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The Children of Hurin

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The Children of Hurin

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Christopher Lee
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About this listen

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.

©2007 J. R. R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and Christopher Reuel Tolkien (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UK
Epic Epic Fantasy Fiction Fantasy Emotionally Gripping Witty Feel-Good Dragons
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What listeners say about The Children of Hurin

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Christopher Lee improves everything

If you’re a fan of Tolkien and eager to learn more about Middle Earth and the captivating stories it holds then this is one of my favourites. With some darker twists than in the Hobbit or the LotR trilogy this will shock and grip you if you give it your full attention.
Narration by Christopher Lee just gives it that gravitas that really sets it above anything else on audible.
Love it.

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Tolkien continued...

This is a good story and quite dark in its theme. Murder, pride, evil, incest and racism...

A good story altogether but a bit long in some parts..

Highly recommend if you arw a fan of LOTR as this gives some good back story to the worlf of middle earth

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Lee is worth it

While this is, in my opinion, not close to the best Tolkien has to offer, having Christopher Lee dictate the world of Middle Earth is more than worth it.

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Fantastic narration by Christopher Lee

The Children of Hurin doesn't disappointment Lord of the Rings' fans. Originally featuring in The Silmarillion, the expanded story in the form of this standalone book adds life to the story of the House of Bëor, which includes Elrond's lineage. The story is action packed filled with lore, prophecy, uplifting moments and sadness. If you are reading Toklien, this book is a must read.


Some say that Tolkien is better heard and in that there may be some merit. But what I can say for sure is that Christopher Lee's narration in this AudioBook is absolutely outstanding. First-rate acting and voice over artistry. I love Tolkien's work but because of Lee's performance I was hooked from the beginning.

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A epic reading of a Tolkien Epic

Christopher Lees reading gives such depth and gravitas to this great story of middle earth

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Christoffer Lee does the story justice

If you have read The lord of the rings or other Tolkien books, this book comes off as different in it’s wording and building of sentences. But to the better for the most part. It is not to hard to understand the main plot, where you are in middle earth and how is who in the never ending Genealogies.. also, if you have the book as “a read along” as i did, see the genealogies in the back. It always makes it a little easier to digest.

All inn all I really like the book. And Mr. Lee does the voices performance’s to an extent so it makes it a bit easier to know who is who.

Is it my favourite? No,
will I read it again? Yes.
All good books deserve a second read.

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Children of Hurin

What did you like most about The Children of Hurin?

The performance

Has The Children of Hurin put you off other books in this genre?

No

What does Christopher Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His performance enhanced the story

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I won't.

Any additional comments?

I find it very difficult to rate this book. It is beautifully written, excellently performed. But! The story is bleak, depressing, dark. There is no hope, no joy in it. I listened to the whole book, all the while hoping that the hero will not be totally consumed by darkness. But in the end the book ended as dark as it began. I will definitely not listen to it again.

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not bad, but not great.

I think this is one that really needs the images to go with it. I ended finding them on google images, as the story lacks the descriptive narrative that you get in the hobbit and Lord of the Rings tril.

I also think it would benifit with editing having someone with a unique deep voice such as Mr Lee, does not quite fit the vocals for many of the characters esp women!

still good tho if your a fan of Tolkien.

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wonderful reading of a great work by Tolkien

I didn't experience any audio glitches at all. This is worth a listen for any Tolkien fan

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Another Marvel From Tolkien

Loved every minute. If you have read The Silmarillian, then you'll quickly recognise the story. However don't let that put you off.

Brilliantly read by Christopher Lee. with a gripping story. Must read for any Tolkien fan.

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