[Knight of Gondor]

There is the factual error that Tolkien's Middle-Earth has no God, because Illuvatar, Eru, The One, first sang Middle-Earth into existence.

And I think that readers of histories (The Silmarillion and so forth) know that the stories of Middle-Earth are great tragedies. (I don't know if I want to read a new take on the sordid tale of the children of Hurin! Even if it IS a new book!) and we can agree that Middle-Earth has more than its share of sadness.

But I think the question of whether or not the world can be happy without (a) God is a philosophical one. Most (including myself) would argue that without God, there is no higher purpose, no deeper meaning in life, and no solid moral frame of Right or Wrong. Man is flying solo through a purposeless world. If that is the case, then by all means, eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.