Unfinished Tolkien work to be published in '07 NEW YORK (AP) -- An unfinished tale by J.R.R. Tolkien has been edited by his son into a completed work and will be released next spring, the U.S. and British publishers announced Monday.
Christopher Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on "The Children of Hurin," an epic tale his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Excerpts of "The Children of Hurin," which includes the elves and dwarves of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and other works, have been published before.
"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," Christopher Tolkien said in a statement.
The new book will be published by Houghton Mifflin in the United States and HarperCollins in England.
J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" has sold more than 50 million copies and was also adapted into a blockbuster, Academy Award-winning trio of films.
Get your “nerd” jokes ready, ladies, because I’m going to go into full-out Tolkien Freak mode next year. I’ve read Narn I Hin Hurin in The Silmarillion many times, but as anyone who’s read that tome will tell you, it’s dry reading since Tolkien had never finished it. With very spare dialog and almost entirely composed of narrative, it’s like slogging through thick mud.
However, it appears that the world’s foremost JRR Tolkien fan, his son Christopher, has not been content with simply putting together his late father’s notes into the dozen or more volumes he’s published over the years. Apparently, unbeknownst to the legions of Tolkien fans out there, Christopher Tolkien has been actively filling in the gaps of his father’s work, preparing it for full release as a stand-alone novel.
It will be a very tragic tale, on many orders more tragic than anything else written by Tolkien was. Of all the horrors and sorrows of the First Age of Middle Earth, I think the Narn I Hin Hurin was the most horrific and most sad.
I’m not sure what to expect from this release, but if Christopher has inherited any of his father’s ability this should be a fantastic book.
knapplc wrote:I’ve read Narn I Hin Hurin in The Silmarillion many times, but as anyone who’s read that tome will tell you, it’s dry reading since Tolkien had never finished it. With very spare dialog and almost entirely composed of narrative, it’s like slogging through thick mud.
it's dry reading. Translation = it sucks.
I think that there's a reason that Tolkein abandoned the Simarillion. It's like people wanting to watch the deleted scenes from a movie on the DVD version. There's a reason that they were deleted.
I couldn't get through the Simiarillion and there is very little chance that I will try to get through this stuff. There's too much good new books out there that I haven't read for me to want to rehash old stuff.
knapplc wrote:I’ve read Narn I Hin Hurin in The Silmarillion many times, but as anyone who’s read that tome will tell you, it’s dry reading since Tolkien had never finished it. With very spare dialog and almost entirely composed of narrative, it’s like slogging through thick mud.
it's dry reading. Translation = it sucks.
I think that there's a reason that Tolkein abandoned the Simarillion. It's like people wanting to watch the deleted scenes from a movie on the DVD version. There's a reason that they were deleted.
I couldn't get through the Simiarillion and there is very little chance that I will try to get through this stuff. There's too much good new books out there that I haven't read for me to want to rehash old stuff.
i may read it, but i dont read alot (and actually have never read LOTR)...so bring on the movie version
knapplc wrote:I’ve read Narn I Hin Hurin in The Silmarillion many times, but as anyone who’s read that tome will tell you, it’s dry reading since Tolkien had never finished it. With very spare dialog and almost entirely composed of narrative, it’s like slogging through thick mud.
it's dry reading. Translation = it sucks.
I think that there's a reason that Tolkein abandoned the Simarillion. It's like people wanting to watch the deleted scenes from a movie on the DVD version. There's a reason that they were deleted.
I couldn't get through the Simiarillion and there is very little chance that I will try to get through this stuff. There's too much good new books out there that I haven't read for me to want to rehash old stuff.
Well, the only thing I can hope is that Christopher has fleshed out the dialogue. If not then it will be VERY dry reading.
There is already a version of this story in The Silmarillion which is probably the one you're talking about. If it's not any better than that (more dialogue, less narrative) then this book will flop.
If it's filled out, it could be very good, if not great.
Either way, I'm buying it.
And I do not agree that it sucks - it's very well-told and it's a good story. It's just not a FULL story.
A good friend of mine took a class under Tolkien at Oxford - the friend, no idiot, said that Tolkien was one of the most brilliant people he'd ever met.
That said, there is no way that this will match the quality of his other offerings, no offense to his son.
I've read the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but have never read The Silmarillion just because it's a lot of comprehensive backstory, or history if you will, to digest. I've even fallen asleep reading a synopsis on the entire book. Sounds interesting though.
knapplc wrote:I’ve read Narn I Hin Hurin in The Silmarillion many times, but as anyone who’s read that tome will tell you, it’s dry reading since Tolkien had never finished it. With very spare dialog and almost entirely composed of narrative, it’s like slogging through thick mud.
it's dry reading. Translation = it sucks.
I think that there's a reason that Tolkein abandoned the Simarillion. It's like people wanting to watch the deleted scenes from a movie on the DVD version. There's a reason that they were deleted.
I couldn't get through the Simiarillion and there is very little chance that I will try to get through this stuff. There's too much good new books out there that I haven't read for me to want to rehash old stuff.
That's true, the deleted scenes always suck .
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
Big Pimpin wrote:So are you guys saying I should actually see the Lord of the Ring movies?
The movies are OK in my opinion. A person who hasn't read the books will probably think they're very good/spectacular. They really are done on a very grand, epic scale.
I'm a book nut, so I think the book is by far the better choice, but I realize that if you're not an avid reader then reading three lengthy novels is quite an investment in time to take on.
I will mention that The Lord of the Rings was voted the Greatest Novel of the 20th Century, and when the announcement was made (by what body I don't know) I know there wasn't any hue and cry against it. It's widely acclaimed as the greatest fantasy story of its generation and it serves as the basis for most of the fantasy written since the 1950s.
If you're not a reader then watch the movies. They're pretty good.
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by knapplc » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:48 pm 
