Yesterday we talked about the Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun paperbacks, today I wish to talk about another work by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Children of Hurin. This book has just been released in a Mass Market Paperback edition by Del Rey, and is another good candidate to take along on your next holiday. While originally released in 2007 and a true bestseller, I have the feeling that most Tolkien lovers still need to sit down and actually read this book. You really should! It is a fascinating tale.

The Children of Húrin itself already begun in 1918 and was one of three 'Great Tales' J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life, though he never realised his ambition to see it published in his lifetime. Christopher Tolkien has painstakingly edited together the complete work from his father’s many drafts, and this book is the culmination of a tireless thirty-year endeavor by him to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s vast body of unpublished work to a wide audience. Many parts of the book were published before in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth, but here it is as a stand-alone tale.

Also called "The Tale of Grief", "Narn i Chîn Húrin", commonly called "The Narn", tells of the tragic fates of the children of Húrin, his son Turin (Turambar) and his daughter Nienor. I'm not going to tell you more, but I can assure you that it is a tale that will touch you! it is a dark tale, stunning in its scope, writing and story-telling, it's vintage Tolkien -- old vintage, with Homeric similes and lyric prose... a monumental achievement of imagination.

So, unlike the Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun paperbacks, this book takes you into the realm of Middle-earth and is a superb addition to the Tolkien canon.

This new mass market paperback edition shows a new cover by Alan Lee, and also includes illustrations by him, it is a great addition to any Tolkien collections, but certainly the tale to take along this summer and read the story!