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No way, no way am I satisfied. Ah, to anticipate the release of a new Middle-earth novel, to read the Professor's slyly humorous foreword while I stand in line to buy it, to promise myself to savor it -- only a chapter, two at most, a day -- then greedily devour it over a lazy weekend, these are joys most devoutly to be wished. Rereading Tolkien for the fiftieth time and appreciating all his nuance is all well and good, but there's nothing like being swept off your feet and ravished for the first time by a book like LotR. That's where it's really at. I could definitely wish that Tolkien had had a little bit more Stephen King in his makeup.
But I guess it's a bit of a catch-22. His obsessive working and reworking of a relatively small number of core stories is what made them great. I for one wouldn't mind seeing pros take cracks at new Middle-earth stories, as I mentioned in a thread on copyright somewhere around here. Poor efforts could be safely ignored without tarnishing Tolkien's core legendarium, while good ones would be like a welcome new visit with a cherished old friend.
I wish there were more stories.
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