The Children of Húrin (Tolkien) reviewed

[horacethegrey]

I didn't read the article, but Entertainment Weekly gave the book a D. I tend not to trust them though, because they often hate the things I like.

Just read that. It's quite obvious that the reviewer was prepared not to like it from the start. He even points out how much of a headache it is for him to read The Silmarillion. *Sighs* When will people get the hint that Tolkien's non LOTR material wasn't meant to be read like a regular novel, but as a collection of myth and legend? :\

 

[The_Khan]

LOL, Bento my friend I'm not a genius at all, just a regular guy, lol.

I used to hate reading books and my brother bought me The Hobbit for Christmas when I was in the sixth grade. I was so mad, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I pretended to read it and I got hooked, with the first line "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit." I was like why would anybody want to live in a hole in the ground and what is a Hobbit? And that is how Tolkien hooked me in. can you believe that? Tolkien had awakened this hunger inside of me, so I read the Lord of the Rings and it only grew and then I devoured the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and all the others. it was really easy, and very magical, maybe because I was so hungry to read I found the 'patience' to read it and enjoy it. I think most adults who read it don't have the patience of a hungry child who just discovered the wondrous world of Middle-Earth. I don't think adults should read the Silmarillion, kids should after they finish reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Now years later my brothers and I we own Dabel Brothers www.dabelbrothers.com and we adapt New York Times Bestselling authors such as George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Raymond E. Feist, R.A. Salvatore, Laurell K. Hamilton, Orson Scott Card, Steven Erikson, and many others. All of this because my brother gave me The Hobbit as a Christmas gift when I was in the sixth grade, lol I wish the PSAT and Chemistry had come to me the same way, lol

 

[bento]

Khan,

I read The Hobbit at the end of 6th grade - the illustrated version from the cartoon movie. I read LoTR over the next couple of years, as it was difficult at that age to have the attention span to sit and read for any length of time. By the time I got to the Silmarillion I was in 9th grade, and it was way too dense for me, even with "The Guide to Middle Earth" to refer to.

Maybe I didn't have the same hunger. Or more likely I fed it with the comic book addiction I was fueling at the time!

I've always thought that by reading Tolkien first, other fantasy novels read like a pale immitation. I'll probably pick up Children though. The reviews I read made it sound interesting.

 

[Mycanid]

I am curious about the book now ... hmm. Thanks for posting the review!

 

[The_Khan]

Bento my friend, I think you hit on something important here, because when I was reading The Silmarillion, I was not reading anything else and believe it or not, I put cartoons aside so I could focus. Wow, I guess that means I was a little nerd or something when I was little, I didn't wear glasses though, lol You are right after Tolkien many books seemed pale by comparisson, but you should check out George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, I'm not sure if you read it yet. The first book in the series is called A Game of Thrones, check it out, I think you might enjoy it

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-...4409706?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177695538&sr=1-2