The Children of Hurin

[Tolkien]

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Die-hard J.R.R. Tolkien fans queued on Tuesday to buy special editions of a "new" book by the creator of "The Lord of the Rings," which has hit book stores 34 years after his death.

Christopher Tolkien constructed the work, which has already appeared in fragmentary form in another posthumous publication called "The Silmarillion," from his father's manuscripts.

He and the publishers are keen to dismiss suspicions that it is an attempt to cash in on Tolkien's fan base, which has grown considerably since the film trilogy began in 2001.

"The Silmarillion" appeared in 1977, four years after Tolkien's death. Around 200 million copies of Tolkien's works have been sold worldwide.

Much of the interest has been generated by the fact that "The Children of Hurin" may well be the last Tolkien story to appear in finished form.

"I somehow I doubt it," Lee told Reuters when asked if there were likely to be further new works from Tolkien's writings. "I might be wrong but this might be the swansong."

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I will confess to living in the same house as a copy of The Silmarillion and yet have not read it - but I will be reading this one.