Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwells in the vast fortress of Angband in the North; and within the shadow of the fear of Angband, and the war waged by Morgoth against the Elves, the fates of Turin and his sister Nienor will be tragically entwined.

Their brief and passionate lives are dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bears them as the children of Hurin, the man who dared to defy him to his face. Against them Morgoth sends his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire, in an attempt to fulfil the curse of Morgoth and destroy the children of Hurin.

约翰·罗纳德·鲁埃尔·托尔金（1892—1973）　牛津大学教授，古英语专家。童年家境窘迫，12岁时成了孤儿。1911年到牛津大学的埃克塞学院学习古英语、日耳曼语系、威尔士语与哥特语，显示出令人瞩目的语言学天才。一次大战中赴法参战，后因病回国。曾在里兹大学、牛津大学任教，1959年退休。托尔金的著作不多，1937年出版《霍比特人》，立即获得成功；其后又耗时16年成就了魔幻小说巨著《魔戒》，获得极大的成功，崇拜者趋之若鹜，影响大大超出了作者和出版者的预想。1973年9月托尔金去世，与妻子合葬在牛津北郊的一个公墓里。