The Lord of the Rings franchise is making a major comeback since Peter Jackson's theatrical film adaptations. Amazon is projected to spend $1 million on a five-season commitment based on the J.R.R. Tolkien series, and now, HarperCollins announced that another fantasy book from Tolkien, The Fall of Gondolin, will be hitting shelves this year.
The Guardian reports the originally unpublished fantasy book will be edited by Tolkien's son, Christopher, in what's described as "the first real story of Middle-Earth." Alan Lee, who illustrated The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, will lend his skills to this book as well.
"They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Eärendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources,” HarperCollins said. For instance, the city of Gondolin is referenced in The Silmarillion.
Now, readers will learn the story of how Morgoth and his army seek and destroy the hidden city. The evil being will go up against sea-god, Ulmo, who is helping the Noldor, "the kindred of the elves who live in the city." One of the Nuldor, Tuor, serves as the main character for the series. (Spoiler alert: Tuor later becomes the father of The Silmarillion's Eärendel.)
This isn't the first time Christopher Tolkien revealed new stories from his father. He edited and released 2007's The Children of Húrin and 2017's Beren and Lúthien. In the latter, which Christopher Tolkien said would "(presumptively) [be] my last book in the long series of editions of my father’s writings." Luckily, he has at least one more for readers.
The Fall of Gondolin is set to be released in Aug. 2018.
