Tolkien fans, rejoice: A new book is coming out

Believe it or not, there is a new book by J.R.R. Tolkien — "The Children of Hurin" — and it isn't some trick or new author with an old name. It is the real deal.

And now that the spectacle of the Hollywood blockbuster "Lord of the Rings" films has passed, it is a heady time for enthusiasts of Tolkein. "It is exciting that a new Tolkien book is out there," said Mike Regina, editor at fansite TheOneRing.net. "Young and old, new and experienced fans are excited. It is almost like some sort of archaeological find."

In fact, there hasn't been such a time since at least 1977, when Tolkien's last work, "The Silmarillion," was also published posthumously. That book — which arrived at a time when readers had only the much more accessible "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" to read — probably came as a shock to many with its biblical-sounding creation story and dense mythology.

Initial reviews of "The Silmarillion" were mixed. Newsweek called it "pretentiously archaic and at times nearly incomprehensible," while Time said it was a work "held so long and so powerful in the writer's imagination that it overwhelms the reader." But the New Republic claimed it was "in the same league with Milton and the King James Version (of the Bible)."

Despite an apparent preponderance of criticism, fans sent it to the top of best-seller lists, and it has been available on bookstore shelves ever since — even experiencing a resurgence in sales when filmmaker Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation of "Rings" took "Lord of the Rings" book sales to unprecedented levels.

Tolkien's son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, edited "The Silmarillion" from his father's many manuscripts and notes, organizing different versions of the tales and keeping them as consistent as possible with the "Rings" books.

He has done the same work again with "The Children of Hurin," gathering materials, some previously published in such books as "Unfinished Tales," into a more complete work.

This book is illustrated by Alan Lee and makes its debut Tuesday. Bookstores expect it to be an "event" release. Fans and critics know what to expect this time, except perhaps fans who have come to the books by way of the films and haven't stepped beyond the borders of Tolkien's mainstream works. They could be surprised in a way similar to fans in 1977 — although Regina thinks fans know what is going on.

"I think a lot of movie fans were really enticed by the films," Regina said. "They want to read more, they want to read other works (by Tolkien) and similar works. The games, books and films cross the whole spectrum of people."