The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien

Wow. I can only say wow. This book was totally different from what I expected. The Children of Hurin is one of the prequels to Lord of The Rings, and it's a very rich, dark tale.

Even though it's called The Children of Hurin, it's really about Turin, son of Hurin. Turin is the protagonist, although I'm not sure if you can call him a hero. Even as a young child, he is prideful, and it's really a foreshadowing of how things will end. Even though he is cursed, he's still the one who chooses to be foolhardy, who chooses to let his pride over-rule wise counsel. And in the end, that's what brings his family to ruin.

It's a pity, really, because Turin is a great leader. At different points of the book, he was leading different groups, and he was a good leader. He was also beloved by the Elves and a whole lot of other people. All this just makes his ending so much sadder.

And even though the ending is dark, the book wasn't dark the whole time. There were times where I honestly thought that Turin would prevail and that Sauron would not win. I mean, we all know that Sauron didn't win in Lord of The Rings, so he shouldn't win here too right? Well, I was wrong. If anything, this book showed me very clearly how formidable a foe Sauron and his minions were.

This book isn't very long (it's much shorter than Lord of The Rings), but it packs a punch. I don't think this can be called an epic, but it's definitely one part of a long long history. I really hope that I can get my hands on a copy of The Silmarillion soon.