New JRR Tolkien novel (kind of)

[Werthead]

JRR Tolkien's third son Christopher has published a lot of his father's work about Middle-earth over the last 33 years since JRR's death, most notably The Silmarillion (the grand mythology that stands beyond The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and probably one of speculative fiction's greatest achievements to date) and Unfinished Tales, a series of short stories and essays by Tolkien which shed light on further aspects of Middle-earth not covered in the other books, including a prequel to The Hobbit where we find out how Gandalf and Thorin met.

 

Now Christopher Tolkien has edited a lengthy chunk of his father's unfinished writing, combining it with other versions from other periods, to produce a new novel-length work called The Children of Hurin. Set during the War of the Jewels in the First Age, the story tells of the curse laid upon the family of Hurin by the true Dark Lord Morgoth, and in particular how his son Turin is affected by it. The story has already been told briefly in The Silmarillion and in greater detail in Unfinished Tales, but this is the first time that apparently a huge amount of secondary material, including side-stories and episodes pruned from the older versions for reasons of space, will appear. The book will be published in April 2007.

 

Here's the full publicity release:

 

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006

J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S THE CHILDREN OF HURIN TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2007

 

Houghton Mifflin has acquired US rights to publish the first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien since the posthumous Silmarillion in 1977. HarperCollins UK acquired the project from The Tolkien Estate in a world rights deal. Presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Hurin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.

 

The Children of Hurin, begun in 1918, was one of three "Great Tales" J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life, though he never realized his ambition to see it published. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and references within other Tolkien books, it has long been assumed that the story would forever remain an "unfinished

tale". Now reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien, painstakingly editing together the complete work from his father's many drafts, 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.

 

Christopher Tolkien said: "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, with a minimum of editorial presence, and above all in continuous narrative without gaps or interruptions, if this could be

done without distortion or invention, despite the unfinished state in which he left some parts of it."

 

Having drawn the distinctive maps for the original The Lord of the Rings more than 50 years ago, Christopher has also created a detailed new map for this book. In addition, it will include a jacket and color paintings by Alan Lee, illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and Oscar-winning designer of the

film trilogy.

 

The Lord of the Rings was already acclaimed worldwide as the most popular book of the 20th Century before the blockbuster films in 2001-3 broke new ground and inspired millions more to read J.R.R. Tolkien's books -- an additional 50 million copies were sold, leaving

new fans wanting more. The Children of Hurin will be published by HarperCollins UK in April 2007, and on the same day in the United States by Houghton Mifflin.

 

Victoria Barnsley, CEO and Publisher of HarperCollins Publishers UK said: "This epic story of adventure, tragedy, fellowship and heroism stands as one of the finest expressions of J.R.R. Tolkien's skills as a storyteller. With a narrative as dramatic and powerful as anything

contained within The Lord of the Rings, it can now be read and enjoyed as Tolkien originally intended, and will doubtless be a revelation for millions of fans around the world."

 

Janet Silver, Vice President and Publisher of Houghton Mifflin, said, "As J.R.R. Tolkien's original American publisher, dating back to The Hobbit, we are extremely proud to be bringing this project to Tolkien's devoted readership in the United States. Christopher

Tolkien has done a great service in realizing his father's vision for The Children of Hurin."

[goldeneys]

yeah Werty, I just saw that on slashdot the other day, this looks really cool.

[Sirayn]

Is this going to end up like Dune all over again? :?

[Werthead]

Everyone keeps saying that! No, in this case it's stuff that JRR Tolkien wrote and indeed has been published before (in The Book of Lost Tales, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The War of the Jewels), merely assembled into a new book by his son. It's not a case of Christopher Tolkien making new stuff up from nowhere to cash in on his father's legacy, as with Brian Herbert and KJA.

[JenniferL]

This is more of a case of polishing up an existing work, with perhaps writing a few pages here and there to bridge some transitions. What Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are doing is grave robbing and they should both be beaten with rubber hoses.

[Werthead]

Clarification of the situation:

 

Christopher Tolkien has now succeeded in assembling the multiple variants, unfinished pieces, and outlines of the tale to produce a standalone and complete version, entirely in the author's original words.

 

From http://www.tolkienestate.com/

[Gondring]

Might enjoy this. *Runs off to read the Hobbit and Silmarillion again*

[Sirri Wolfe]

OMG!! That's awesome! I love the Tolkien books! THat'd be awesome!