"Children of Húrin" has been published...

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yes, the NY Barnes & Noble copies are pre-signed. Lee will be at Waterstone's in London that day. The only announced appearances of Lee that I have seen are in the UK.

[axordil]

I'm still willing to bet some show up on EBay. I kind of hope so. Given that I don't live in NYC, it would be cheaper to acquire one that way than flying in to buy.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Ax, I'm sure of it.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

There is new web page up, including a "trailer" for the book.

(Who ever heard of a trailer for a book?)

http://tolkien.hcp-uk.co.uk/thechildrenofhurin.aspx

Note, I watched the trailer more then five times, and it was different the first five times I watched, with some different images (including one time with a really nice, very clear snippet from the new map, as opposed to the fiery, unclear version that appeared all the other times).

It says that an "exclusive extract" is coming soon, but right now it is only an extract from Return of the King.

[Inanna]

In this book I have endeavoured to construct, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention.

Maybe he added this after seeing yr manuscript, V. heh.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

(I had the same thought, Mahima).

I just watched the trailer again, and saw another different image that I hadn't seen, this one of Húrin bound to his chair of stone.

Wowsa!

[Alatar]

Against them he sent his formidable servant, Glaurang, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire.

This struck me as a strange description. Unlike the Balrogs who are described as Maia with forms of fire and shadow, isn't Glaurung described as having been "bred"?

[axordil]

Well, Glaurang was the first dragon, so he couldn't have been bred, per se.

[Alatar]

Good point. Can't find that refrence anyway, so I'm probably transferring from somewhere else.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Glaurung is described as the "father" of dragons, so one might consider that subsequent dragons were "bred" from him. But (other then in Shrek) I've never heard of a female dragon.

[yovargas]

It's the beard.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

But (other then in Shrek) I've never heard of a female dragon.

No? The dragon in Eragon is female. The dragon in Dragonslayer is female, too. There are lots of female dragons in the Dragonlance books.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Ah! You see, I haven't read any of those books. I'm not real big on fantasy.

(I don't consider Tolkien to be fantasy.)

[Inanna]

takes deep breaths....



You don't like fantasy? you don't consider Tolkien to be fantasy?

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

I saw Eragon and Dragonslayer as movies. I know Eragon was derived from a book, but I'm not certain about Dragonslayer.

I also recall that in the MMORPG Everquest there were both male and female dragons. The one great dragon that had god-like status was female.

Voronwë, it's clear to me that you need to increase your knowledge of dragon lore.

[TORN]

The first critical review I've seen -- the writer seems not to like JRRT all that much but does seem to like the book quite a bit: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 613657.ece

[Jnyusa]

I registered for the competition! Something I never do online, and which will probably subject me to 1000 pieces of spam per day for the next three years.

Thanks for the review, TORN! (Always good to see you here!)

Jn

[Voronwë the Faithful]

An Essay by Adam Tolkien on The Children of Húrin

And here is the painting of Húrin that I mentioned that I saw as part of the trailer:



And the previously released painting, as seen in the book:



And finally, a brief interview with Alan Lee:

Questions for Alan Lee

We had the chance to ask Alan Lee a few questions about his illustrative collaboration with the world imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien:

Amazon.com: How much of a treat was it to get first crack at depicting entirely new characters rather than ones who had been interpreted many times before? Was there one who particularly captured your imagination?

Lee: Although it was a great honor to illustrate The Children of Húrin, the characters and the main elements of the story line are familiar to those who have read The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, and these narratives have inspired quite a few illustrators. Ted Nasmith has illustrated The Silmarillion and touched on some of the same characters and landscapes. This was the first time that I ventured into the First Age; while working on The Lord of the Rings books and films--and The Hobbit--I've had to refer back to events in Middle-earth history but not really depict them.

I'm drawn to characters who bear similarities to the protagonists in myths and legends; these correspondences add layers and shades of meaning, and most of the characters in this story have those archetypal qualities. However, I prefer not to get too close to the characters because the author is delineating them much more carefully than I can, and I'm wary of interfering with the pictures that the text is creating in the reader's mind.

Amazon.com: The Húrin story has been described as darker than some of Tolkien's other work. What mood did you try to set with your illustrations?

Lee: It is a tragic story, but the darkness is offset by the light and beauty of Tolkien's elegiac writing. In the illustrations I tried to show some of the fragile beauty of the landscapes and create an atmosphere that would enhance the sense of foreboding and impending loss. I try to get the setting to tell its part in the story, as evidence of what happened there in the past and as a hint at what is going to occur. My usual scarred and broken trees came in handy.

Amazon.com: You were a conceptual designer (and won an Oscar) for Peter Jackson's film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, which I think we can safely say had a bit of success. How does designing for the screen compare to designing for the page?

Lee: They both have their share of joys and frustrations. It was great to be part of a huge film collaboration and play a small part in something quite magical and monumental; I will always treasure that experience. Film is attractive because I enjoy sketching and coming up with ideas more than producing highly finished artwork, and it's great having several hundred other people lending a hand! But books--as long as they don't get moldy from being left in an empty studio for six years--have their own special quality. I hope that I can continue doing both.

Amazon.com: Of all fiction genres, fantasy seems to have the strongest tradition of illustration. Why do you think that is? Who are some of your favorite illustrators?

Lee: A lot of excellent illustrators are working at the moment--especially in fantasy and children's books. It is exciting also to see graphic artists such as Dave McKean, in his film Mirrormask, moving between different media. I also greatly admire the more traditional work of Gennady Spirin and Roberto Innocenti. Kinuko Craft, John Jude Palencar, John Howe, Charles Vess, Brian Froud ... I'll stop there, as the list would get too long. But--in a fit of pride and justified nepotism--I'll add my daughter, Virginia Lee, to the list. Her first illustrated children's book, The Frog Bride [coming out in the U.K. in September], will be lovely.

I went to my local Borders today, and their machine that customers can use to look for books said "likely in store" Of course, when I asked them, they said they didn't have it. They insisted that it was originally scheduled to be released on March 28, and that the publisher just recently pushed it back. They had no information at all that it is supposed to be released in April 17, and said that it should be available "sometime in the next couple of weeks". Grrr! Yes, I have a deluxe edition on order from Amazon, but I was counting on getting a copy of the regular edition that day. Hopefully I still will be able to.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

I'm drooling in anticipation.

[TORN]

Latest review, at http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/book ... 450332.ece