children of hurrin question

[spidervenom]

I have never read any lord of the rings novels or any other taking place in middle earth and I was wondering if I should start on some of the earlier books before children of hurrin or just start at coh

[Roquefort Raider]

The thing with Tolkien's books is that although they share a common universe (for the most part), they are verey, very different things.

The Hobbit is a tale of adventure written and meant for children. It is light-hearted and a lot of fun, despite moments of drama and the loss of beloved characters. It is the most accessible of Tolkien's Middle-Earth books.

Lord of the rings is, of course, an epic adventure of amazing richness. Its core idea is a simple adventurous quest, but it also builds a fantasy world the consistency and richness of which has not been equalled in modern literature, as far as I'm concerned. Nevertheless, it remains accessible because it is built like a "normal" novel, with dialogues and a clean storyline.

The Silmarillion is more akin to the Old Testament in its depiction of Middle Earth. It has grown to be my favorite Tolkien book, but it is not an adventure; it really is the genesis of a world. I found it pretty hard to get into it the first two times (until I got Forter's "Guide to Middle-Earth" to aid me with the names).

The children of Hurin is a longer version of one of the chapters in the Silmarillion. Although I have not read it as a standalone book, I have an idea of what it must be like (the tale has also been told in Unfinished Tales and in the Book of lost tales, compendiums of unfinished or early versions of many of Tolkien's stories). It is a pretty dramatic story, with murder and incest and the tragic fate of a cursed family. I don't think I would suggest to start with it, because (a) it's pretty depressing and (b) it's not really a pivotal moment in the history of Middle-Earth. I would keep it for later, after LotR and the Silmarillion, and then only if you really, really want to get a longer version of the story.

Cheers,

- Ben

[Aaron Kashtan]

I have never read any lord of the rings novels or any other taking place in middle earth and I was wondering if I should start on some of the earlier books before children of hurrin or just start at coh

I agree with Ben's recommendation (even though I haven't read The Children of Hurin either). The Silmarillion is an acquired taste. If you start with it, you may not like it, and it might turn you off to reading more Tolkien. So start with either The Hobbit or The Fellowship of the Ring.

[Frodo-X]

I'll echo their sentiments. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy are best to start, and then I would only recommend The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales if you are really into it by then.

[TransformersFan]

I agree too.

I loved the Hobbit and LotR series, but The Silmarillion was really not my cup of tea...it read much like a religious Middle-Earth verion of The Bible. I did buy The Children of Hurin because it seemed a bit for simple and straight forward story.

[Chris N]

To echo and add to what's been said. Silmarillion and Unifinished Tales are no place to begin. Nor are any of the History of Middle Earth books.

Hobbit is the easiest place to begin as it's simple and fun, but won't give you a real feel for what the others are like. Still, I would begin there.

Children of Hurin reads pretty well by itself and is far shorter than Lord of the Rings and perhaps even the easier read, so it's actually fine to start with it.

I think Lord of the Rings is far more interesting, overall though.