although even tragedies have their value as any fan of Shakespeare can validate. Some have accused this of being a blatant ploy on Christopher Tolkien's part to add a superfluous volume to the cannon for the sake of money alone. I disagree. While there isn't much new material here on the whole, it is a worthy addition to the material already released, if for no other reason than providing an excuse for Alan Lee to contribute more artwork to his already profuse Tolkien-inspired offerings. As with all of the volumes published by C.T. after the death of his father, it is evident that these are true labors of love for him and that a great deal of painstaking labor and reverence for the writer and material went into these volumes. There is of course the rather difficult question of who this work would appeal to and where exactly it fits in relation to the rest of the published works. I am confident in suggesting that if one is not already familiar with The Silmarillion, there is no point in reading this book. So many of the characters and locations are integral to the overall mythology offered in The Silmarillion that, while one could feasibly read this book without having read it, the experience of reading CoH is immeasurably enriched if one has already read The Silmarillion. CoH basically includes the material contained in Chapter 20 and 21 of The Silmarillion while greatly expanding the text with new material, and then at the end (somewhat annoyingly) tacks on a very abridged version of the first few pages of Chapter 22 as if to just say "oh, and this is what happened to Hurin." The full text of Chapter 22 in The Silmarillion offers a broader and more complete account of Hurin's last days after being released from Angband following the events of CoH. If anyone reading this has actually not yet read either Children of Hurin or The Silmarillion and has only read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, I would recommend reading The Silmarillion through Chapter 20, then stopping, reading Children of Hurin for the full story of Turin and Nienor, and then continuing The Silmarillion from Chapter 22 on to avoid redundancy, or reading the entire Silmarillion and then reading CoH after, although then you would know the whole story and it would somewhat spoil any surprises. If one has already read both the Silmarillion and the expanded version of CoH offered in Unfinished Tales, there really isn't too much that is new here, however it is still worth a read especially if you enjoyed this particular story and haven't read the Unfinished Tales in a long while.

This review is designed to enumerate a few features of the Deluxe Edition. But first, some notes on the text. As a semi-obsessed Tolkien fan who owns the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and has begun to dip into the History of Middle-earth series, I was predestined to be thrilled with the publication of this volume -- the most complete rendering to date of a remarkable work of mythology. And I was not disappointed. But as other reviewers have noted, "The Children of Húrin" will be more accessible to casual readers than the aforementioned works, falling somewhere between the Silmarillion and LOTR in its style and structure. I say *more* accessible, not perfectly accessible. I'm sure many prospective fans will tune out after the first paragraph, which is devoted to Húrin's immediate geneology. But this story was very close to Tolkien's heart -- he labored over it for years -- and fans with a serious literary interest, a little patience, and an open mind (no Hobbits or happy endings to be found) will be rewarded. "Children" isn't Tolkien's most polished work (its manner of posthumous construction makes that inevitable) but there are gems aplenty. I am particularly struck by the figure of Húrin himself, bound to the mountain of the Dark Lord, matching wits and wills with the very Devil of Middle-earth. (Fans hungry for more would do well to seek out the History of Middle-earth Vol. XI, "The War of the Jewels", for the quasi-sequel narrative "The Wanderings of Húrin" -- too fragmentary to include here, but worth reading nonetheless!) I would also encourage readers to take the time to read the informative introduction by Christopher Tolkien, especially if you haven't read the Silmarillion. Combined with the fold-out, two-color map, it will help set the stage. If it seems a little complicated, don't worry ... it should seem less obscure as you progress through the text. Now, some words about the American Deluxe Edition. The final product differs significantly from the pictured product at Amazon (at least, as of May 18, 2007), which looks identical to the UK edition save for the publisher's logo and the large foil insignia. On the final book, the blue seems richer and the slipcase insignia is on the other side (and smaller). (Pictures I have seen of the UK version on eBay seem to match these details.) The Tolkien rune is still on the spine, with Tolkien's name beneath it, but the title of the book is written out across the length of the spine (running top-to-bottom rather than left-to-right) and is not written in all-caps ("The Children of Húrin" rather than "THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN"). The spine also seems a little more rounded than the pictures indicate. The gold foil insignia on the slipcase is nicely duplicated on the book's front cover, and the Tolkien rune is inlaid in foil on the back cover. The boards are thick and sturdy, with a nice tight binding. The paper is thick, of a very nice quality, and a blue silk ribbon place-marker makes a classy finishing touch. The cover artwork for the regular hardcover edition has been reproduced as frontspiece art. And of course, all the other illustrations -- both color plates and chapter-heading sketches -- are included. In short, the Deluxe Edition is FAR superior to the regular edition, which felt entirely too ordinary and insubstantial to my hand. The text on the back insert (not attached in any way, just stuck under the shrink-wrap) claims this edition of the book is "limited", but I don't know how limited exactly. Fans would do well to grab a copy while they can, especially at Amazon's current sale price. For those of you who already bought the regular edition a month ago (it's unfortunate that both editions weren't released at the same time), the significant improvement in presentation makes it worth the upgrade, in my opinion. In short, this book is a real treat for Tolkien fans, and for fans of high fantasy in general who are willing to tolerate a certain formality of style, and who aren't expecting another rambunctious Hobbit tale. It will please die-hards most of all, but many casual fans will find themselves drawn to it in a way that earlier publications perhaps did not inspire. The American Deluxe Edition in particular is a magnificent production worthy of any bookshelf. I know it will sit proudly next to "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" on mine.

When J.R.R. Tolkien passed away in 1973, it might reasonably have been assumed that his literary career was over. But Tolkien left behind voluminous papers and manuscripts: a snippet of a poem here, a half-completed story there; and many nearly-completed pieces which nevertheless were not formed to their master's satisfaction. Tolkien's son and literary executor Christopher has made it his life's work to organize and publish as much of his father's work as possible. Most of the material concerns Tolkien's work on "the First Age" of Middle Earth, the other-world he invented and devoted his life's imagination to. It may be said that the First Age, or Elder Days, stories consumed the first and last part of Tolkien's literary life, with the far better known "Lord of the Rings" period in the middle. He first conceived and worked on these stories from the end of the Great War until the mid-to-late 1930's, when he published The Hobbit, a book so successful a sequel was commissioned. "The Lord of the Rings", the massive three-part story of Frodo the hobbit and his friends' quest to save the world by destroying the evil ring of power, has given Tolkien his lasting fame. There are numerous references, however, to Tolkien's earlier work in "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings": a mention of a famous sword, a great kingdom, a love poem, and the glory of lost civilizations upon whose ruins the late Third Age civilizations of "Lord of the Rings" are built. When his masterpiece was completed, Tolkien turned again to the long-abandoned manuscripts of the Elder Days, always hoping to perfect the stories he loved most and find a publisher for them. But for whatever reason, Tolkien's work never caught up with his vision. He never brought the stories to what he considered a satisfactory completion. He died thinking his artistic vision a failure. Christopher Tolkien has done his best to remedy that by publishing volume upon volume of the stories his father left behind. First came "The Silmarillion", meant to be as comprehensive a history of the Elder Days as possible, from the creation of Middle Earth to the fall of the great enemy Morgoth. The twelve volumes of "The History of Middle Earth" series followed, documenting the evolution of the Elder Days tales as well as early versions of what became "The Lord of the Rings". And now, for the first time since "The Silmarillion" was published in 1977, Christopher Tolkien has put out a book in novel form: "The Children of Húrin". Húrin was a hero of men in the Elder Days. The mightiest warrior of his time, taken captive in battle against Morgoth's forces, Húrin was brought for his torment before Morgoth himself. Incensed when Húrin resists him and mocks his power, Morgoth lays a curse on Húrin and his children, so that all they do will be turned to Morgoth's evil purposes. The novel is mainly concerned with the exploits and fate of Húrin's son, Túrin Turambar. Túrin is a cursed man indeed: he is driven from his childhood foster-home by a jealous rival; he becomes leader of a band of outlaws which is destroyed by treachery; he accidentally kills his greatest friend; he comes to Nargothrond, one of the last free kingdoms resisting Morgoth, and causes its downfall; he strives against the dragon Glaurung, Morgoth's servant, and though he vanquishes the dragon in the end, his victory is robbed of joy by the revelation of his sister's fate. That sister, Nienor, is also cursed and trapped by Glaurung, finally becoming entangled in her brother's fortunes before learning the awful truth of the dragon's deceptions at last. The novel is an expanded version of a chapter from "The Silmarillion", fleshing out the details of Túrin's life into a book-length narrative. Its style is something between "The Silmarillion" and "The Lord of the Rings": the former is a broad overview, not too focused on the individual lives of its characters, while the latter has a well-defined quest and clear depictions of good and evil. "The Children of Húrin" is more like a biography of Túrin, and you're never quite sure if he's even meant to be a sympathetic character. For while he is cursed with evil times and always has evil choices, you sense that he might escape his fate if only he would choose wiser. He is always led astray by his own pride, his anger, or his yearning for glory. Had he been less selfish and more prudent he may well have avoided his fate, as the story hints once or twice that he might. It is in this sense one might say this is the most fully realized of Tolkien's novels. Although Tolkien despised allegory, and was critical of his friend C.S. Lewis's work on that account, he sought to create "new myths" in keeping with the Christian worldview. The constant presence of evil, the temptation of the quick and easy path, the perils of pride and the misery a man can create for himself show the misery of the fall. This is not an uplifting tale but a saga of damnation. Leaving aside those heavy themes, any Tolkien geek will want to read this book. How could you resist a new epic in the canon of Middle Earth? I also wonder if Christopher Tolkien might not have more books planned...perhaps a treatment of Beren and Lúthien, the love story of which the tale of Aragorn and Arwen in The Lord of the Rings is an echo? I hope so.

I haven't finished reading, so my review will be focused only on book quality and value. I purchased this for the sale price of 13$ so the star rating is based on that, I think this is a good price for it, but original 35$ isn't terrible either, though I think any more would be too high since the pages are not thick like cardstock. It features a glossy, though somewhat thin dust jacket. I would recommend removing it when reading to protect the gold letters on the cover and side, or buy mylar for it if you like. The artwork on the cover is vibrant and looks nice on a shelf. The binding is both smyth sewn and perfect, so it should last dozens of readings when treated with care. This edition is william morrow which is a subsidary of harper collins, so if you already own Houghton Mifflin you should know that this edition is a few centimeters shorter than Houghton. It features a foldout map at the back of the book as seen in pictures. The pages show only a little bleedthrough of the words from the next page. The paper is an ivory tone and has a rough texture, which means it won't show glare in bright lighting. It features what I counted to be 8 full page colored illustrations by the master Alan Lee, these images are bright and compliment the edition nicely. There are also a few pencil sketches throughout. It also contains a few family trees, Hador, Haleth and the Princes of Noldor. It also has a list of names in case you forget who someone is. Page 28 has a note on pronuciation similar to the Silmarillion. Overall a nice enough copy to last a while, but not too nice where you're afraid to enjoy it.

I am here reviewing this 'deluxe" edition of The Children of Hurin, not the content or text itself. This is a truly outstanding edition/book. The leather quarter-binding is very fine quality, as is the cloth covering the rest of the boards. The heavy paper is excellent, and the print quality is sharp, dark, and consistent in a beautiful face of good size. The signatures are full-sewn and snug without tending to crack or break when reading. The slipcase is of excellent quality, though I am unsure whether it is leather or some simulated material (in any event the material is THAT good, the difference is hard to spot). The only flaws I can spot are that the foil-stamped helm on the slipcase is much smaller than as depicted in the photo on Amazon, and the touted "frontispiece" illustration is simply the same image as appears on the cover of the standard hardcover first edition of CoH, in a presentation no better than that (though without the embossed title and other text of the standard edition). Otherwise this book contains the same Alan Lee illustrations as in the standard editions, which are lovely and well presented as glossy color plates, as well as fine pencil/charcoal drawings at chapter headings. This book, unlike most Houghton Mifflin Tolkien books, was printed and bound in Europe. One of the nice details, as a result, is the Euro practice of binding the leather quarter-binding (e.g. the spine and first 2 inches of the over) UNDER the cloth. In the US this is almost always reversed, with the quarter-binding of whatever material sealed OVER the cloth (or paper as the case may be). What this means is a MUCH more durable binding, since the tendency is for one's thumb to rub towards the spine, and peel the quarter-binding up and away from the book, IF the book is bound in the American fashion. This one is not, so years of handling will leave it intact. You will clearly see what I mean when you examine this book. There are several other features of construction that are as outstanding and as rare. Though difficult to describe to the non-bibliophile, they will each and all become very apparent to anyone who can recognize something that is well made, regardless. Many other Tolkien titles (as well as loads of others) are jobbed out to printers and binderies in Asia these days, and a European made book is instantly apparent as a superior object (Some American-made books are quite good too, but other than small and art presses, few hardcover titles are printed or bound here anymore, alas). These outsourced books suffer most glaringly from uneven inking and print quality. This edition of The Children of Hurin is IMPECCABLE in both consistency and quality of impression and inking. Truly a rarity, and without ANY flaw in execution, and ARGUABLY none serious (taste being moot) in design as well. I recommend this edition of Children of Hurin most highly, and without any reservation whatsoever. It will become an heirloom and treasure for the Tolkien buff, or any lover of fine books, without doubt. It is simply the best edition of any Tolkien title now in print in the United States (superior even to the very substantial 2004 US 50th anniversary Lord of the Rings) and stands among the very best (and very expensive in the US) HarperCollins/UK Tolkien editions (like the 2004 UK 50th anniversary LOTR, or the recent premium editions of The Hobbit and Silmarillion). If you are not a book collector, conservator, or special collections librarian, you may never have owned a book this well made before. The Amazon.com price is a minor miracle, as well. A very great edition (look elsewhere for reviews of the story itself)! Let us hope (and lobby) Houghton Mifflin sees fit to bring out similarly beautiful and enduring editions of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion, in the near future!

THE QUESTIONS To address the questions that most people have: * This is an easier read than The Silmarillion. * It is a greatly expanded version of Chapter XXI of The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar", BUT... * Reading The Silmarillion is not necessary. * It is told in a narrative voice. * The narrative voice is archaic. * The so-called archaic voice falls somewhere in between The Silmarillion and LOTR in style. * Húrin is a great hero amongst men. * His son, Túrin, is whom this story is chiefly about. His daughter Nienor makes a late, but significant, appearance. Significant enough for this book to be called The Children of Húrin. * You will recognize a few names from LOTR, but don't look for furry-footed Hobbits. A Balrog makes a brief appearance, as does a dragon. * Unlike some posthumous publications of Tolkien's, there is only one footnote in the entire narrative, and it doesn't interrupt the flow of the story. It's inclusion wasn't necessary, but the information was nice to know. * There is an Index of Names at the back of the book to help the reader keep track of who is who. * As always, a well detailed map is included. * Read the Introduction. Christopher Tolkien does a wonderful job preparing the reader who hasn't read The Silmarillion for what is to follow. I can't emphasize the last point enough. One reviewer noted that you wouldn't know who Melkor was, and that this was detrimental to the reading of The Children of Húrin. Not so! Melkor (known later to Elves and Men as Morgoth, which translates to "Dark Foe" in Sindarin) is discussed in the Introduction. In the event that you ignore my advice, Morgoth is the original Dark Lord, for whom Sauron was but a mere Lieutenant. Think on the malevolence of Sauron, and imagine him serving something far more powerful and foul. That is Morgoth. Indeed, "malice that wakes in the morning is the mirth of Morgoth ere night." Between the Introduction and the first chapter, you have everything you need to know. Regarding the first chapter: it starts slow. It feels biblical: "Glóredhel wedded Haldir son of Halmir, lord of the Men of Brethil; and at the same feast his son Galdor the Tall wedded Hareth, the daughter of Halmir. Galdor and Hareth had two suns, Húrin and Huor..." But for those of us who are confused names, that's the worst of it, and as noted above, there is an Index in the back to help you keep track if necessary. THE STORY Húrin was a great warrior of Men, and fought with the elves against Morgoth in the Fifth Battle of Beleriand, called Nirnaeth Arnodediad in the Sindarin tongue of the grey-elves, meaning The Battle of `Unnumbered Tears'. It is aptly named, for many lords - elf, dwarf, and man - died that day. Húrin, though, was captured, for Morgoth wanted more than his life. He demanded from Húrin the location of the hidden city-kingdom of Gondolin, the last great stronghold of the elves. But Húrin defies Morgoth, mocking him, and in his wrath, Morgoth places a curse on his children: "Wherever they go, evil shall arise. Whenever they speak, their words shall bring ill counsel. Whatsoever they do shall turn against them. They shall die without hope, cursing both life and death." And as final punishment, he binds Húrin in a chair high above the kingdoms of Men, so that he may look down "upon the lands where evil and despair shall come upon those whom you have delivered to [Morgoth]." After Húrin was thus bound, Túrin was sent to Doriath and grew up in Menegroth, with the elf-King Thingol, who claimed him as "foster-son". There Túrin was taught the craft of those who would live in the woods, the language of the elves, how to hunt, and how to fight. He quickly became a great warrior, as lithe as an elf yet with the great strength of a man. He accepts from Thingol the Dragon-helm of his father, and fights against the Orcs in their skirmishes in the marches of Doriath. Many came to love him, and the Orcs fear the Dragon-helm, but as he is Húrin's son, Morgoth's curse followed follows him. Envy soon finds its way into the councils of Thingol, and Túrin leaves, believing that he has lost the favor of the king; but ever prideful, he believes that he has been wronged and refuses all ties to Doriath. (A word about Orcs. They are the twisted creation of Morgoth. Many believe they are directly descended from the Quendi [elves], whom Morgoth imprisoned and then bent to his will, filling them with his malice and hatred of light.) The tale follows Túrin as he goes from place to place: taken in with a band of outlaws; their encounter with the "Petty-dwarves"; Túrin's time in Nargothrond (a great elven kingdom); his love of the fair Níniel; and his great battle with Glaurung, father of and greatest, perhaps, of all the dragons. And where Túrin goes, so does the curse of Morgoth follow, leaving only despair in its wake. SOME COMMENTS One criticism of Tolkien is that he plays softball, whereas other authors - Stephen R. Donaldson in the late 70s and early 80s, and more lately George ("the other R.R.") Martin - play hardball. One interpretation of this metaphor is that Tolkien didn't put his characters through "the wringer" like Donaldson did with Thomas Covenant, and he didn't kill off any of his main characters, something that Martin seems to have devilish fun doing. (There are other interpretations, but I'll just address this one.) Obviously, anyone making this claim never read any of Tolkien's posthumous work or given any real thought as to what Frodo endured as the ring-bearer. Anyone reading this review knows that the cute little hobbit that was Frodo left Middle Earth from the Grey Havens with a broken, shattered soul. When thinking of Túrin, think more along the lines of Frodo's ending, and less Sam Gamgee's. Morgoth's curse is heavier than Frodo's burden in that through Túrin it touches the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Men and Elves alike. Many will ask, "Should this have been published? Is it good enough to stand next The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, etc.?" A very loud YES to both. It's the only complete narrative of Tolkien's that hasn't been published, and that alone means that it should be published. That said, Tolkien was never satisfied with his own work, and was constantly editing and rewriting. What would *he* think? If it were possible for him to be looking down on this, my hunch is that he is wincing, and dying to edit the daylights out of this book (pun intended?). It's not a perfect work. Some passages feel uncomfortable, a few are out of place, but overall, I'll take Tolkien's imperfect work over virtually every other writer of fantasy's BEST work. Reading the appendices, I was struck that Tolkien was, perhaps, a man misplaced in time. His work, poetry and prose alike, rivals (if perhaps they do not exceed), the depth and quality of any who have come before him. Imagine him as a commissioned scribe, or someone who, like Martin or Jordan or Rowling today, made enough money from their work to do it full time. So much of what Tolkien left us is unfinished. Would that it were not so. We would be the better for it. (By the way, the cover art for Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth depicts Mîm with Túrin and the outlaws, with Mîm pointing to Amon Rûdh.)

I bought this on the recommendation of a friend, as a readable, stand-alone companion to Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit. As advertised, it's much more accessible than The Silmarillion (which contains a shorter version of the same tale); however, that doesn't mean it's another LOTR... it's not. Tolkein seems to have imagined on an epic scale, but implemented on a human scale; that is, LOTR and TH are together merely one small chapter in his overall vision. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, they remain the only fully realized chapter. Most of the rest of Tolkein's writing feels like stage directions... you get the plot, but the characters aren't fully developed, and it's easy to get lost in all the (largely unexplained) details. In terms of readability, Children of Hurin is somewhere in between The Silmarillion and LOTR. It's closer to being fully realized than the former, but still a long shot from the latter. So if you want a glimpse of what life under Morgoth might have been like, read this book; but be warned, its emotional power starts to fade about five minutes after you finish it.

First and foremost I'm a Tolkien fan. I've read mostly all his writing, and I like all of it, (though I haven't read Roverandum or Leaf by Niggle or whatever they're called). His fantasy, in my opinion, is top notch. So that should give you some idea of my personal biases. But on to the present book. If there could be any criticism on Lord of the Rings, it would be one of two things - either the book is too long (or, as some of my friends have said who have tried to read it and didn't like it, "Tolkien spends 2 pages writing about scenery!!"), or the author is too "kind" to his characters. Personally, I think Tolkien's writing style is pleasing to read. I enjoy the descriptions of Middle Earth, since Tolkien is such a good writer, but I can see how it can wear on readers who are more interested in dialogue or characters. As to the second criticism, I also understand, although I like the way Lord of the Rings ends. Anyway, those "problems" or "criticisms" or whatever you want to call them are absent in The Children of Hurin. The book is completely, more than any other book I have read I think, character driven. It is a relatively short read, though packed full of story - there are no 2 to 3 pages of fluff (though, as I said, I would have no objection). The book is about the life of Turin, the son of Hurin, a man who has been captured and his family cursed by (drumroll...) "The Dark Lord" Morgoth. Throughout his life, Turin experiences many sorrows - encountering death, driven out of his village, surviving alone, warrior, betrayer, unjustly accused, broken hearted. His fate is doomed by Morgoth's evil will. Wherever he goes, sadness follows him. BUT, Turin's strength of will is remarkable, and the transformations he undergoes are interesting. I will not say the book ends happily, but I will say the story ends beautifully. I'll put it this way. You may read the book and feel sad at the end, but you won't feel cynical. You won't feel pessimistic or depressed (at least I don't think the book gives that affect). Instead, you'll feel that, though you just read a sad book, it really illuminated some very good things about life. By being sad, it adds value to happy things. I actually think this book gives us a better understanding of how good of a STORYteller Tolkien was. Sure, everyone knows he can write well, but, if there were any doubts about his talents as a creater of complex, compelling, original tales, those are undoubtedbly dispelled in this book. Never before have I read a book of such an appealing length (being not too short or not too long), dealing with so much going on, written so well, filled with such classic scences. Certainly one of my favorite stories.