Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Children of Hurin cover art

The Children of Hurin

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Christopher Lee
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Fall of Gondolin cover art
Unfinished Tales cover art
The Fall of Númenor cover art
Beren and Lúthien cover art
The Silmarillion cover art
Tales from the Perilous Realm cover art
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil cover art
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth cover art
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Dramatised) cover art
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Dramatised) cover art
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (Dramatised) cover art
Nada the Lily cover art
Farmer Giles of Ham cover art
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight cover art
She Who Must Be Obeyed cover art
Witch World: High Hallack Cycle, Books 1-2 cover art

Summary

There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before The Lord of the Rings. The story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West: lands where Treebeard once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World.

In that remote time, Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress of Angband, the Hells of Iron, in the North; and the tragedy of Túrin and his sister Nienor unfolded within the shadow of the fear of Angband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secret cities of the Elves. Their brief and passionate lives were dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as the children of Húrin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn him to his face. Against them he sent his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire.

Into this story of brutal conquest and flight, of forest hiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, the Dark Lord and the Dragon enter in direly articulate form. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulated the fates of Túrin and Nienor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth was fulfilled.

The earliest versions of this Tolkien story go back to the end of the First World War and the years that followed. But long afterwards, when The Lord of the Rings was finished, he revised and greatly enlarged it, enhancing complexities of motive and character. It became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to a final and finished form. In this book, Christopher Tolkien has constructed, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention.

©2007 J. R. R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and Christopher Reuel Tolkien (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UK

What listeners say about The Children of Hurin

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,154
  • 4 Stars
    345
  • 3 Stars
    144
  • 2 Stars
    47
  • 1 Stars
    28
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,069
  • 4 Stars
    198
  • 3 Stars
    80
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    911
  • 4 Stars
    269
  • 3 Stars
    136
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    18

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Christopher Lee improves everything

If you’re a fan of Tolkien and eager to learn more about Middle Earth and the captivating stories it holds then this is one of my favourites. With some darker twists than in the Hobbit or the LotR trilogy this will shock and grip you if you give it your full attention.
Narration by Christopher Lee just gives it that gravitas that really sets it above anything else on audible.
Love it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tolkien continued...

This is a good story and quite dark in its theme. Murder, pride, evil, incest and racism...

A good story altogether but a bit long in some parts..

Highly recommend if you arw a fan of LOTR as this gives some good back story to the worlf of middle earth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Lee is worth it

While this is, in my opinion, not close to the best Tolkien has to offer, having Christopher Lee dictate the world of Middle Earth is more than worth it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic narration by Christopher Lee

The Children of Hurin doesn't disappointment Lord of the Rings' fans. Originally featuring in The Silmarillion, the expanded story in the form of this standalone book adds life to the story of the House of Bëor, which includes Elrond's lineage. The story is action packed filled with lore, prophecy, uplifting moments and sadness. If you are reading Toklien, this book is a must read.


Some say that Tolkien is better heard and in that there may be some merit. But what I can say for sure is that Christopher Lee's narration in this AudioBook is absolutely outstanding. First-rate acting and voice over artistry. I love Tolkien's work but because of Lee's performance I was hooked from the beginning.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A epic reading of a Tolkien Epic

Christopher Lees reading gives such depth and gravitas to this great story of middle earth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Christoffer Lee does the story justice

If you have read The lord of the rings or other Tolkien books, this book comes off as different in it’s wording and building of sentences. But to the better for the most part. It is not to hard to understand the main plot, where you are in middle earth and how is who in the never ending Genealogies.. also, if you have the book as “a read along” as i did, see the genealogies in the back. It always makes it a little easier to digest.

All inn all I really like the book. And Mr. Lee does the voices performance’s to an extent so it makes it a bit easier to know who is who.

Is it my favourite? No,
will I read it again? Yes.
All good books deserve a second read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Children of Hurin

What did you like most about The Children of Hurin?

The performance

Has The Children of Hurin put you off other books in this genre?

No

What does Christopher Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His performance enhanced the story

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I won't.

Any additional comments?

I find it very difficult to rate this book. It is beautifully written, excellently performed. But! The story is bleak, depressing, dark. There is no hope, no joy in it. I listened to the whole book, all the while hoping that the hero will not be totally consumed by darkness. But in the end the book ended as dark as it began. I will definitely not listen to it again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

not bad, but not great.

I think this is one that really needs the images to go with it. I ended finding them on google images, as the story lacks the descriptive narrative that you get in the hobbit and Lord of the Rings tril.

I also think it would benifit with editing having someone with a unique deep voice such as Mr Lee, does not quite fit the vocals for many of the characters esp women!

still good tho if your a fan of Tolkien.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful reading of a great work by Tolkien

I didn't experience any audio glitches at all. This is worth a listen for any Tolkien fan

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Marvel From Tolkien

Loved every minute. If you have read The Silmarillian, then you'll quickly recognise the story. However don't let that put you off.

Brilliantly read by Christopher Lee. with a gripping story. Must read for any Tolkien fan.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!