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    The Children of Húrin
    The Children of Húrin
    The Children of Húrin
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Children of Húrin

    Written by J.R.R. Tolkien

    Narrated by Christopher Lee

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Húrin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkie

    There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before The Lord of the Rings, and the story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West: lands where Treebeard once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World.

    In that remote time Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress of Angband, the Hells of Iron, in the North; and the tragedy of Túrin and his sister Nienor unfolded within the shadow of the fear of Angband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secret cities of the Elves.

    Their brief and passionate lives were dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as the children of Húrin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn him to his face. Against them he sent his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire. Into this story of brutal conquest and flight, of forest hiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, the Dark Lord and the Dragon enter in direly articulate form. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulated the fates of Túrin and Nienor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth was fulfilled.

    The earliest versions of this story by J.R.R. Tolkien go back to the end of the First World War and the years that followed; but long afterwards, when The Lord of the Rings was finished, he wrote it anew and greatly enlarged it in complexities of motive and character: it became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to a final and finished form. In this book Christopher Tolkien has constructed, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention.

    Editor's Note

    Great Tolkien introduction…

    “The Children of Húrin” is more complete than “The Silmarillion” and less dense than “The Lord of the Rings” (and its appendices), providing a great introduction for any new Tolkien fans or an interesting departure for established fans from Christopher’s arcana.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 17, 2007
    ISBN9780007269648
    Author

    J.R.R. Tolkien

    J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

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    Reviews for The Children of Húrin

    4.5/5

    345 ratings80 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A must-read for diehard Toliken fans. The text of this work was written much earlier than The Hobbit or The Lord Of The Rings, and as such the prose has a more "grand" (or perhaps "literary") style, more like The Silmarillion or The Fall Of Gondolin. For all that, it's still very readable.If you've only ever read The Lord Of The Rings, and want more, then I'd probably suggest The Silmarillion first. For everyone else, you already know you want to read this (or already have.)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      A tale from the First Age of Middle Earth, this is a story to read when you want to dwell in beautiful despair. I appreciate the struggle of mankind presented, the almost poetic telling of it. Tolkien wrestles with the question of whether a curse can determine your life, or is it within you before it is spoken. The way in which the truth is revealed can be a lie, and we can blind ourselves. I would say The Children of Húrin is right up there with some of the finest Greek tragedies for heartbreaking beauty.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      More enjoyable than "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian". Christopher Lee speaks the various names in the various languages with gusto, which helps the book along. Basically, this is just a grim Scandinavian/Germanic myth of doom and battle, with a side-dressing of Morgoth and Elves and extra gods. It is unusual for one author to write such different kinds of books about one imaginary place. "The Hobbit" is a very different kind of book from "The Lord of the Rings" and this book is substantially different from both.Morgoth (and Sauron), never seem to be sufficiently goal oriented to be "good" bad guys.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Hooray! An audiobook for Narn i Hîn Húrin! Great narration, but could have done better for Morwen. Otherwise, amazing.
      R. I. P. Christopher Lee and Christopher Tolkien

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Tolkien has far less excuse for his fatalism than the ancient Greeks from whom he so liberally cribbed in this tale. Still, worth listening to for Christopher Lee's narration if nothing else.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book started out very slowly. It eventually morphed into a very good story. I had hoped it would tie into the Hobbit/Lord of the rings, which it didn't really do. The genealogy does link to Elrond of Rivendale. For the Lord of the rings fans out there, I think it is worth reading.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Amazing narration.

      This is a tragedy. Don’t expect something very like LOTR or especially the Hobbit.

      Tolkien never finished it, so it lacks some polish, but it is a compelling story nonetheless.
    • 5/5
      Epic tragedy!! Tolkien was a master storyteller. Maybe the best of the 20th century. Wish he would've finished more tales!
    • 4/5
      I love everything Lord of the Rings so getting to read another book by the author was so exciting
    • 4/5
      The Children of Hurin provides some great historical material to Tolkien's world of Middle-Earth and adds even more richness to the Lord of the Rings. This addition to Tolkien's extensive historical background of Middle-earth fills in the gaps and fleshes out stories that have been mentioned and hinted at in other works by giving us a detailed and colorful look at the tragic story surrounding Túrin and Niënor (Hurin's children) and the ongoing battle against Morgoth, the master of the Lord of the Rings' evil character, Sauron.This is a well-told tale with engaging characters and plenty of action that keeps the reader interested throughout. While not as enthralling as the Lord of the RIngs Trilogy, or as entertaining and wonderful as The Hobbit, The Children of Hurin is a worthy addition to the Middle-Earth cannon and is a more complete novel than most other source material that is out there. It stand on it's own well and one does not need to have read any of the other histories to follow along with what is going on here.Overall, a solid work that I'd recommend to fans of Tolkien's works or epic fantasy in general.
    • 4/5
      Really a lovely book, with not-at-all-cheesy, atmospheric b/w and color illustrations by Alan Lee. Worth mentioning, 'cause it's so rare to see a book with actual illustration these days it seems!
      This, of course, is a story "put together" by J.R.R.'s son Christopher from Tolkien's copious unfinished writings. It's also featured in the Silmarillion, but this is a more complete version, including more details, and some revisions, about which Christopher Tolkien talks extensively.
      As a novel, it's good, but not great ficton on the level of the Lord of the Rings. As Christopher notes, Tolkien's "other" tales tended to be written in a very distanced manner. They're supposed to be "ancient tales" and one gets that feeling from the story, as if a teller were relating a legend of long ago. It's similar to reading stories of the Mabinogion or the Eddas, or something from Arthurian lore.
      The story itself lives up to that - it's high tragedy, and feels completely authentic. It really should be read by anyone who loves mythic fantasy. Still, it doesn't have the emotional immediacy - or the humor and charm - of Tolkien's better-known works.

      My biggest gripe with this book is that CHristopher T. makes mention of the fact that Tolkien began writing two different forms of this story in verse, as well, and gives brief stanzas as examples. He says that they were unfinished - but also that they were epic-ly long. I really think that this volume should have included the poetic versions, perhaps as a long appendix.
    • 4/5
      This book is hard going. Compare the writing here with Tolkien's masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings" or with his wonderfully accessible "The Hobbit" and you will be very disappointed. This is not surprising as this is not a book Tolkien published. Instead, as detailed in the preface, the book has been brought together from Tolkiens noted with a minimum of editorial input, rewriting etc. long after the author's death. This hands off approach was clearly adopted after the complaints over the editorial input into the tales of the equally impenetrable "Silmarillion". But the problem here is that whilst the tale is clearly Tolkien's, it is not at all clear that this was a tale he would ever have published in this form - and had he done so, it would not have read like this.Tolkien fans will care not a wit though. This is still a wonderfully imagined tale based on some folk literature that the author acknowledges. It reads like an epic tragedy - and that is exactly what it is, but set in the mythology that Tolkien was creating for his Middle Earth.Set 6,500 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, this book provides some wonderful insights and background material - and it is an essential book for Tolkien completists. But that will be the only group who should read this. It is not an entry point into the Lord of the Rings. It is not the book you would buy first - it is the one you would buy last after reading the others. read as a standalone story I feel it is stilted, unpolished, long and pondering on places and not by any means the best example of Tolkien's work. Still, for its imagination, background material, and the very different character of story which - being based on actual mythologies from several cultures - is intellectually stimulating, I feel I can in good conscience give it three and a half stars.
    • 5/5
      One of the most tragic and yet beautiful stories I have ever encountered.
    • 4/5
      Actually found this hard going due to the rambling, long-terminated style, but interesting and worth the effort.
    • 4/5
      Different, but interesting storytelling. Narrator was well presented. Plan on reading more novels from this author
    • 5/5
      The Children of Hurin is a retelling of the story of Turin told in The Silmarillion. Filled with tragedy,, glorious battles, and classic Tolkien fantasy, The Children of Hurin is a must read for any LOTR fan or lover of fantasy.
    • 5/5
      Finally finished the whole story. Listening to Sarumon narrate the tale was so cool. Now I know why this is such an important tale in the legacy of The Silmarillion. Morgoth has ambition to conquer middle earth, and how powerful he was as a Maiar; that he could curse the family of Hurin the hero, and his son and daughter and wife. :C Sad tale, but great to listen to. I loved it and am encouraged to listen to the other works of Tolkein. I am currently reading The Silmarillion. I read this tale in it's chapter, and wanted to find this book as it isn't available where I live. Would listen to it again.
    • 4/5
      Very sad story, but rich with Tolkien complexity.
    • 5/5
      Definitely my favourite of Tolkein's works.
      A very real tragedy.
    • 5/5
      A great story of how pride and fate can overcome a man.
    • 4/5
      Very touching and sad story from Tolkiens pile of unfinished works. This time Christopher Tolkien edited exciting, dark tale from the second age which is more mythic, and more mature than Tolkiens Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Pretty large push for all which doesn'r read Silerillion to do so. In combination with Quenta Silmarillion this jewel shows to reeaders of The Lord Of The Rings a whole different dimension of Tolkien's writing. Not particulary redeble but very exciting and rewarding.
    • 5/5
      An excellent and tragic tale, based off the stories of Kullervo, Siegfried/Sigurd Dragonslayer, and the Nibelungs.
    • 1/5
      A completely unnecessary book, a money-grab. A rehashing of the material which has already been published and analyzed over the past 2 decades by C. T. Additionally, while C. T. is a very good literary scholar, he's either a terrible writer or unable to get the language of J. R. R. T.'s notes up to the level of his published writing; the prosody and flow are stilted and unmusical.
    • 5/5
      I quite enjoyed this story. It's heroic and tragic in all the right ways, and it is more accessible, I think, than many of Tolkien's other "lost tales" and mythologies in his legendarium. It succeeds in being a well-structured story with a set of boundaries, and although there might be a few too many names to remember (and that's just referring to the names Túrin gives himself!), it is well worth the read.
    • 4/5
      My mother really didn't like The Children of Hurin, so I've been putting it off. Something about it being badly edited, and Christopher Tolkien's turgid prose... Coming from a recent read of The Silmarillion, it doesn't seem that bad to me. It doesn't sparkle as a finished draft would, knowing J.R.R.'s tendency to be a perfectionist, but it is perfectly readable.

      Having just read The Silmarillion, though, the fact that this story is in there with most of the detail, I can't help but feel a liiiiittle cheated. Still, it's a lovely volume, with Alan Lee's illustrations, and various supplementary materials. Worth it, for the fan or the Tolkien scholar.
    • 5/5
      This has been written/editted together well, making it one of the more readable tales from the early ages of Middle Earth. The prose defintely reads like traditional myth, so much so that I forgot sometimes that I wasn't reading a translation of an older text. I would recommend this for anyone interested in the history of Middle Earth beyond LOTR and the Hobbit.
    • 4/5
      I almost quit this book before I got through the introduction because I was so bored. I guess I'm not a big enough Tolkien fan to be interested by the information there. But once I got to the story part, I really liked this.
    • 5/5
      The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien is a tragic story of The Children of Húrin, one of the unfinished tales in The Silmarillion.Though The Children of Húrin was a great read, it was a tragic one, but I loved learning of what happened fully to Hurin's children, Túrin and Niënor. It has been years since I've read The Silmarillion, so this was a necessity read, for me.I highly recommend lovers of Tolkien's work to read this tale.
    • 3/5
      I have read the version in unfinished tales, reading this I thought it would be expanded on a little more that it was. I was a little disappointed, however it is good for people who would probably never purchase Silamrillion or Unfinished tales. It was nice to have for my collection though.
    • 3/5
      it's ok... tragic story. It's surprising how Tolkien seems superficial after reading Martin...