J. R. R. Tolkien's The Children of Húrin is one of the three 'Great Tales' of the Elder Days. This paperback edition includes eight color paintings by renowned Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee and a black-and-white map. The Children of Húrin is the first complete book by Tolkien since the 1977 publication of The Silmarillion. Six thousand years before the One Ring is destroyed, Middle-earth lies under the shadow of the Dark Lord Morgoth. The greatest warriors among elves and men have perished, and all is in darkness and despair. But a deadly new leader rises, Túrin, son of Húrin, and with his grim band of outlaws begins to turn the tide in the war for Middle-earth--awaiting the day he confronts his destiny and the deadly curse laid upon him.