New Book Release: THE FALL OF GONDOLIN by J. R. R. Tolkien

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Well, as of this writing, I just turned 31. Oddly enough, I don't feel any older, and maybe that's a good thing.

But that's not why I wanted to make this post. It's to inform everyone (that small handful of us) of a new book released that may be a major milestone. On August 30, 2018, The Fall of Gondolin by J. R. R. Tolkien was published in hardcover, edited as always by the faithful Christopher Tolkien. If I can estimate from past releases, the paperback version should be out next year.

Now it may not seem like such a big deal, other than being another part of the legendarium in yet another format, and I know I've never read anything of Tolkien's past The Silmarillion, but this is significant in a few ways. Firstly, this may be one of the last unreleased works that the Tolkien estate has to make available - everything else may have already been published, so we may be seeing the end of an era, but don't hold me to that, because I don't know for sure. Secondly, in my (limited) research into Tolkien, The Fall of Gondolin is one of three stories from his legendarium that he felt had a right to be published separately on their own in long-form narratives, the other two being Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin; now, with this publication, all three stories have been presented in a form as Tolkien wished, as close to complete as possible in the cases where he was unable to properly finish them before his death, curated from his numerous papers and manuscripts. Thirdly, for those in the know, this may also be the first real public extant version of the story to date, as only bits and pieces of the Gondolin story have appeared in Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth; I mean, I can't say for certain as I haven't read it yet (I think I'll wait for the paperback), but it sounds like this is the full deal, which would be quite a major milestone. However it is, any Tolkien publication is worth noting for fantasy fans.

Copies of the book can be found here for the hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1328613046/?coliid=I2VBPLY5SQGSHJ&colid=1V6GL1W9HI161&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

E-book edition can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Gondolin-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B07CFKN31Z/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1537493564&sr=8-1

[Raven]

First of all, happy birthday. Many happy returns.

Secondly, I'm interested and had no idea this was happening. I'll admit being disappointed with the separate publication of the Hurin saga, as they chose the lesser of the two versions that Tolkien wrote to publish in my opinion. Also, the story of the fall of Gondolin (including Glorfindel's death in battle with a balrog) is dealt with in other stories (possibly the Hurin stories, it's been a while) and I'd be interesting to see if this is a new account or just one lifted from other writings, as was the case of the Hurin publication. I too will probably wait until its available in cheap used paperback before I find out.

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

1) Thanks!

2) I have a copy of Húrin on my shelf, though I haven't gotten around to it yet (typical). I'm curious to know as to how it's the lesser version and where the greater (in your opinion) can be found. You mean the chapter in The Silmarillion or something else entirely?

3) As for this story, from what I gather on Amazon and Wikipedia, this is, like the other two separate stories, an attempt to tell a straight-through, chronological story - at least in theory. Upon checking the table on contents on the Amazon preview and seeing a review of the book on Entertainment Weekly (found here: https://ew.com/books/2018/08/25/fall-of-gondolin-tolkien-review/), it seems to be more of a compendium of different versions of the story from different periods, with an editorial note on how it is all supposed to come together. Still worth checking out, I think.

Another review of the book can be found here: https://thegeekiverse.com/the-fall-of-gondolin-review/