The Children of Hurin - final LotR book

[Jammrock]

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/news/article2390834.ece

It appears the Christopher Tolkein, JRR's son, has spent the past 4+ years slowly writing one last book in his father's very popular Lord of the Rings sagas. Apparently JRR left very extensive notes that Christopher has been using to write expanded volumes (History of Middle Earth) and now The Children of Hurin. Though according to the article this is the last book that can be written from the notes, as it was the last project JRR was working on before his death.

Here's the way I see it:

Pros

- Kevin J. Anderson is taking no part in the writing or development, so it has a chance.
- CT has been true to his father's works in his past Middle Earth ventures. People I know who have read them have not been disappointed on the whole.
- Kevin J. Anderson is not involved in the project.
- Alan Lee does the illustrations.
- Kevin J. Anderson was not even considered for the project.
- There are already rumors floating that the story is good enough to get a Hollywood treatment (though CT has been known to be highly critical of Peter Jackson's movies, so who knows).
- KJA didn't write a single word of the book.
- Apparently the notes were extremely extensive so CT just had to kind of fill in the blanks, and spent a very long time in developing the book.

Cons

- Fears that it will not live up to JRR's previous works.
- Doubts that Tolkien left enough notes to write a book without CT making most of it up (since I'm sure the public will never see them).


Well, those are some pretty hefty cons, so need to list more. I'm excited though. It CT spent as much time working on the book as the article makes it seem, it has a good chance of being a great grand finale to one of the best book series ever written.

Jammrock

[Gurm]

Bleh. The Silmarillion was pretty much fleshed-out, too. Didn't stop Christopher from making it hard to read. And it was a GOOD STORY, too. I of course have high hopes for CoH, but they are tempered by a hefty dose of reality.

On the other hand, this is perhaps the story that Tolkien did THE MOST background writing on. The fall of Beleriand, Turin & Luthien... there's a balrog in it, too, if memory serves.

[Umfriend]

If I am not mistaken, Turin killed a dragon, not a balrog. I have always (well, for a long time now) felt the silmarallion to be better than LotR but harder to make a movie from. Hurin & Turin must be about the most dramatic characters in the book, aside from some elves of course.

I did try Chris' books a few times but, well, they just don't read well.

[Gurm]

Turin killed a dragon, but if the book covers the fall of Beleriand, then it is likely to contain the fight between Glorfindel and the balrog, no?

[Umfriend]

IIRC, the actual fight is in one of the HoMe books and he simpyk dies at the hand of a balrog in the silmarillion. Not sure.

[Jammrock]

IIRC, the actual fight is in one of the HoMe books and he simpyk dies at the hand of a balrog in the silmarillion. Not sure.

Glorfindel kills a balrog but "dies" in the process. Since he is an elf high lord though it was only his body that died and his essence returned to ... wherever it is the elves and Valor live. Anyway, some asked Tolkien if the Glorfindel on LotR was the same as the Glorfindel that killed the Balrgo and he said yes. Glorfindel was given a second chance to return to middle earth, i.e. ressurected.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorfindel

Jammrock

[Gurm]

Halls of Mandos, that was what you were looking for. And all Elves can choose to resurrect. Not all do, of course. Glorfindel did. Glorfindel is badass. He didn't go on the fellowship mainly because if he had, Sauron would have spotted him coming from across the world.



Also for those interested, a Legolas ALSO appears in the HoME. However, the elf from LOTR is unlikely to be reincarnated - rather his father (the king of the wood elves) probably named him after a famous ancestor.

[DukeP]

..
Glorfindel is badass. He didn't go on the fellowship mainly because if he had, Sauron would have spotted him coming from across the world.

.. And run!

Yes. In the movies it does look like a VERY unqual fight at the gates of mordor.
Perhaps it was, but THIS IS SPARTA pales in comparison to an army of just one 3.000+ yo elven warrior lord.

~~DukeP~~

[Gurm]

.. And run!

Yes. In the movies it does look like a VERY unqual fight at the gates of mordor.
Perhaps it was, but THIS IS SPARTA pales in comparison to an army of just one 3.000+ yo elven warrior lord.

~~DukeP~~

Yup. The glossed-over battle from the beginning of the first LOTR movie, where the elves and men march together against Sauron... let's remember here that he HAD the one ring at that point. He HAD all of his power, he HAD a gigantic army of evil, and yet Elrond and company were holding their own ANYWAY.

I was always a bit irked that they killed off Haldir in the second movie, especially with a cheap "oh look he doesn't see the orc behind him" maneuver. Elf lords are not so easily dispatched. (For those interested, the contingent of elves that shows up at Helm's Deep in the books is only about a half dozen, and it's led by Elrond's two sons, and not a single one of them gets even a scratch on them. And Elrond's sons are only half-elves anyway...)

[Umfriend]

I don;t think it's fair to say Elrond's sons are half-elves as Elrond himself was born half-elven and their mother is full elvish. IIRC, Elrond should be seen as full-elven as he was given the choice to become one or the other. His brother, Elrand, chose human. But it's all been a long time so I could be mistaken.

[Jammrock]

You are partly correct, Umfriend. Elrond and his twin, Elros, were given the choice to become mortal like humans or gain the gift of the Eldar (Elves) and be able to sail back to the Undying Lands. Though Elrond was still considered half-elf, he was a high elf lords son and considered the wises elf left in middle earth, so he was treated with the respect of a true blooded high elf lord.

But you are right about Elrond's sons being 3/4 elf. And they were badasses in the books. Going into the mountain realms of the orcs to kill them, and always coming back unscathed. And in the book they were always at the head of every charge in battle, and came out unscathed.

[Gurm]

Yeah yeah, 3/4 elves. Also, if you CHOOSE to be elvish, it ... uh, compensates ... for the part-human blood. LOL.

Of course if you CHOOSE to be human, you still get to live like 500 years... I loved the added-back-in scene from TTT where Aragorn makes Eowyn guess how old he is...