"Children of Húrin" has been published...

[kams]

Mesmerizing!!

It is an arresting cover. Bravo, Alan Lee.

I imagine being crouched on a rock in this scene, wet with spray, hand on my sword watching.... and waiting.....

[Primula Baggins]

I love the composition, in which Glaurung is moving both toward Túrin and toward the viewer of the painting. Even though the monster is small and below the viewer, this sense of motion gives me a sharp feeling of menace.

And because of Lee's usual choice of soft, cool colors, it takes a moment (at least it took me a moment) to spot the danger.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

The word today is that the artwork posted at TORN is not necessarily the final cover art. Regardless, it is yet another fabulous work by Alan Lee, who in my opinion is a genius as well as a master of watercolors.

Have you guys priced this book? They have it listed at Amazon.com for $17.16 (no mention of Alan Lee), while a "Deluxe" edition (Alan Lee is credited as the illustrator) lists for $100!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

As several people (including MithLuin) have pointed out over at TORC, that is likely Mablung, not Túrin.

Mablung himslef took themiddle way, going towards the bridge, andsocame to its hither end and found it allbrokendown; and the deep clovenriver,runningwild after rains far away northward, was foamingand roaring among the fallen stones.

But Glaurung lay there, just within the shadow of the great passage that led inward from the ruined Doors ... .

If it were Túrin, the bridge would not be so ruined.

[Pearly Di]

I love that cover by Lee.

[TORN]

For anyone still waiting to buy either of the sets...Barnes and Noble has a 25% off coupon for any single item (including clearance) U8Y3W9U for today, 12/18 only. Free shipping on orders of $25 or more. Ends at midnight, EST. (about two hours from now)

That works out to about $37 for TTT and $31 for FOTR.

Yes, except I used the 25% off coupon to pre-order the Children of Húrin (NOT the $100 version -- any word on what the story is with that version?)

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Only what I posted earlier - that the regular edition does not mention Lee as "illustrator" (or Christopher as "editor" for that matter), whereas the deluxe edition does. I haven't pre-ordered this precisely because I am waiting to hear what the differences between the two versions really are.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Amazon has cut the price of the regular edition from $26 to $17.94, and of the "deluxe edition" from $100 to $63. Still no more information about what the difference is. Still no cover images available. I'm a little bit more tempted to order the deluxe edition, but I'm still not quite ready to bite the bullet.

[axordil]

I wish I knew what the quality of the binding was, for example. That would make a first printing attractive from a collector standpoint.

[Primula Baggins]

How many more Tolkien first printings are there ever likely to be?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm posting this here because it mostly relates to The Children of Húrin, but there is another tidbit in there that I had never heard of, which I am going to start a separate thread about.

Tolkien publications for 2007 by Harper Collins - Q&A with David Brawn (11.01.07)
While waiting for the new tolkien.co.uk site of Harper Collins I contacted David Brawn, publishing director of HarperCollins UK and had a nice Q&A. At first I was thinking to write an article about my new findings, but I believe it is better to post the complete interview here. Most of the questions are about The Children of Húrin, the deluxe edition of The Children of Húrin, yet I did ask also about new deluxe editions for the anniversary of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, the History of the Hobbit and a chance for an illustrated edition of Unfinished Tales. David Brawn also told they will revamp tolkien.co.uk to be a useful news site and are working towards that. That is maybe very important indeed.

TL: It was said tolkien.co.uk would be online since the 6th; when will it be finished and coming on line?
DB: Work is progressing, but I am unable to give a firm date. Soon.

TL: Is the dust jacket design for Children of Húrin finished and will it be revealed soon?
DB: We expect to reveal it towards the end of the month. Alan Lee is a perfectionist and is still refining it. He finished all the black and white pencil drawings for inside the book a few days ago and they are gorgeous!

TL: Will the deluxe edition of Children of Húrin be limited, and will it match the black limited editions like the HoMe, Hobbit, Lotr and Sil?
DB: No, it will match the current deluxe editions of LOTR (burgundy) and The. Hobbit (green). It will be blue.

TL: Will the signed deluxe edition resemble the superdeluxe edition of the hobbit and the silmarillion of 1982?
DB: No signed deluxe is being produced at this time. The only HarperCollins editions in April will be the £60 deliuxe and the £18.99 hardback. We are looking at possibilities to make something special for Christmas.

TL: Will all or some copies be signed? By Alan Lee and Christopher Tolkien??
DB: The deluxe edition is unsigned and unnumbered.

TL: How many translations will be made? Does there exist a list so we can pre-order every translation?
DB: We are still negotiating translation deals. Currently 21 are agreed, but we have yet to confirm publication dates. Normally books in translation follow a bit later. We will provide a list of publishers on the website soon.

TL: Will the publication worldwide work as planned and will all books appear the same day?
DB: Publication in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be 17 April. Some translations may appear on the same date, but production schedules are still being worked on and we don't yet know local publishers' plans.

TL: Will there be some on line live coverage or a special action that we can follow...
Press coverage has yet to be confirmed, but there are unilkely to be any live events.

TL: Will there be signing events from Alan Lee? And Christopher Tolkien?
DB: Alan Lee will do signings in the UK. Sadly Christopher Tolkien is unable to come to the UK for any events.

TL: Is it possible to receive review copies?
DB: No review copies are being sent out as we want fans to read the book when it is published and not have any surprises spoiled by early reviews.

TL: Are there deluxe editions planned for the Hobbit and the Silmarillion
this year?
DB: The Hobbit hardback is being reprinted with a slightly different jacket and improved specifications, but the £60 deluxe edition from 2004 remains the same. We are considering a matching deluxe Silmarillion for the anniversary, but not yet confirmed.

TL: If so, where can we buy these signed editions? From the Tolkien Society?
DB: All books can be bought from amazon.co.uk. Follow the links from our website. We currently have no signed editions available.

TL: Will there be made a box set combining the Hobbit with the History of
the Hobbit?
DB: Yes. September.

TL: Will there come an illustrated edition of The Unfinished Tales with art by Ted Nasmith?
DB: No. UT is a very fragmented work and doesn't lend itself to an illustrated treatment. The Complete Guide to Middle-earth contains many of Ted's fine paintings though.

http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/Dav ... erview.htm

I'm probably going to go ahead and order the deluxe issue.

[superwizard]

I'm probably going to go ahead and order the deluxe issue.

And I'm going to order the regular one

I'm a college student, what can I say?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I placed my order today.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

From TORN, here is the artwork Alan Lee has created for the gold foil stamp to appear on the front board and slipcase of the deluxe edition of THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN.

http://www.theonering.net/scrapbook/view/18239

They say that the final jacket art will be posted on Amazon tomorrow morning. We'll see.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

The pre-order prices at Amazon.uk are now £11.38 and £39.60, respectively. The cover has also been revealed, at least for the standard version...



Goldberry pre-ordered the deluxe version for me as a Christmas gift.

[Primula Baggins]

Is that maybe the British edition?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yes, that is the cover listed at amazon.co.uk for the regular edition. Still no image at amazon.com. It will probably be the same. Very different then that other cover they were talking about.

[Primula Baggins]

I don't know. That cover just looks . . . British to me. It's balanced and classical and cool and static, and, by American pop culture standards, boring. I wonder if the U.S. publisher might have gone for something more like what we saw first?

[Alatar]

I preordered the deluxe version as a gift for myself

Hey, I'm worth it!

[superwizard]

I preordered the deluxe version as a gift for myself

Hey, I'm worth it!

You sure are!