[Sir Kohran]

I have to say I feel kind of annoyed that almost everyone I've talked to or read about regards The Children Of Hurin as merely something to do with LOTR - like a DVD add-on or an extended edition. All the reviews from casual readers say that Tolkien fans will like it but it will be impossible for anyone else - only the people familiar with LOTR will read it. Like davem said, this will probably never be seen as a standalone work - the 'Tolkien' on the front cover will immediately lead it to be forever associated with the story of LOTR. The tragic ending, the hopeless frustration and the dark atmosphere will be either regarded as 'anachronistic' or simply be forgotten about, and the work will be shoved into the world of LOTR to 'make it fit in'; to make sure we maintain the idea of Tolkien writing generic, simple, good-beating-evil fantasy stories. Tolkien as an author and his latest story will never be able to break out of this 'mould', it seems.