Children of Hurin Review Revue

So now that Children of Hurin — J.R.R. Tolkein's "new" novel as "edited" by his son Christopher — has been released after almost a century of editing, what do reviewers have to say about it?

On one hand, the Washington Post seems to like it:

If anyone still labors under the delusion that J.R.R. Tolkien was a writer of twee fantasies for children, this novel should set them straight. A bleak, darkly beautiful tale played out against the background of the First Age of Tolkien's Middle Earth, The Children of Húrin possesses the mythic resonance and grim sense of inexorable fate found in Greek tragedy.

But on the other, The Guardian is so dead-set against you wasting your time and money on the Children of Hurin that they've actually gone through the trouble of summarizing it for you:

Preface by Christopher Tolkien

For more than 30 years I have been wondering what to do with my father's unfinished ramblings. But then the Lord of the Rings movies did very well, so I decided to cash in.

Notes on pronunciation

W - the w before a double l, as in "The Children of Húrin is complete Bowllocks", should always be silent.

So I'm afraid it's still up in the air whether or not Children of Hurin is a shameless cash-in on a series of stream-of-conscious rantings Tolkien once wrote on the back of a paper place mat, or a bonafide fantasy classic. If anyone hazards to read it, though, please let me know if Frodo turns out to be Voldemort or something.