The Children of Hurin

Children of Húrin is a tale compiled and told to us from some of Tolkien's extended writings. In this book Tolkien strives to emulate some of the myths that inspired much of his work. Here we predominantly follow Túrin, a figure from the First Age, who due to things outside of his control is cursed by the luciferian Morgthoth to suffer unto his death. Those familiar with Sigurd or Kulervo will quickly see the resemblance in the overall choices and trajectory this story takes. Túrin spends most of his time trying to avoid his doom, even taking the name Turambar or "Master of Doom" in a futile attempt to reclaim or take ownership of his fate. The more he tries to resist or avoid his fate the worse things get for him and those around him. Although if Túrin had believed his whole life that he was doomed from the start then his actions make a bit more sense. Often when we're told something as children whether good or bad it often follows us into adulthood, in this case turning this curse into a self fulfilling prophecy. This also goes to show how much our outlook can determine our fate. He starts off as an Aragorn like figure, with noble bearing and wisdom, taking solace within an elven kingdom and yet thru his actions and his untempered passions his life takes a very drastic turn. Although this tale mostly serves to fulfill Tolkien's love for European myth I think it slots in thematically with the rest of his Middle-Earth writings. Darkness prevails only when goodness is absent and it is up to each individual to kindle that within themselves if we wish to have a brighter tomorrow.

Overall i would recommend this to fans of mythology or those who want to explore some of Tolkien's extended writings on Middle-Earth but found the Silmarillion unappealing. The plot is fragmented giving it a loose or flimsy feeling which left me wishing Tolkien could've finished this great tale himself.