I need a new book to read and I’ve wanted to give this book a try for a long time. I love LOTR and have read it at least a dozen times in my life. I tried to read Silmarillion but I just couldn’t get through it.
Is The Children of Hurin more LOTR type or Silmarillion type?
It’s more Unfinished Tales-type. By that I mean Unfinished Tales has some uncompleted fleshed-out Silmarillion stories in it, and Children of Hurin takes that a step further.
I’m not sure though how accessible it is without having read Sil, though. It does have an introduction by Christopher T giving some context and backstory, but I’m in no position to judge if that is enough for someone not familiar with the Silmarillion.
So, what I’m rambling about is that it is a sort of half-way-house between the Sil and LotR. It’s also excellent.
Interesting. That makes me think that it might be something that I might not really enjoy.
I was thinking of the Mistborn series. I just found that recently and it has mixed reviews.
I also loved Game of Thrones. I just finished reading the entire Shannara series which I think is 26 books. They varied between good and incredibly bad.
Any suggestions?
Hm, let me ask you this: Are you familiar, in rough outline at least, with the major events of the Silmarilion?
Honestly, not really.
I’d give it a go. It’s Tolkien’s darkest story, but also beautiful and moving. Maybe do it with a support thread on here? There’s plenty experts if you have any questions.
It’s not really another “new book to read,” though. You have to have some specific dedication to the legendarium.
I found it something like reading LOTR for the first time, since it is set in a land that was mostly gone by the time of the events in LOTR. You have to learn the new places and names, etc.
I found it much easier to read Children of Hurin before the Silmarillion, then dip into the Sil for the backstory to THAT. CoH is a pretty short book, but I really enjoyed it. It (as far as I remember) doesn’t go too much into who Morgoth was or his origins, but if you accept that Morgoth was one of the original gods and Sauron was merely his lieutenant (yeah Sauron isn’t even the main bad guy of the whole LOTR universe, which gives you an idea how scary Morgoth must have been), you should be able to delve into it without too much trouble. If you get stuck or have trouble keeping track of people, you can always go to the Encyclopedia of Arda and look up bits you are confused about.
It’s a sad story and somewhat complicated but if you’re a Middle Earth fan and want to go deeper into the backstory, go for it. I’d also highly recommend Unfinished Tales, as UT contains a lot of backstory that more directly pertains to LOTR, so you’ll be more familiar with the elements of UT. For instance, it has an account of the Battle of the Fords of Isen (mentioned in LOTR but happens off-page), some history of Numenor, Orthanc (the tower of Isengard), the Palantir, Isildur and his chopping Sauron’s ring finger off, etc.
Ok I bought The Children of Hurin and The Sword of Truth. Both are on my kobo and we’ll see what happens.
Thanks for the help!
Seeing these two books mentioned in the same sentence makes my eyes bleed a little.
A Túrin Turambar turun ambartanen!
Sorry! That doesn’t bode well for The Sword of Truth. 
In my opinion, the quality of Tolkien’s writing has really deteriorated since his death.
Also, whoever “edited” the Children of Hurin is no Guy Gavriel Kay.
I started Children of Hurin and so far I quite like it. There are many names and places to remember but if it doesn’t go all crazy with detail and history I think I’ll be able to read it.
Keep us updated. I find it a very powerful work.
Bonus quest: See how many other names for Turin you can find in the book!
I guess I don’t have to answer, since you’ve bought it. I think you’ll enjoy it, of all the latest books it’s my favorite.
I finished Children of Hurin. It was excellent, better than I thought it would be and it wasn’t hard to read. I don’t think I’ve ever said “NOOOOOooooooo!” as many times as I did reading this book.
Then I tried Wizard’s First Rule.
I couldn’t do it. It was just so terrible. I tried but I found I was just staring out the window instead of reading.
I don’t know what to read now.
Glad you enjoyed it. It’s not exactly cheery is it?
I dimly remember that JRRT wrote somewhere that Turin would have a further part to play, at the Last Battle, the Dagor Dagorath, when Morgoth is finally defeated, at the end of the world. So it’s not all grim.
Master of Doom, by Doom mastered!
Go on, try the Silmarillion again. You know you want to! Skip Ainulindalë if you need to. 
Ok I’ll give it a shot. It’s been about 20 years since I tried and I really do want to read it. It’s loaded on Kobo and we’ll see how it goes.
You can skip Valaquenta too, and just refer back to it when a name crops up.