The
Road by Cormac McCarthy
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the status of this book)
A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to
become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece. A father and his son
walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the
ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold
enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray.
The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although
they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They
have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the
lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are
wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.
The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey.
It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in
which the father and his son, “each the other’s world
entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of
its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and
the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness,
desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people
alive in the face of total devastation.
The
Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien
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The first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in
three decades -- since the publication of The
Silmarillion in 1977 -- The Children of Hurin
reunites fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the
Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, Eagles
and Orcs. Presented for the first time as a complete,
standalone story, this stirring narrative will appeal to
casual fans and expert readers alike, returning them to the
rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.
The Children of Hurin, begun in 1918, was one of
three 'Great Tales' J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his
life, though he never realized his ambition to see it
published. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and
references within other Tolkien books, it has long been
assumed that the story would forever remain an unfinished
tale. Now reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien,
painstakingly editing together the complete work from his
father's many drafts, this book is the culmination of a
tireless thirty-year endeavor by him to bring
J.R.R.Tolkien's vast body of unpublished work to a wide
audience.
Having drawn the distinctive maps for the original The
Lord of the Rings more than 50 years ago, Christopher
has also created a detailed new map for this book. In
addition, it will include a jacket and color paintings by
Alan Lee, illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord
of the Rings Centenary Edition and Academy Award-winning
designer of the film trilogy.
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