News and Notes

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction will be experimenting with free stories.

The Locus Award Winners have been announced.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is #1 on Amazon.com

Read an excerpt from Robin Hobb's Renegade's Magic

The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien

The Children of Hurin is an assemblage of Tolkien's assorted writings, put together in novel format by son Christopher. The story was begun by JRR Tolkien in 1918, but never assembled as a complete novel. Christopher Tolkien has organized the work into novel format without altering his father's words, save a few grammatical corrections. Thus, this is considered a complete JRR Tolkien narrative.

Darker than Lord of the Rings and more mature than The Hobbit, The Children of Hurin takes place several thousand years before the events of The Hobbit, at a time that the Elves were greater and were strongly allied with the nations of Men. Elves and Men have suffered a disastrous defeat in war, and Turin, the son of the greatest warrior in human history, is trying to reverse their fortunes.

Readers familiar only with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings might have trouble identifying with the rash Hurin. He has none of the Hobbit-sense of Bilbo Baggins, nor the exceeding nobility and honor of Aragorn. If he is reminiscent of any LotR character, it would perhaps be Boromir, who has the best intentions but does not always see the greater picture.

It has been argued that Tolkien was not so much a writer as the ultimate world-builder- creating a detailed history of Middle Earth, along with languages, literature, folklore and cultures. One cannot read Lord of the Rings without feeling the pressure of tomes of Middle Earth history threatening to burst forth from the pages. There is more story than can ever be told, and The Children of Hurin is an enjoyable chapter in that history. The downside is that the story often reads like a history book. It's not always an engrossing read.

Opinions on this book among Tolkien fans will probably be split into three groups. Avid Tolkien readers will devour this book and beg for more. Readers who liked the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, but didn't like them enough to read the Silmarillion will find it boring at parts, but worth the read. Fans who love the Peter Jackson movies but are not so in love with the books will hate it.

Overall, The Children of Hurin is a worthwhile read for the average fantasy fan, and a must-read for Tolkien aficionados.

SFF News

Cover art released for the deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

ABC to air Masters of Science Fiction

Feist on Into a Dark Realm

Interview with David Bilsborough

News and Notes

Here's an update from Terry Pratchett's "Discworld Monthly:"

Amazon.co.uk is now listing Making Money as being released on 24th September 2007. It features Moist Von Lipwig doing to the Ankh Morpork Mint what he did to the Post Office in Going Postal.

Going Postal was my first exposure to Discworld, and remains my favorite. Can't wait!



Tobias Buckell's Ragamuffin is set for a June 12 release. That's next week! Buckell's debut, Crystal Rain, garnered him much well-deserved attention as one of the best new voices in SF. Visit his site here.

In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck

What does a young man do when you take away all that he has? That is the pivotal question in David Keck's In the Eye of Heaven. Durand believes he will assume the lordship of a small village that lies under his father's authority, but his plan is shattered when the heir to the village, believed dead, turns up very much alive. This event sends Durand on an adventure, through a dark, gritty medieval world.

Keck's strength is that he has crafted an almost tangible world. The reader can easily get lost in this perilous, often creepy place Keck has created. The plot is not your overdone fantasy quest, but is original and engrossing.

The weaknesses of In the Eye of Heaven lie first in the characters, where none other than Durant truly pique the reader's interest, and in the development, or lack thereof of the way in which magic works in the world. It is present, but not explored, at least in this installment of what is sure to be a solid fantasy series.

Keck is one of the best new voices in fantasy and I look forward to his next book.

Rating: 8/10