The Children of Hurin

I am a huge fan of Tolkein. I read the Hobbit as a young lad, and was enthralled. A few years later, I then read LOTR, and was similarly captivated.

The Silmarillion then quickly followed. This book provides a history of the First Age of Middle Earth. I love Tolkien's prose and think it raises his works to a higher plain than other Sword and Sorcery epics, which at the end of the day is what they are. In contrast to the first two novels, I found the Silmarillion very hard going - the prose was just too dense and didn’t like the books disjointed nature.

Since then, this is where things have stood. But unexpectedly I heard that a new Tolkein novel, The Children of Hurin, had been published. Not bad going for someone who has been dead for 30 years or so.

The story of Hurin and his son Turin has been covered before in the Silmarillion. The version in this book has been considerably expanded.

So it was with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that I started reading The Children of Hurin.

It turn out my fears were unfounded, as I like this book a great deal.

The tale is a tragic one, and is much darker than LOTR or the Hobbit.

It is set in the First Age of Middle Earth several thousand years before the events that take place in LOTR. Hurin is defeated and captured in battle by the evil Morgoth. Hurin taunts Morgoth, who in response places a curse on Hurin’s children, Turin and Nienor

The story is mainly centered on the fate of Turin, though Nienor’s story is also covered.

Unlike most of Tolkien’s heroes, Turin is morally ambiguous. He is proud and strong, but also cursed by a fierce temper and poor judgement. It is this side of him, that ultimately leads to his downfall. On many occasions he ignores wise council and relies on his own rash instincts.

This is one aspect of the story that I really liked. In a lesser story, Turin’s fate would have been sealed at the outset by the curse. In this case, Morgoth’s curse has no supernatural certainty. It is the way Turin responds to events, often instigated by Morgoth that, that lead to his downfall.

It may well have been, that given the forces railed against him, that his defeat was inevitable. But I feel that with the right choices, he may have prevailed.

I found the end of the book surprisingly affecting, which I guess is a measure of how strong Tolkien’s writing is.

The Children of Hurin is a fine addition the world of Middle Earth.