I just finished reading "The Children of Hurin" by J.R.R Tolkien. If you are a big fan of the rest of Tolkien's works you will love this book. It is the back story of the kin of Hurin and the curse laid upon them by Morgoth.

The story begins with a brief introduction to Hurin, his kin, and his deeds that lead to his imprisonment and subsequent cursing. Following this, the book details, primarily, the life of Turin and his sister Nienor, the son and daughter of Hurin. From birth to their final glorious moment, both kin travel the lands bringing havock to any who house them. Finally, the book completes in a dramatic fashion worthy of traditional Shakespeareian conclusions.

The book is not impossible to read, and if you can get past the typical Tolkien 100+ names of locations and characters the narrative is fairly straightforward. It reminded me of a cross between Shakespeare and traditional Mythology. The writing is somewhat in old English, typical of Tolkien, and includes a large genealogy, appendix, and fold out map in the back of the book. Additionally there is a character list that gives a synopsis of each name used throughout the novel.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. It went fairly quickly and held my interest throughout. Learning some of the history that surrounds Middle-Earth adds to the enjoyment that the reader/viewer would get out of the more common novels and movies by Tolkien. I give "The Children of Hurin" 4 out of 5 donkeys.

NOTE: I find it VERY interesting that the spell checker that I use in vi to write these entries actually finds Tolkien as a real word and doesn't highlight it as a misspelling. I guess a fellow nerd created that particular dictionary.