I saw this in the store this weekend when I was shopping for a present for somebody and thought, "Oh what the hey."
I have finished the existing story and see the aspects of Turin in the character re. the incest resulting from a curse and ultimate suicide of the characters in the same manner.
I found it noteworthy that the idea of the talking sword, which seems so incongruous with the rest of Tolkien's Middle-earth, was present from the very beginnings of the story.
A lasting holdover from the original
Kalevala?
The real reason why I had to come post before finishing the book is that on page 42 (hmmmm) I discovered that the short version of my name is in some way associated with death.
EDIT: Now that I have finished reading, I feel more justified in adding a few more thoughts. I don't know that I exactly regret buying this, but it was certainly overpriced for not much content, and rather repetitive content at that. I also don't think that Dr. Flieger had much to add in the way of substantive commentary. I very much have the opinion that this book was published mostly in the hope of making a buck.
I also wonder if Tolkien himself would like having all of his early attempts at writing published for all the world to see. I'm not sure I would want that.