The Children of Húrin

        Everyone is familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's  The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and anyone who has read these can sense the passion he has for fantasy. Tolkien spent most of his life writing, rewriting, reorganizing and tinkering with the vast mythology of Middle Earth and the tip of the iceberg is The Simarillion, a collection of epic history, primarily dealing with the fate of the Noldor (a group of elves). In The Simarillion there is a summarized version of the tale of a great hero named Húrin and his kinsman. J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher Tolkien published the unabridged version in 2007. In The Children of Húrin, Tolkien departs from the typical fantasy structure where "the truth will out" and good will always conquer evil. This story is tragedy. In The Children of Húrin, Tolkien follows Húrin's son, Túrin, and does a great job of drawing the reader in so they become emotionally invested in the characters and then everyone dies. However, rather than being disappointed, Tolkien ends the story in a way that leaves you thinking that every thing is as it should be.