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Following his death in 1973, one of Tolkien’s sons has been editing his father’s unfinished works for publication. The first of these was The Silmarillion in 1977, which chronicled thousands
of years of Middle Earth history. However some of the stories were removed for their own full-length books. So in 2007 Christopher Tolkien released The Children of Hurin, which was followed
by Beren and Luthien last year. Now the trilogy is being completed with The Fall of Gondolin, a major city whose downfall took place early in Middle Earth history. Morgoth, Sauron’s mentor,
lays waste to the Gondolin in an epic battle which saw the Elf Glorfindel killed by a Balrog. At 93-years-old, this book could very well the last edit by Christopher, who last year resigned
as director of the Tolkien Estate. John Garth, author of Tolkien and the Great War, has revealed what fans can expect. According to HypeBeast, he said: “It’s a quest story with a reluctant
hero who turns into a genuine hero — it’s a template for everything Tolkien wrote afterwards.” He continued: “It has a dark lord, our first encounter with orcs and balrogs — it’s really
Tolkien limbering up for what he would be doing later. “[The Fall of Gondolin also contains Tolkien’s] biggest battle narrative outside of The Lord of the Rings.” The book will feature
drawings and colour plates by Alan Lee, who won an Oscar for Best Art Direction (now called Best Production Design) for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003. Last week it
was announced that Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series would get five seasons and could cost over $1 billion, making it the most expensive show ever. A spin-off series is also being
planned. Christopher hasn’t exactly been positive about the film adaptations of Lord of the Rings. In 2012 he told Le Monde: “They gutted the book, making an action film for 15 to
25-year-olds. _THE FALL OF GONDOLIN IS RELEASED ON AUGUST 30, 2018._