Mirco Review: The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien

Here goes for one of the review formats that I want to trial on the blog. The micro review - a review of a book in approximately 150 words. Hopefully the format will force me to convey my ideas in as concise a way as possible, in the hope that they are easier to understand. So...

The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien
Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Illustrations by Alan Lee.

The synopsis from the Publisher, Harper Collins' website:

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 Hurin 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 Tolkien.

Turin is born into a Middle-earth crushed by the recent victory of the Dark Lord, Morgoth, and his monstrous army. The greatest warriors among Elves and Men have perished and Turin’s father, Hurin, has been captured. For his defiance, Hurin’s entire family is cursed by Morgoth to be brought down into darkness and despair.

But, like his father, Turin refuses to be cowed by Morgoth and as he grows so does the legend of the deadly hero. In a land overrun with marauding Orcs, Turin gathers to him a band of outlaws and gradually they begin to turn the tide in the war for supremacy of Middle-earth.

Then Morgoth unleashes his greatest weapon: Glaurung, Mightiest of Dragons, and he proves an unstoppable foe. As the Dragon carves a fiery swathe through Middle-earth there remains only one man who can slay him, but to do that he will first have to confront his destiny.

The Children of Hurin was one of three Great Tales begun by J.R.R. Tolkien as he recovered from the horrors of the First World War, and he worked on refining and improving it for the rest of his life. This tragic tale of adventure, heroism, suffering and love stands as one of the finest expressions of his skills as a storyteller and the narrative is as powerful as anything contained within The Lord of the Rings. Painstakingly reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien from his father’s manuscripts, it can finally be enjoyed as the author originally intended.

MY REVIEW

It is fantastic to be back in Middle Earth and Tolkien's work can still weave a spell over the reader. The Children of Hurin has all that readers have come to expect from a work by Tolkien – great battles and landscapes, epic figures and a stirring (if in this case, rather tragic) story.

However, it also suffers from some of the negatives that can be associated with Tolkien’s work. Such as poorly drawn characters that are little more than sketches. The Children of Hurin also suffers from a wildly varying pace and tone.

Tolkien is Tolkien however. He is the father of the epic fantasy genre (If not its master anymore? I think the likes of Martin, Erikson and Bakker could challenge for that title). I would recommend The Children of Hurin to not only those who enjoyed any of Tolkien’s previous work but fans of the epic fantasy sub-genre of speculative fiction in general.

7 out of 10.

...159 words. Not bad. Any feedback on this review format (or the review itself) would be most welcome - feel free to leave some in the comments to this post.