Christopher Tolkien to finish lost Middle Earth novel - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lalaith · 04-18-2007, 07:20 AM

Got it this morning. Had a good look at the contents although I haven't started reading.

Although mine is just the ordinary version, it's a handsome volume. Pictures seem more of landscape than people. Not sure if that's a good thing or not.

SPOILER......

The book doesn't end with the death of Hurin, as I had hoped. Nor does it clarify what happens to him and what his state of mind is, when he dies. I do feel very cheated - for me it's the crux of the story. Hurin's children were destroyed to punish Hurin, and I need to know how far Morgoth succeeded in destroying Hurin's mighty spirit.
But I accept that this issue of Hurin's despair is probably just my own little obsession and that most readers won't be so bothered about this.

Child of the 7th Age · 04-18-2007, 07:39 AM

This review is a little more even handed:

http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2...urce=whitelist

Quote:

I came away from "The Children of Húrin" with a renewed appreciation for the fact that Tolkien's overarching narrative is much more ambiguous in tone than is generally noticed. As has been much discussed, he was a devout Catholic who tried, with imperfect success, to harmonize the swirling pagan cosmology behind his imaginative universe with a belief in Christian salvation. Salvation feels a long way off in "The Children of Húrin." What sits in the foreground is that persistent Tolkienian sense that good and evil are locked in an unresolved Manichaean struggle with amorphous boundaries, and that the world is a place of sadness and loss, whose human inhabitants are most often the agents of their own destruction.

davem · 04-18-2007, 11:54 AM

For those still waiting, Amazon.co.uk have the whole of Chapter 1 here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.h...d_i=0007246226

davem · 04-18-2007, 12:18 PM

Potter slain by Black Sword:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/art...060084,00.html

davem · 04-18-2007, 01:24 PM

http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/en...o_middle_.html

Quote:

Endicott contributor Howard Gayton posed for the hero in the book's cover painting by Alan Lee. (He stood in my garden holding a broom for a sword and looking noble while Alan took photographs for visual reference.)

davem · 04-19-2007, 12:17 AM

http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/in...lling-wizards/

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/r...of-hurin_N.htm

Bêthberry · 04-19-2007, 06:52 AM

Wonderful links, Child and davem.

I can't help but wonder about the number of them. Have all these sites and sources decided that the book really will be big and are they trying to get on top of the buzz? On the other hand, part of me--and sorry if this sounds terribly cynical--wonders if all these reports are part of a huge marketing campaign by HarperCollins.

For instance, my local newspaper was actually part of a contest with HarperCollins: the first 100 people who replied to an email contest (to win a trip for two to "Middle-earth", aka New Zealand) would receive a free copy of the book. Was this common with other newspapers or just something conceived locally?

Major book reviews come out on the weekend here, so I have my eye out for that. If CoH isn't reviewed, what would that mean?

04-18-2007, 07:20 AM	#1
Lalaith Blithe Spirit Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,779	Got it this morning. Had a good look at the contents although I haven't started reading. Although mine is just the ordinary version, it's a handsome volume. Pictures seem more of landscape than people. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. SPOILER...... The book doesn't end with the death of Hurin, as I had hoped. Nor does it clarify what happens to him and what his state of mind is, when he dies. I do feel very cheated - for me it's the crux of the story. Hurin's children were destroyed to punish Hurin, and I need to know how far Morgoth succeeded in destroying Hurin's mighty spirit. But I accept that this issue of Hurin's despair is probably just my own little obsession and that most readers won't be so bothered about this. __________________ Out went the candle, and we were left darkling

04-18-2007, 11:54 AM	#3
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	For those still waiting, Amazon.co.uk have the whole of Chapter 1 here http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.h...d_i=0007246226 __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."

04-18-2007, 12:18 PM	#4
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	Potter slain by Black Sword: http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/art...060084,00.html __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."

04-19-2007, 12:17 AM	#6
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	More http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/in...lling-wizards/ http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/r...of-hurin_N.htm __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."

04-19-2007, 06:52 AM	#7
Bêthberry Cryptic Aura Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6,003	Wonderful links, Child and davem. I can't help but wonder about the number of them. Have all these sites and sources decided that the book really will be big and are they trying to get on top of the buzz? On the other hand, part of me--and sorry if this sounds terribly cynical--wonders if all these reports are part of a huge marketing campaign by HarperCollins. For instance, my local newspaper was actually part of a contest with HarperCollins: the first 100 people who replied to an email contest (to win a trip for two to "Middle-earth", aka New Zealand) would receive a free copy of the book. Was this common with other newspapers or just something conceived locally? Major book reviews come out on the weekend here, so I have my eye out for that. If CoH isn't reviewed, what would that mean?